Georgia Neese Clark Gray (January 27, 1898 – October 26, 1995) was an American actress and banker who served as the 29th

treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as the custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage pr ...

from 1949 to 1953, and was the first woman to hold that office.

Early life

Georgia Neese was born in Richland, Kansas, the daughter of Albert Neese, a farmer and businessman, and Ella Sullivan Neese, a stay-at-home mother. Her father, a

self-made man A self-made man is a person whose success is of their own making. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, has been described as the greatest exemplar of the self-made man. Inspired by Franklin's autobiography, Fr ...

, had prospered in the years before her birth and become the town's leading citizen, owning much of its property as well as the bank and general store. The family owned homes in Richland and in nearby Topeka where Neese attended high school graduating in 1917. Neese was a Presbyterian but she briefly attended Bethany College, an

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

school for women in

Topeka Topeka ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeaste ...

, before transferring to

Washburn University Washburn University (WU), formally Washburn University of Topeka, is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs as well as professional programs in law and business. The university enroll ...

. Neese majored in economics at Washburn and was a member of several student organizations. She was president of the drama club and a member of the ''Upsilon chapter'' of

Alpha Phi Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity (, also known as APhi) is an international Fraternities and sororities in North America, sorority with 175 active chapters and over 270,000 initiated members. Founded at Syracuse University in Syracuse, ...

. Determined to become an actress, she moved to New York City following graduation in 1921 and enrolled at the Franklin Sargent School of Dramatic Art.

Acting career

Georgia Neese began her acting career with various stock companies. Gray pursued an acting career from 1921 to 1931, living in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, getting to know

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...

and

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

, touring the country and earning $500 a week. When the Depression and the onset of "talkies," motion pictures with sound, cut short her stage career, she returned home to care for her sick father.

Family business

Gray started working at her father's Richland State Bank as an assistant cashier in 1935. At the death of her father in 1937, she inherited control and the presidency of Richland State Bank, as well as the family's general store,

grain elevator A grain elevator or grain terminal is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lowe ...

, lumber yard, insurance agency, many farms and other real estate.

Political background

Gray was active in the state Democratic Party and was elected

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

member from Kansas in 1936, a position she held until 1964. She was an articulate and well-liked representative of the party and an early supporter of

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

. It was this support that brought about her nomination as the first woman to be Treasurer of the United States from 1949 to 1953.

Later career

The entire town of Richland was purchased by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

in the late 1960s as a part of the land acquired for Clinton Lake. By 1974, the town was vacated and the remaining buildings were demolished shortly thereafter. After the project was announced, the Government was slow to proceed leaving property owners unsure if they should maintain their properties and unable to sell in order to relocate. Gray played a significant role in urging Congress to provide funds for the project so property owners could get on with their lives. She relocated the Richland State Bank to Topeka in 1964 and renamed it the Capital City State Bank, which was later changed to Capital City Bank. By the end of the twentieth century, it had established several branches throughout the capital city.

Personal life

She married her manager, George M. Clark, in 1929. Although the marriage ended in a divorce in the mid-1940s, she continued to be known as Georgia Neese Clark for a time even after her second marriage. In 1953, she married Andrew J. Gray, a journalist and press agent. Georgia Neese Clark Gray had no children.

Posthumous

Gray died on October 26, 1995, aged 97, and is interred at Pleasant Hill Cemetery, located at approximately 87th and Ratner Road, 1.5 miles south and 3 miles east of Berryton, Kansas. The Georgia Neese Gray Performance Hall at the Topeka Performing Arts Center is named after her. The Georgia Neese Gray Award is reserved for presentation to Kansans who have served in elected office at the municipal and/or county level and who have performed outstanding service to their local community in the pursuit of the principles of the

Kansas Democratic Party The Kansas Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Kansas and one of two major parties in the state, alongside the Republicans. The chair of the party is Jeanna Repass. The party currently controls the state's ...

. Such service commends a lengthy and broad participation in public service endeavors to the city, county and state. This award shall be considered the highest honor which can be bestowed by the Kansas Democratic Party to its municipal and county elected officials. On February 6, 2008, she was inducted into the Topeka Business Hall of Fame. Georgia Neese Clark sig

In 2016, Georgia Neese Gray was inducted into the Kansas Business Hall of Fame."Class Notes," ''The Ichabod'', Winter 2017, p. 32. ''The Ichabod'' is the magazine of the

Alumni Association.

References

External links

Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum and Library

Topeka Performing Arts Center

Washington Post article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark Gay, Georgia Neese 1898 births 1995 deaths American bankers American silent film actresses People from Shawnee County, Kansas Treasurers of the United States Truman administration personnel Kansas Democrats Women in Kansas politics American women bankers 20th-century American actresses Washburn University alumni Actresses from Kansas Kansas Business Hall of Fame inductees