Dr. Melissa Fulgham was among the over 400 historians from over 20 states who gathered at Texas State University in San Marcos for the inaugural Alliance for Texas History Conference. Fulgham, Professor of History and Division Chair for the Humanities and Social Sciences, continued her efforts to spread the story of Annie McLean Moores Towler.
Fulgham presented at a session exploring Texas Women's Leadership at the turn of the century. Her presentation focused on how Annie became president of the First National Bank of Mount Pleasant in 1893, making her the first recorded female president of a national bank in the state of Texas, and how the bank survived the Panic of 1893 while hundreds of other banks failed. Annie had already served as president of the Mount Pleasant private bank before it became a national bank. Due to the state's unique Spanish heritage, women in Texas were able to inherit and maintain control over separate property, unlike in regions that began as British colonies, which employed the common law legal doctrine of coverture, which extinguished a woman's legal identity upon marriage. Annie inherited bank shares and an estate from her husband, C. W. Moores, and would add to that through her business undertakings in the years that followed. A founding member of the Texas Women's Press Association, Texas Federation of Women's Clubs, and Texas Women Bankers Association, Annie would also serve as secretary for the nationwide Greater Federation of Women's Club and on the Board of Lady Managers for the 1904 World's Fair in St Louis.
"As Annie helped found several organizations and spoke at their first annual meetings as well, I was delighted to follow in her footsteps and present at the first annual meeting of the Alliance for Texas History," noted Dr. Fulgham. "The presentation was well-received, and I have been encouraged to continue sharing Annie's story in various ways." Fulgham's ongoing research project explores Annie's education at the New England Conservatory in Boston as well as at Stanford in Palo Alto, California, her travels throughout the United States as well as overseas, her ability to speak multiple languages, her friendships with individuals such as Helen Gould and Andrew Carnegie, as well as her role in founding and serving in various organizations.
Dr. Ben Johnson of Loyola University gave the plenary session at the conference. In his recently published book, "Texas: An American History," Johnson explores why Texas has had such a profound influence on United States history, one that is more significant and impactful than most people, including Texans, realize.
Northeast Texas has a rich history of unique stories and people from this area whose stories deserve to be shared even more. Although Annie traveled extensively, her financial training and business knowledge began in Mount Pleasant, a testament to the opportunities that some people found in this area.
