Margaret Chase Smith

official photo of Margaret Chase Smith, U.S. Senate Historical Office

Birth Name: Margaret Madeline Chase

Date of Birth: December 14, 1897

Place of Birth: Skowhegan, Maine, United States

Date of Death: May 29, 1995

Place of Death: Skowhegan, Maine, U.S.

Ethnicity:
*father – English, as well as distant French Huguenot, possibly other
*mother – French-Canadian

Margaret Chase Smith was an American politician. A Republican, she was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine, from June 3, 1940 to January 3, 1949, a U.S. Senator from Maine, from January 3, 1949 to January 3, 1973, and Chairperson of the Senate Republican Conference, from January 3, 1967 to January 3, 1973.

She was a candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination for President of the United States in 1964.

Margaret was the first woman to launch a notable campaign for a major political party’s presidential nomination (Shirley Chisholm and Patsy Mink, both in 1972, for running the Democratic Party, were the second and third, respectively). She was also the first woman to be placed in nomination for the presidency at a major party’s convention. Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman to have been nominated for Vice President of the United States by a major party, the Democratic Party, in 1984, and Hillary Clinton is the first woman to have been nominated for the Presidency by a major party, the Democratic Party, in 2016. Shirley Chisholm won three non-traditional presidential nominating contests in 1972; Hillary Clinton and Nikki Haley have since been the only women to have won a major party’s presidential nominating contest, with Clinton winning 23 in 2008 and 34 in 2016, for the Democratic Party; and Nikki Haley winning 2 in 2024, for the Republican Party. Kamala Harris, who was sworn in as Vice President in 2021, is the first woman to serve as either President or Vice President of the United States.

Margaret was the daughter of Caroline/Carrie Matilda (Morin/Murray) and George Emery/W. Chase. She was married to Clyde H. Smith, who was a U.S. Representative from Maine, from January 3, 1937 to April 8, 1940, his death.

Margaret’s paternal grandfather was The Rev. John Wesley Chase (the son of Isaac Chase, Jr. and Rachel Emery). The Rev. John was born in Maine or Massachusetts. Isaac was the son of Isaac Chase and Bridget Delano. Rachel was the daughter of David Emery and Abigail Goodwin.

Margaret’s paternal grandmother was named Margurile/Margaret C. Nolan. Margurile was born in Massachusetts.

Margaret’s maternal grandfather was Jean/John Lambert Morin/Murray (the son of Jean-Baptiste Morin and Marie-Louise Gilbert). Margaret’s grandfather Jean was born in St. Georges, Canada. Margaret’s great-grandfather Jean-Baptiste was the son of Pierre Morin and Marie-Marguerite Gagnon. Marie-Louise was the daughter of Augustin Dupuis dit Gilbert and Angélique Poulin.

Margaret’s maternal grandmother was Marie/Mary Boulet/Boulette (the daughter of George Boulet and Mathilde Rodrigue). Marie/Mary was from New Brunswick, Canada.

Sources: Genealogy of Margaret Chase Smith – https://www.geni.com

Margaret Chase Smith on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Margaret Chase Smith on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Genealogies of Margaret Chase Smith (focusing on her father’s side) – https://old.findagrave.com
https://www.wikitree.com