First ladies and partners of California

The first lady of California or first partner of California is the spouse of the governor of California. The role of the spouse of the governor of California has never been codified or officially defined. The spouse figures prominently in the social life of the state, and some spouses have been assisted with a staff in the Executive Office of the Governor. As of 2023, all the state's governors have been men, and not all of them were married while in office.

First Partner of California
Incumbent
Jennifer Siebel Newsom
since January 7, 2019
StyleMrs. Newsom
ResidenceGovernor's Mansion
Inaugural holderHarriet Burnett
Websitewww.gov.ca.gov/first-partner/

Jennifer Siebel Newsom is the current spouse of the governor of California concurrent with the governor's term in office. Her predecessors held the informal but accepted title of First Lady but she opted for the title: First Partner. Governor Newton Booth wed after he retired from politics,[1] and Washington Bartlett was a lifelong bachelor.[2] Jerry Brown was a bachelor throughout his initial gubernatorial service but was married when he once again became governor decades later.[3]

Prior to entering politics, Jane Stanford joined her husband Leland Stanford to help him run a mercantile business in San Francisco. The couple co-founded Stanford University.[4] Bernice Layne Brown, wife of Governor Pat Brown, was also the mother of Governor Jerry Brown. Nancy Reagan was a career actress before her husband Ronald Reagan was first elected governor, and then President of the United States.

There are five living former first ladies: Gloria Deukmejian, widow of George Deukmejian; Gayle Wilson, wife of Pete Wilson; Sharon Davis, wife of Gray Davis; Maria Shriver, ex-wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger; and Anne Gust Brown, wife of Jerry Brown.

