Governor Daniel and his wife Jean cut the ribbon for the Texas State Library & Archives, April 10, 1962
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Former Texas First Lady Jean Daniel Dies At 86
LIBERTY - Jean Houston Baldwin Daniel, a former first lady of Texas and the oldest surviving relative of Gen. Sam Houston, has died. She was 86.
Mrs. Daniel died Saturday night, December 14, 2002 in her Liberty home of natural causes, her son, Houston Daniel, told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Liberty, Texas is approximately 35 miles north-east of Houston in south Texas.
She was the widow of former Gov. Price Daniel and the great-great-granddaughter of Houston, who led the April 21, 1836, charge that resulted in the capture of Mexican Gen. Santa Anna, gaining Texas its independence. Houston was twice elected president of the Republic of Texas.
Jean Daniel was born in 1916 in Houston and graduated from San Jacinto High School in 1933. She graduated with a degree in education from the University of Texas in Austin in 1937.
She and Price Daniel, who went on to be a key player in Texas politics for four decades, married in 1940.
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"They spent their honeymoon campaigning for the Legislature. From then on out, they've been in
public service together pretty much the whole time," Houston Daniel said.
The couple's life in politics began in 1943 when Price Daniel was elected to the Texas House. Price Daniel served as the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives for the 1943-1945 session, Texas Attorney General from 1946-1953, US Senator from 1953-1957 and as Governor of Texas from 1957-1963.
After her husband's death in 1988, Mrs. Daniel was appointed to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by then-Gov. William P. Clements. She worked at the post until 1992.
Mrs. Daniel also co-authored two books, Executive Mansions and Capitols of America, and The Texas Governor's Mansion. The Daniels' also built a 7,318 square foot mansion in Liberty County, which contains the family library and archives. Officially called the Jean and Price Daniel Home and Archives, it was donated to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission in 1998. [Visit Website]
Jean Daniel was a member of numerous civic and charitable groups, including the Philosophical Society of Texas, the Thankful Hubbard Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the William Barrett Travis Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
Mrs. Daniel's funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday at First United Methodist Church in Liberty. She will be buried in the Daniel family cemetery in Liberty, about 40 miles northeast of Houston.
In addition to Houston Daniel, Mrs. Daniel is survived by a daughter, Jean Daniel Murph, and seven grandchildren.
On January 9, 1973, Governor Daniel and his wife Jean, right, attended the opening of the 63rd
Texas legislature. On that day, Price Daniel, Jr., seated next to his father, became the speaker
of the Texas House of Representatives.
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