Jennie Fortune (March 22, 1895 - April 10, 1996) was New Mexico 4th Secretary of State.

Biography

Jennie Fortune was born in

Socorro, New Mexico Socorro (, '' sə-KOR-oh'') is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is in the Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of . In 2010 the population was 9,051. It is the county seat of Socorro County. Socorro is located south of A ...

, on March 22, 1895, the daughter of Edward Lawrence Fortune (b. 1863) and Maria Guadalupe Baca (b. July 23, 1868). Edward Lawrence Fortune was the son of Patrick Fortune. Patrick Fortune is buried in front of the altar under the floor of the Lemitar Church. Patrick was an emigrant from Ireland. In 1849 he enlisted in the U.S. Army in New York with the expectation of traveling to the gold fields in California. Instead, his regiment of dragoons ended up stationed from Albuquerque to Doña Ana. He remained in the Lemitar area, marrying Irish born Theresa Stapleton in 1861. Patrick Fortune died at only 37 years old, and due to his involvement with the Lemitar Church, became the first person to be buried near the altar inside the Sagrada Familia church. Jennie Fortune's nephew was Archbishop

Robert Fortune Sanchez Robert Fortune Sanchez (20 March 1934 – 20 January 2012) was the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the United States. Biography Born in Socorro, New Mexico, he was the son of Julius Caesar Sanchez an ...

, son of her sister Priscilla. A Few of the Eminent Women of New Mexico, Blanche C

In the early 1920s Jennie Fortune ran on the Democratic ticket and became County Clerk of Socorro County. From 1927 to 1928 she was Secretary of State under Governor

Richard Dillon Richard Charles Dillon (June 24, 1877 – January 5, 1966) was an American entrepreneur, politician and the eighth governor of New Mexico. He held the governor's office from January 1, 1927 to January 1, 1931. Early life Dillon was born in St ...

. She was New Mexico 4th Secretary of State and the second woman. She predicted that, if she won, the position would always be held by a woman and up until her death in 1996 that is what happened (the first man after her was

Brad Winter Brad Winter is an American politician from the state of New Mexico. He served as the 25th Secretary of State of New Mexico from December 18, 2015 to December 9, 2016, being appointed to the position by New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez followi ...

in 2015). She held various political offices and served as Deputy Sheriff of Socorro County. She was member of: Capital City Business and Professional Women's Club, National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Club. During World War II she worked for a Colonel at Luke Air Force Base, in Phoenix, Arizona. She managed and co-owned the Fashion Shop in Socorro for more than 20 years. She died on April 10, 1996, at 101 years old, and is buried at San Miguel Cemetery, Socorro.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortune, Jennie 1895 births 1996 deaths New Mexico city council members New Mexico Democrats Secretaries of State of New Mexico People from Socorro, New Mexico American centenarians Women centenarians 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians American people of Irish descent