MARGARET LENORA BRISTOL BAILEY
Wife of Carl Edward Bailey, 31st Governor (1937-1941)

Born: February 21, 1892
Died: March 9, 1975
Children: six
Original Home: Campbell, Missouri

Margaret Lenora Bristol met her future husband, Carl Edward Bailey, while the two were young students in Campbell, Missouri. The couple eloped after Margaret's second year of college. She taught school in Campbell while her husband, the future Governor of Arkansas, attended classes at a business college in Chillicothe, Missouri. The family eventually moved to Arkansas. They lived in various towns before moving to Little Rock in 1922.

Mrs. Bailey was devoted to her family. She visited different parts of the state with her husband on his campaign and again when he was Governor, but did not let her duties as First Lady interfere with her primary duty as a mother to her six children. In addition to her gardening she continued her activities with the Parent-Teacher Association and as a band mother.

Mrs. Bailey used her position as First Lady of Arkansas to campaign for free textbooks for young schoolchildren. She was involved with the USO and with the National Organization of Army Mothers during World War II.