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Georgia Neese Clark Gray

Portrait of Georgia Neese Clark Gray, 1930s

First woman Treasurer of the U.S., banker, actress.  Born: January 27, 1898, Richland, Kansas. Married: George M. Clark, 1929, and Andrew Gray, 1953.  Died: October 26, 1995, Topeka, Kansas

Kansas women can claim a number of firsts and Georgia Neese Clark Gray is no exception. Born in 1898 in Richland, Kansas to Albert and Ellen Neese, Gray attended school in Topeka and graduated from Washburn College in 1921.

During college, she developed an interest in acting and after graduation attended the Franklin Sargent School of Dramatic Art and spent nearly 10 years acting with various stock companies. She married her manager, George M. Clark in 1929. They divorced in the mid-1940s. She returned to Kansas after the advent of the depression caused acting jobs to be scarce.  Her father was in poor health and she became his caretaker.

She started working at her father's Richland State Bank as an assistant cashier in 1935 and became president in 1937 following his death. She became active in the state Democratic Party and was elected National Committee Woman in 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 Truman. It was this support that brought about her nomination as the first woman to be Treasurer of the United States.  She served in that office from June 9, 1949, until January 1953 when Truman left office.  Her name, Georgia Neese Clark, became known to millions through her signature on all U.S. currency issued while she was in office.

Photo of five dollar bill signed by U. S. Treasurer Georgia Neese Clark, 1950Reminiscing about her conversation with President Truman about taking the position, Gray said Truman pointed out the disadvantages of the job including low pay and asked her if she could afford to take the job. She replied, "Can I afford not to?" This is indicative of the zest and style with which she represented her position as first woman treasurer and her state.

Following her term, she returned to Kansas to work in the family's business. In the same year she married Andrew Gray and wished to become known as Georgia Neese Clark Gray.  She remained active in national Democratic Party politics until 1964 when she resigned from the Democratic National Committee. She was the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas' Distinguished Kansan of the Year in 1981. Gray died in 1995.

Entry: Gray, Georgia Neese Clark

Author: Kansas Historical Society

Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.

Date Created: June 2003

Date Modified: May 2016

The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.