Frances “Sissy” Tarlton Farenthold was born on October 2, 1926, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Her father B. Dudley Tarlton, Jr., an attorney, was the son of Judge Benjamin D. Tarlton, Sr., Chief Justice of the Texas Court of Civil Appeals, state legislator, professor at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) School of Law, and namesake of the UT Tarlton Law Library. Farenthold graduated from Vassar College in 1946 and the UT Law School in 1949. She began her career in politics in 1960, campaigning for John F. Kennedy as president and serving on the Corpus Christi City Council’s human relations commission until 1965. After serving two years as director of the Nueces County Legal Aid Program, Democrat Farenthold was elected as representative for Nueces and Kleberg counties in the Texas Legislature (1968-1972). She also ran twice for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination against Dolph Briscoe (1972; 1974) and became the first serious, and third ever, female nominee to be the Democratic candidate for the U.S. vice presidency, placing second out of seven.
During her tenure as a state legislator, Farenthold promoted civil and women’s rights, co-sponsoring the Equal Legal Rights Amendment with State Senator Barbara Jordan, and supported environmental protection for beaches, bays, estuaries, and Mustang Island. When opposing Governor Preston Smith’s efforts to expel people registering Mexican Americans to vote in Del Rio, she marched in support of the registration on Palm Sunday in March 1969. With the emergence of the Sharpstown stock fraud scandal, in which Houston banker Frank Sharp was accused of bribing lawmakers in 1971, Farenthold joined other representatives, named by their opposition as the “Dirty Thirty.” The group proposed a resolution for an investigation into the roles played by Texas House Speaker Gus Mutscher and other legislators in the scandal and into the history of the bills Sharp was accused of promoting through bribery. Although the bill did not succeed and redistricting eliminated Farenthold’s district, Mutscher was found guilty of his involvement in the scandal, and Gov. Smith’s and Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes’ political careers were essentially ended by the scandal.
After leaving politics, Farenthold continued to support humanitarian causes, including peace activism and opposition to the Vietnam War and the nuclear disarmament and the nuclear waste disposal movements. She also served as a human rights observer in Iraq, El Salvador, Honduras, South Korea, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Cuba, and the former U.S.S.R.
After teaching law at Texas Southern University, Farenthold served as the first female president of Wells College in Aurora, New York (1976-1980). With numerous national female political figures in 1971, she co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus, an organization dedicated to increasing women’s participation in government and achieving equality for women, which elected Farenthold as its first national chair in 1973. Five years later, she established the Public Leadership Education Network to support an increased representation of women in government through educational programs for female college students interested in careers in public policy. Upon her return to Texas in 1980, Farenthold opened a law firm and began teaching law at the University of Houston.
In 1950, Farenthold married George Farenthold, and before divorcing in 1985, the couple had five children, including Dudley (b. 1951), George, Jr. (b. 1952), Emilie (b. 1954), and twins Vincent Bluntzer Tarlton (1956-1960) and James Robert Dougherty “Jimmy” (1956-1989?).
Sources:
Draper, Robert.
Jones, Nancy Baker, and Ruthe Winegarten.
Mary and Jeff Bell Library.
The Frances Tarlton Farenthold Papers, 1913-2012, consist of legal, political, and personal correspondence; legal, political, legislative, subject, and committee files; newsletters, reports, and bulletins; research material; newspaper clippings; maps; videocassettes and audiotapes; and photographs arranged alphabetically by subject. The papers document Farenthold’s support of women’s rights and women’s increased involvement in politics; activism in the nuclear disarmament and peace movements; promotion of civil and prisoners’ rights; international relations in China, the U.S.S.R., South Africa, and other countries; as well as education, health, militarization, and other social and political issues in developing countries. The materials from her political career concern her tenure as Texas state legislator in the 61st and 62nd legislative sessions, participation in the “Dirty Thirty” and reform of political corruption, membership on legislative committees, her campaigns for governor against Dolph Briscoe, and nomination to be the Democratic candidate for the U.S. vice presidency. Also documented are her beliefs on such issues as abortion and women’s rights, conservation efforts and environmental protection, agriculture, treasure troves and artifact salvage off the Gulf Coast, children’s safety and public welfare, housing and educational improvement. Legal materials pertain to cases and clients Farenthold represented and include legal documents, depositions, affidavits, statements, correspondence, lists, summaries, and notes.
Furthermore, the papers document Farenthold’s association with human rights organizations and issues in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and South Korea from the 1970s onwards. The collection also relates to her presidency of Wells College, membership on the board of trustees of Vassar College, the Coordinating Board of the Texas College and University System, and the Institute for Policy Studies, her tenure as professor of law at Texas Southern University and the University of Houston, and her connection with the Texas Air Control Board, Texas Water Quality Board, and American Civil Liberties Union. A large quantity of correspondence, drafts, notes, research materials, programs, and travel schedules, relate to Farenthold's speaking engagements at the Women’s Institute for Life Studies, Helsinki Watch, International Peace Festival, Austin City Council, and other organizations and conferences. Additionally, a portion of the papers concerns the financial and legal affairs and activities of her cousin, Genevieve Vaughn.
Legal client files, some financial documents, and medical records are restricted for privacy and legal issues.
A portion of these papers is stored remotely. Advance notice required for retrieval. Contact repository for retrieval.
Frances Tarlton Farenthold Papers, 1913-2012, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.