| Myrtis Lucille Gregory Methvin | |
 | |
| In office 1933 – 1945 | |
| Born | May 2, 1895 Ethel, Attala County Mississippi |
|---|---|
| Died | August 8, 1977 (aged 82) Castor, Louisiana |
| Resting place | Gwin Memorial Cemetery in Mangham in Richland Parish |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | DeWitt Talmage Methvin, Sr. (married 1923-1975, his death) |
| Relations | Judge Mildred Methvin (granddaughter) |
| Children | Two daughters and a son, |
Myrtis Lucille Gregory Methvin (May 2, 1895 – August 5, 1977)[1] was the second woman to serve as mayor of a community in Louisiana. The Democrat Methvin served consecutive terms as mayor of Castor in Bienville Parish from 1933 to 1945.
The first woman mayor in Louisiana was Lula Wardlow, a Methodist clergywoman and the mayor of Montgomery in Grant Parish from 1926 to 1930.[2]
Biography
Background
Myrtis Gregory was the oldest of four children born to Elijah Milton "Lige" Gregory (1864-1937) and the former Anna Sweatt (1872-1958) in Ethel near Kosciusko in Attala County in central Mississippi. Elijah and Anna married in 1892. Myrtis lived as a girl with her family in Natchez, a port city on the Mississippi River until her father moved the family c. 1908 to Mangham in Richland Parish south of Monroe, Louisiana. There he opened a store on the main highway in Mangham
Marriage and family
In Mangham, Myrtis met DeWitt Talmage Methvin, Sr. (1894-1975),[1] also a Mississippi native who had moved to Mangham to work as a railroad agent. Myrtis married DeWitt Methvin in 1923 in the First Baptist Church in Mangham. They lived for several years in Alexandria in Rapides Parish in central Louisiana. They had a son and two daughters. Their son, DeWitt T. Methvin, Jr., was an attorney in Alexandria, where he practiced law for more than a half-century.
The Castor years
The Methvins relocated to Castor in 1929, where they remained until their deaths. DeWitt, Sr., was engaged in selling timber to the Alexandria-based Roy O. Martin, Jr., company and its sawmill in the Roy community south of Castor. Methvin also operated his own portable sawmill.[3]
Not long after their arrival in Castor, Myrtis Methvin had a dispute with a neighbor, Henry Rufus "Hal" Lacy, Sr. (1870-1956), the father of later state Representative Len Lacy, over Lacy's cow having invaded and eaten produce in her vegetable garden. She "jailed" the cow until Lacy agreed to keep the animal restrained to his own property. Methvin's success in handling Lacy prompted citizens to urge her to run for mayor, a position to which she was elected in 1933.[4]
DeWitt Methvin, Sr., was elected as a short-term member of the Bienville Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body.
The Methvins are interred at Gwin Memorial Cemetery in Mangham.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Myrtis G. Methvin. Findagrave.com. Retrieved on May 22, 2020.
- ↑ Wardlow, Lula. A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography: Louisiana Historical Association. Retrieved on May 22, 2020.
- ↑ DeWitt Talmage Methvin, Jr.. genealogy.com. Retrieved on October 14, 2014; material no longer accessible on-line.
- ↑ Mary K. Hamner, "Castor Women Take Politics Seriously (1930-1940)," Bienville Democrat/Ringgold Record, Arcadia and Ringgold, Louisiana, September 28, 2006.