List of first ladies and partners of California
Spouses of the governors of California
Name Image Birth–Death Term Governor Notes Ref(s)
Harriet Burnett (1812–1879) 1849–1851 Peter Hardeman Burnett Born in Wilson County, Tennessee and raised in the Methodist faith. Married August 20, 1828, Governor Burnett credited her with being instrumental in his lifetime achievements. Children Dwight, Martha Letitia, Romeetta, John, Armstead and Sallie [5][6]
Jane McDougal (1824–1862) 1851–1852 John McDougal Born in Indiana, disliked California and returned to Indiana until 1852. Kept a diary of her ocean voyage. Children Sue, Caroline, Latham, William, Lillie. Died in childbirth. [7]
Elizabeth Bigler (c.1809–1873) 1852–1856 John Bigler Born in New York. Outlived both her husband and daughter Virginia. [8]
Mary Zabriskie Johnson (1830–1887) 1856–1858 J. Neely Johnson Born in New Jersey. Hosted California's first gubernatorial inaugural ball. Children William and Bessie . Outlived her husband and remarried to Colonel Sylvester H. Day. [9]
Lizzie Weller (1828–1885) 1858–1860 John B. Weller Born in New York. The Governor had been married three times before Lizzie, and she had a previous marriage. Children Charles and Josiah, stepsons John and William. [10]
Sophie Latham (1835–1867) 1860–1860 Milton Latham Born in New York. No children. Her husband was only Governor for 5 days before becoming United States Senator. [11]
Maria Downey (1836–1883) 1860–1862 John G. Downey First California-born gubernatorial spouse, and the first one of Mexican heritage. Her father Don Rafael Guirado was from Guaymas, Mexico. Maria and John Downey had no children. [12]
Jane Stanford (1828–1905) 1862–1863 Leland Stanford Born in New York. One son Leland Stanford, Jr. died at age 15 of typhoid fever. She and her husband founded Stanford University to honor their son's life. Her death in Honolulu, via strychnine poisoning, is believed to have been murder. [13][14]
Mollie Low (1840–1910) 1863–1867 Frederick Low Born in Ohio. Daughter Flora. Fashion-conscious society hostess. [15]
Anna Haight (1834–1898) 1867–1871 Henry Huntly Haight Born in Missouri. Children Janette, Mary, Dugald, Henry H., Jr. and Louis. [16]
Vacant 1871–1875 Newton Booth Booth was unmarried while serving as Governor. [1]
Mary Catherine McIntire Pacheco (1842–1913) 1875–1875 Romualdo Pacheco Born in Indiana. She was also a playwright. Children Romualdo and Maybella. So far, her husband has been the only Governor of Latino heritage in the state's history. [17][18]
Amelia Irwin (1843–1905) 1875–1880 William Irwin Born in New York. One daughter Emma. [19]
Ruth Amelia Perkins (1843–1921) 1880–1883 George Clement Perkins Born in Ireland. Children Fannie, George, Susan, Fred, Milton, Ruth, and Grace. [20]
Mary Stoneman (c.1836–1915) 1883–1887 George Stoneman Born in Maryland. Children: Cornelius, George, Jr., Katherine, and Adele [21]
Vacant 1887–1887 Washington Bartlett Bartlett never married; died 9 months after taking office. [2]
Jane Waterman (1829–1914) 1887–1891 Robert Waterman Born in Canada. Active in charity work. Children: Mary, James, Helen, Waldo, Anna and Abby [22]
Mary Markham (1853–1934) 1891–1895 Henry Markham Born in Illinois, raised in Wisconsin, active in the Congregational Church after they moved to Pasadena, California. Children: Marie, Alice, Gertrude, Genevieve and Hildreth. Genevieve died shortly after Governor Markham took office. [23]
Inez Budd (1851–1911) 1895–1899 James Budd Born in Connecticut, her family relocated to Stockton, California where she met her husband James. [24]
Fannie Gage (1863–1951) 1899–1903 Henry Gage Born in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Children Fanita, Lucilla, Francis, Volney and Arthur. [25]
Helen Pardee (1857–1947) 1903–1907 George Pardee Born in Massachusetts. A graduate of what is now San Jose State University, she spent a decade teaching in Oakland. Daughters Florence, Carol, Madeline and Helen. [26]
Isabella Gillett (c.1870–1946) 1907–1911 James Gillett Born in San Francisco. Socialite and musician, she married widower James Gillett and became stepmother to his three children. Together, they had four more children Effie, Ethel, Horace and James. [27]
Minnie Johnson (1869–1955) 1911–1917 Hiram Johnson Born in Sacramento. Sons Hiram and Archibald . [28]
Flora Stephens (1869–1931) 1917–1923 William Stephens Born in Chicago, she attended higher education in California and taught school in Poway, California. Daughter Barbara. [29]
Augusta Richardson (1869–1955) 1923–1927 Friend Richardson Born in Illinois. Children Ruth, Paul and John. [30]
Lyla Young (1880–1967) 1927–1932 C. C. Young Born in Alameda, California. Daughters Barbara and Lucy. The Young family survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. [31]
Annie Rolph (1872–1956) 1931–1934 James Rolph Born in San Francisco. Hosted tea parties in the governor's mansion, open to the general public. Children Annette, James and Georgina . [32]
Jessie Merriam (1869–1948) 1936–1939 Frank Merriam Born in Iowa, married the widowed sitting Governor of California, no children. An advocate of women's issues and health care for the elderly. [33]
Kate Olson (1883–1939) 1939–1939 Culbert Olson Born in Utah. Children Richard, John and Dean . Held all-night poker parties in the governor's mansion. [34]
Nina Warren (1893–1993) 1943–1953 Earl Warren Born in Sweden. Her first husband, Grover Meyers, by whom she had a son James, died in 1920. She married Earl Warren in 1925, and had five children with him: Virginia, Earl Jr., Dorothy, Nina and Robert. She enjoyed being a hostess for her husband. [35]
Virginia Knight (1918–2010) 1954–1959 Goodwin Knight Born in Iowa. A World War II military widow, she married the widowed Governor Knight at the end of his first term. [36]
Bernice Layne Brown (1908–2002) 1959–1967 Pat Brown Born in San Francisco. Also mother of Governor Jerry Brown and State Treasurer Kathleen Brown. [37]
Nancy Reagan (1921–2016) 1967–1975 Ronald Reagan Born in New York. National League of Families of American POW-MIA received 100% of her salary from writing a syndicated column as spouse of the governor. [38]
Vacant 1975–1983 Jerry Brown Brown was unmarried during this first tenure as Governor. [3]
Gloria Deukmejian (b. 1933) 1983–1991 George Deukmejian Born in Long Beach, California. Children: Leslie, Andrea and George. Advocate for community volunteerism. [39]
Gayle Wilson (b. 1942) 1991–1999 Pete Wilson Born in Phoenix, Arizona. Sons Todd and Phillip from a previous marriage. [40]
Sharon Davis (b. 1954) 1999–2003 Gray Davis Born in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California. Met her husband when she was a flight attendant. Wrote the book The Adventures of Capitol Kitty about a real-life black cat cared for by employees of the State Capitol building in Sacramento. Proceeds of the book went to the Governor's Book Fund, set up by Sharon Davis to benefit school libraries. [41]
Maria Shriver (b. 1955) 2003–2011 Arnold Schwarzenegger Born in Illinois. Journalist, founder of The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement to inform and find a cure for the disease [42]
Anne Gust (b. 1958) 2011–2019 Jerry Brown Born in Michigan. Business executive, attorney [43]
Jennifer Siebel Newsom (b. 1974) 2019–present Gavin Newsom Born in San Francisco. Documentary filmmaker and actress. Under Newsom, the office of First Lady is officially retitled as First Partner.[44]

