Johnston Murray

His father, William H. Murray, by virtue of his marriage to Hearrell in 1899, also became a citizen of the nation under Chickasaw law.

The elder Murray was an advisor to Governor Douglas H. Johnston of the Chickasaw Nation, and later served in numerous political offices after Oklahoma was admitted as a state.

Johnston Murray (July 21, 1902 – April 16, 1974) was an American lawyer, politician, and the 14th governor of Oklahoma from 1951 to 1955.

He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Murray was born July 21, 1902, in the mansion of the Chickasaw Nation's Governor at Emet, Johnston County, Indian Territory.

His mother, Mary Alice Hearrell, was one-eighth Chickasaw.

She was the niece of Douglas H. Johnston, the noted Chickasaw Governor for whom her husband William H. Murray was then working as a legal advisor.

The senior Murray later served both with the 1905 convention that drafted a constitution for the State of Sequoyah, and as president of the 1906 convention that drafted Oklahoma's constitution prior to its admission.

In 1923 Johnston Murray married Marion Draughon of Sulphur, Oklahoma.

They had one child together before getting divorced six years later.

After college, Murray traveled to Bolivia with his father and brothers and their families from Oklahoma.

They were trying to establish a private colony there to develop a large ranching operation.

They lived there for four years working on this project, but did not receive sufficient support from the government.

When Murray returned to Oklahoma, he worked in oil and gas fields, rising to the role of plant manager.

He attended college at the Murray State School of Agriculture (now Murray State College), graduating in 1924.

Unlike his mother, Johnston Murray never chose to enroll as a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.

When elected as state governor, Murray was the first Native American in the United States to hold a gubernatorial office, although he is not always considered such, due to him not being an enrolled Native citizen.

Murray divorced his wife Marion in 1929.

Following state and national offices, he was elected in 1930 as the ninth Governor of Oklahoma, serving 1931-1935.

Johnston Murray was one of five children.

Growing up in a doubly prominent political family, the younger Murray was educated in the public schools of Tishomingo, Oklahoma, the former capital of the Chickasaw Nation.

He served as the ninth governor of Oklahoma (1931–1935).

As governor 20 years later, Johnston Murray attempted to reduce state spending but was blocked by state legislators, although they were part of the Democratic majority.

He married again in 1933, to Willie Roberta Emerson.

She was a concert pianist and known for her drive and ambition.

Murray joined and became active in the Democratic Party, which dominated state politics.

In 1940 he was elected as chairman of the Oklahoma Electoral College, and he served as a member of the Electoral College in 1948.

The state constitution prohibited a second succeeding term, and his second wife Willie Murray ran for governor in 1954.

She failed to win.

They broke up in a bitter public divorce proceeding, which began a few months later.

In 1956, Murray switched parties and joined the Republican Party.

Murray was the first Native American to be elected as governor in the United States.

Murray's mother, Mary Alice Hearrell, was a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.

The divorce was final in 1956.

Murray later married Helen Shutt.

They moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where he worked for an oil well servicing company and later a limousine service.

After returning to Oklahoma City, Murray formed a law partnership with Whit Pate in February 1960.

He ran for Oklahoma State Treasurer in 1962, but finished last in the four-man Democratic primary field.

He later worked for the remainder of his career as a consulting attorney for the Oklahoma Department of Welfare.

Both he and his father were buried in Tishomingo, Oklahoma.