Friday, September 7, 2012

IMA HOGG: THE NAME


When I was a little girl growing up in Austin, Texas, my grandfather showed me the Governor’s Mansion and told me that once upon a time there was a little girl who lived there, and her name was Ima Hogg. Who knew I was to spend a good part of my adult life with her?
         The rest of her name story was that she had a sister named Ura.
         You’d be surprised at how many people still think that.
         Her name is all that many people know about Ima Hogg. Some said she also had a sister named Sheesa, and brothers named Hesa, Harry, and Moore.
         Not true: Ima had three brothers, and their names were Will, Mike, and Tom.
         Ima Hogg was her real name. No middle name. That much is true.
         Ima’s father, James Stephen Hogg, named her. What was he thinking of? Name recognition, perhaps? He was an ambitious politician. When Ima was eight years old, her father was elected Governor of Texas. He had his own stories about Ima’s name, and so did she.         
         Besides The Name Question, The IMA HOGG BLOG will offer facts and ponder other questions: Did she have any romances? Why did she never marry? How did a little girl from Mineola, Texas grow up to become a nationally-known grande dame?

If you have a “name story” about Ima, you can share it here.


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