Who was Mrs. Gann?
By Cody Berry
Since March is Women’s History Month, I wanted to write a bit about some Saline County women. Last week I recounted my meeting with the local chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, so this week, I wanted to talk about Mrs. Gann. Unlike Dr. Gann, Sr., who was from Georgia, his wife Martha Harding Whitthorne was from Shelbyville, Tennessee. Martha’s father was a former Confederate soldier named Samuel Houston Whitthorne, and her mother was Margaret Johnston Whitthorne.1
Martha was born in 1867 according to our display at the Gann Museum. Dr. Gann met Martha in Sheridan not long after he moved to Arkansas in 1888. According to an article in The Saline by Arlene Hyten Rainey, Dr. Gann dated Martha’s sister “Bert” first then Martha “stole the affections of the doctor, and they soon married.”2 Dr. Gann and Martha got married on September 4, 1889. This may have created an estrangement between the two sisters, but Martha continued to support her sister financially from time to time.3
Like the ladies I spoke to last Sunday, Martha was a member of several historical societies. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the American Legion.4 Martha was also very interested in politics. She was manager of women voters in the Smith-Robinson presidential campaign in 1928 and piled up a two to one majority for her candidates. She was one of twelve women selected to represent Arkansas at the inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C.5 Martha Gann died in Benton on January 9, 1940.6
Citations:
1 Lex Bruce Davis and Henry Forest Barnes, Among Arkansas Leaders, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1934, p. 68.
2 Arlene Hyten Rainey, “The Gann Family: Vignettes of Memories of Dr. Dewell Gann, Sr., and his Family; Random Stories and Events,” The Saline, Volume 31, No. 1, Spring 2016, pp. 20-21.
3 Arlene Hyten Rainey, “The Gann Family: Vignettes of Memories of Dr. Dewell Gann, Sr., and his Family; Random Stories and Events,” The Saline, Volume 31, No. 1, Spring 2016, pp. 20-21.
4 Lex Bruce Davis and Henry Forest Barnes, Among Arkansas Leaders, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1934, p. 68.
5 Lex Bruce Davis and Henry Forest Barnes, Among Arkansas Leaders, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1934, p. 68 and date of Smith-Robinson Campaign from David E. Hamilton, “Herbert Hoover: Campaigns and Elections,” University of Virginia, Miller Center, https://millercenter.org/president/hoover/campaigns-and-elections, Date Accessed 3/12/2025.
6 “Martha Harding Whitthorne Gann,” Find-A-Grave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37237992/martha_harding_gann, Date Accessed 3/12/2025.