See also

References
  1. California State Library. "Governors of California – Newton Booth". governors.library.ca.gov. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  2. California State Library. "Governors of California – Washington Bartlett". governors.library.ca.gov. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  3. California State Library. "Governors of California - Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown". governors.library.ca.gov. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  4. "Jane L. Stanford: The woman behind Stanford University – Stanford University". 21 May 2016. Archived from the original on 21 May 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  5. Burnett 1880, pp. 32–36.
  6. "Harriet Burnett". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  7. "Jane Palmer McDougal". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  8. "Elizabeth Graham Bigler". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  9. "Mary Zabriskie Johnson". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  10. "Lizzie Brockelbank Weller". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  11. "Sophie Birdsall Latham". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  12. "Maria Guirado Downey". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  13. Lyons & Wilson 1922, p. 8-9.
  14. "Jane Stanford". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  15. "Mollie Creed Low". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  16. "Anna Bissell Haight". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  17. Mighels 1893, pp. 91, 336, 343, 382, 443, 448, 457.
  18. "Friends Sorrow for Mrs. Romualdo Pacheco". Oakland Tribune – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . November 7, 1913. p. 24, col. 4. Retrieved November 26, 2017.; "Mary McIntyre Pacheco". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  19. "Amelia Cassidy Irwin". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  20. "Ruth Amelia Perkins". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  21. "Mary Hardisty Stoneman". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  22. "Jane Gardner Waterman". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  23. "Mary Dana Markham". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  24. "Inez Merrill Budd". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  25. "Fannie Rains Gage". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  26. "Mrs. Pardee, Wife of Former Governor, Dies at 89". Oakland Tribune – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . March 11, 1947. p. 17. col. 4. Retrieved November 26, 2017.; "Helen Pardee". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  27. "Isabella Erzgraber Gillett". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  28. "Minnie McNeal Johnson". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  29. "Flora Rawson Stephens". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.; "End Comes to Wife of Stephens". The Los Angeles Times – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . April 22, 1931. p. 15, col. 4. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  30. "Augusta Felder Richardson". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.; "Ex-Gov Richardson's Widow Dies in Orinda". Oakland Tribune – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . June 15, 1955. p. 31, col. 3. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  31. "Lyla Vincent Young". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  32. "Annie Reid Rolph". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  33. "Jessie Millisack Merriam". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  34. "Kate Jeremy Olson". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  35. "Nina Palmquist Warren". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  36. Nelson, Valerie J. (December 1, 2010). "Virginia Knight dies at 92; former first lady of California". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 26, 2017.; "Virginia Piergue Knight". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  37. "Bernice Layne Brown, 93, Devoted Matriarch of a Political Dynasty". The Los Angeles Times – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . May 11, 2002. p. 67. Retrieved November 26, 2017.; "Bernice Layne Brown". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  38. "Nancy Reagan Biography :: National First Ladies' Library". National First Ladies Library. Retrieved November 28, 2017.; "Nancy Reagan". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  39. "Gloria Deukmejian". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  40. "Gayle Wilson". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  41. "9 lives, 3 terms at the Capitol". The Los Angeles Times. December 10, 2002. pp. 55, 61 – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . Retrieved November 28, 2017.; "The Personal Touch". The Los Angeles Times – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . January 1, 1999. p. 239. Retrieved November 26, 2017.; "Sharon Davis". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  42. "ABOUT US | THE WOMEN'S ALZHEIMER'S MOVEMENT". THE WOMEN'S ALZHEIMER'S MOVEMENT. Retrieved November 26, 2017.;Friedlander, James (November 25, 2017). "Maria Shriver Is on a Mission to Make the World Better". SUCCESS.; "Maria Shriver". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  43. Morrison, Patt (June 6, 2012). "Anne Gust Brown: Much more than California's first lady". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 26, 2017.; "Anne Gust". State of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  44. "First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom". California Governor. Retrieved 12 September 2021.

Bibliography

Further reading
  • Cook, Lynn; LaDue, Janet (2007). The First Ladies of California. L. Cook and J. LaDue ; [Distributed by] Xlibris. ISBN 978-1-4257-2966-0. OCLC 135185259.
  • Cutler, Robert W.P. (2003). The Mysterious Death of Jane Stanford. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-4793-6.
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