Camden woman passed away while serving as Alabama's 'First Lady'

Margaret Otis Miller of Camden, Ala.

This month – February 2019 – marks the 85^th anniversary of one of the saddest events in Wilcox County history, the death of Alabama First Lady, Margaret Otis Miller.

Born on July 22, 1863 to Thomas and Nancy Duggan of Mobile, Margaret married future Alabama governor, Benjamin Meek Miller, in 1890. At the time of their marriage, Benjamin was a young lawyer who had graduated from law school only a year before and was building up his new law practice in Camden. Benjamin had also already entered the political arena as Wilcox County’s representative in the Alabama House of Representatives.

As the old saying goes, “behind every great man there is a great woman,” and Margaret no doubt supported her husband as he moved up the political ranks. He was elected as a circuit judge in 1904 and to the Supreme Court of Alabama in 1921. Benjamin, a Democrat, ran for Alabama governor in 1930 and defeated incumbent Bibb Graves.

Benjamin was inaugurated as Alabama’s 39^th governor on Jan. 19, 1931 and as the governor’s wife, Margaret became Alabama’s First Lady on that same day. As Alabama’s First Lady, Margaret served as the state’s official hostess, but sadly, she would not live to see the end of her husband’s term in office. She passed away at the age of 70 “following a brief illness” on Feb. 16, 1934.

According to newspaper accounts at the time, funeral services, “impressive in their quiet simplicity,” were held for Margaret at the Executive Mansion in Montgomery on Feb. 18. The Executive Mansion where Margaret’s funeral was held is not to be confused with the current Alabama Governor’s Mansion, where Kay Ivey, another Wilcox County native, lives today. The old Executive Mansion was located at 702 South Perry St. and was demolished in 1963 when Interstate Highway 85 was built.

Margaret’s funeral was conducted by Dr. Donald C. MacGuire, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, and was attended by “state officials and attaches and many other friends from Montgomery and elsewhere.” After the funeral, Margaret’s body was “taken through the country” to Camden, where the last rites took place at the Miller family residence. Burial followed in the Camden Cemetery, with the Rev. R.C. Kennedy, pastor of the Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church of Camden, officiating.

Margaret’s pallbearers at the Executive Mansion services included John C. Anderson, Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court; Thomas E. Knight, an Alabama Supreme Court Justice; W.F. Feagin, Director of the State Board of Administration; John H. Peach, the governor’s personal legal advisor; D. Howell Turner, the governor’s private secretary; and W.F. Covington Jr., State Recording Secretary. Pallbearers in Camden included Judge John Miller, Hugh Dale, Pressley Dale, Joe Bonner, J.B. Holman and D. Howell Turner.

Benjamin’s term as governor ended on Jan. 14, 1935, and he was succeeded by former governor, Bibb Graves. One is left to wonder what impact Margaret’s death had on Benjamin’s political aspirations as he returned to his Camden law practice. He would pass away on Feb. 6, 1944 and was laid to rest in the Camden Cemetery alongside his faithful wife.

In the end, I’d like to hear from anyone in the reading audience with more information about Margaret Otis Miller, especially regarding her activities as Alabama’s First Lady. No doubt she was an accomplished woman in her own right, and it would be interesting to know what sort of impact she had on her husband’s career. As the saying goes, “behind every great man there is a great woman,” and it would be a shame to let Margaret’s accomplishments fade into the forgotten pages of the past.