Cornelia Wallace
| Cornelia Wallace | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Cornelia Ellis January 28, 1939 Elba, Alabama |
| Died | January 8, 2009 (aged 69) Sebring, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Rollins College |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) |
(1) John Snively, III (divorced); |
| Children | James A. Snively Joshua A. Snively |
(1) John Snively, III (divorced);
Cornelia Ellis Wallace, previously Cornelia Ellis Snively (January 28, 1939 – January 8, 2009), was the First Lady of Alabama from 1971–1978 and the second wife of Democratic Governor George C. Wallace.
Wallace attracted national attention on May 15, 1972, when, at the age of thirty-three, she threw herself over her husband when he was shot four times by Arthur Bremer during an assassination attempt at a shopping center in Laurel, Maryland. At the time, Wallace was seeking support in his bid for his party's presidential nomination.
Wallace was born in Elba in southeastern Alabama to Charles G. Ellis, a civil engineer who died in 1960, and "Big Ruby” Folsom Ellis, former Governor James E. “Big Jim” Folsom’s sister. Folsom was a widower and in 1947 invited his sister to be First Lady; Cornelia joined her at eight years of age.
She attended Methodist Huntingdon College and Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, and studied voice and piano. She sang and played guitar and toured Australia and Hawaii with Country music singer Roy Acuff. She wrote and performed two songs for M-G-M: "It's No Summer Love" and "Baby with the Barefoot Feet". Following her father's death, she and her mother, who was not wealthy but had many wealthy and influential contacts, often house sat for wealthy friends in Washington, D.C., and other cities in order to live beyond their limited means. In 1962, she married John Snively, whose family owned the tourist attraction Cypress Gardens near Winter Haven, Florida. The couple had two sons, James and Joshua, but divorced in 1969.
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Wikipedia