Tag: Governor Cecil Underwood

July 25, 1960: Governor Underwood Addresses the Republican National Convention

On July 25, 1960, Governor Cecil Underwood addressed the Republican National Convention in Chicago. The 37-year-old Underwood backed Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon and disparaged Nixon’s Democratic opponent, John F. Kennedy.

Less than three months after the 1960 Democratic primary in West Virginia, Underwood implied that Kennedy had beaten his opponent, Hubert Humphrey, by essentially buying votes. The money Kennedy spent in West Virginia has always been a controversial part of the story. For his part, Humphrey also felt that the wealthy Kennedy family had bought the Mountain State for JFK.

A few months later, Nixon lost the 1960 general election to Kennedy in a close contest where money once again played a major role.Underwood was also campaigning for himself in 1960. Prohibited by the state constitution for running for a second term as governor, Underwood lost to incumbent Democratic Senator Jennings Randolph in the November general election race for the U.S. Senate. It was Underwood’s first ever political loss. He wouldn’t be elected again to public office for 36 years, winning the governorship for a second time in 1996—on his 74th birthday.

June 8, 2004: Judge Elizabeth Hallanan Dies at 79

Judge Elizabeth Hallanan died on June 8, 2004. She was 79 years old.

Hallanan was born in Charleston in 1925. After attending Morris Harvey College—now the University of Charleston—she earned a law degree from West Virginia University. In the mid-1950s, she served on the State Board of Education and in the House of Delegates before being appointed assistant commissioner of public institutions by Governor Cecil Underwood. In 1959, she became judge of the first full-time juvenile court in Kanawha County, making her the first woman judge of a court of record in West Virginia history.

Next, Hallanan served as executive director of the West Virginia Association of College and Universities and chaired the West Virginia Public Service Commission. In 1975, she opened her own legal practice in Charleston.

In 1983, Hallanan was appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan, making her West Virginia’s first female federal court judge. She’s best remembered for presiding over a case resolving problems with the state’s child support system. Throughout her career, Judge Elizabeth Hallanan was a groundbreaker for women in the field of law.

June 8, 2004: Judge Elizabeth Hallanan Dies at 79

Judge Elizabeth Hallanan died on June 8, 2004. She was 79 years old.

Hallanan was born in Charleston in 1925. After attending Morris Harvey College—now the University of Charleston—she earned a law degree from West Virginia University. In the mid-1950s, she served on the State Board of Education and in the House of Delegates before being appointed assistant commissioner of public institutions by Governor Cecil Underwood. In 1959, she became judge of the first full-time juvenile court in Kanawha County, making her the first woman judge of a court of record in West Virginia history.

Next, Hallanan served as executive director of the West Virginia Association of College and Universities and chaired the West Virginia Public Service Commission. In 1975, she opened her own legal practice in Charleston.

In 1983, Hallanan was appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan, making her West Virginia’s first female federal court judge. She’s best remembered for presiding over a case resolving problems with the state’s child support system. Throughout her career, Judge Elizabeth Hallanan was a groundbreaker for women in the field of law.

January 18, 1958: Senator Matthew Neely Dies

On January 18, 1958, Matthew Neely died in Washington, D. C., while serving in the U.S. Senate. Neely, who died at age 83, was one of the leading political figures in West Virginia history.

Over his long political career, the Democrat served two terms as mayor of Fairmont, five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, one term as governor, and parts of five terms in the U.S. Senate.

Perhaps most significantly, though, Neely headed the powerful pro-labor liberal faction of the state’s Democratic Party from the 1930s until his death.

After Neely’s death, Governor Cecil Underwood appointed Republican John Hoblitzell to fill the seat until a special election could be held. In the Democratic primary, former Congressman Jennings Randolph defeated William Marland, who’d recently left the governor’s office. Randolph went on to unseat Hoblitzell and serve 27 years in the Senate, stepping down in 1985. He was succeeded by Jay Rockefeller. In the same 1958 election that introduced Randolph to the Senate, Robert C. Byrd defeated incumbent Republican Chapman Revercomb, beginning what would become the longest Senate career in U.S. history.

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