Greenway, Isabella Selmes

Item

Title

Greenway, Isabella Selmes

Alias

Selmes, Isabella
Ferguson, Isabella
Greenway, Isabelle
Greenway, Isabella Dinsmore
King, Isabella
King, Isabelle Greenway

Gender

Female

Biography

"Like her mother before her, Isabella was born on the Dinsmore farm. Although educated in St. Paul and New York, she often returned to Boone County to spend her summers. At the age of nineteen, Isabella married Robert H. Munro Ferguson, nineteen years her senior. They had two children, Martha and Bobby. One year after Robert died of tuberculosis, Isabella married his good friend, John C. Greenway and the couple had one son, Jack. Following Greenway’s death, Isabella started her own furniture company, the Arizona Hut, and then designed a hotel on the edge of Tucson, Arizona, called the Arizona Inn. It is a historic inn and is still owned and managed by her descendants. " --Cathy Callopy
Isabella Greenway was a cattle rancher and businesswoman. She owned Gilpin Air Lines (Los Angeles, Calif.), and founded the Arizona Inn (Tucson, Ariz.). She was the first woman elected to Congress from Arizona. Initially she filled the seat left vacant by Lewis W. Douglas when he resigned. She was re-elected in her own right for another term, serving from 1933 to 1937.
Isabelle once sailed on the 'R.M.S. Olympic', the 'Titanic's' sister ship, She departed Cherbourg, France, arriving in New York City on 28 Sep 1926. She had previously sailed on the 'Colombia' with her husband Robert Ferguson, leaving Glasgow, Scotland and arriving in New York City on 14 Oct 1907.

Member

Selmes family
Greenway family

Birth date

22 Mar 1886

Place of birth

Father

Mother

Life event(s)

Marriage 1: 15 Jul 1905; Oyster Bay (N.Y.)
Marriage 2: 1923; location unknown
Marriage 3: 22 Apr1939; Manhattan (New York, N.Y.)

Spouse(s)

Child(ren)

Death date

18 Dec 1953

Place of death

Tucson (Ariz.)

Death and burial information

Cause of death: Coronary thrombosis

Occupation(s)

Rancher
Business owner
U.S. Congresswoman (1933-1937)

Resided in

St. Paul (Minn.)
St. Armand (N.Y.)
Tyrone (N.M.)
Tucson (Ariz.)

Related resource

Bibliographic citation(s)

FindAGrave.com, memorial #7907916
New York State, Marriage Index, 1881-1967
New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957
New York, New York, Index to Marriage Licenses, 1908-1910, 1938-1940
Arizona, Death Records, 1887-1960

Source(s)

Item sets

Isabella Selmes Greenway

Linked resources

Filter by property

child
Title Alternate label Class
Flandrau, Martha Macomb Child(ren) Person
Selmes, Tilden Russell Child(ren) Person
spouse
Title Alternate label Class
Ferguson, Robert H. Munro Spouse(s) Person
Greenway, John Campbell Spouse(s) Person
mother
Title Alternate label Class
Ferguson, Robert Munro Mother Person
Ferguson, Martha Munro Mother Person
Greenway, John Selmes Mother Person
Employed By
Title Alternate label Class
Loving, Julia Farley Employed by Person