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Alberta Ramage Neely (1880–1976) was the wife of former Governor of West Virginia Matthew M. Neely and served as that state's First Lady from 1941 to 1945. She was known to family and friends as "Bertie."

Formative years

Born as Alberta Clair Ramage on August 27, 1880, in Milford, Pennsylvania, Alberta Ramage was a daughter of Benjamin Franklin Ramage and Almira Lavinia (Hefner) Ramage. Following graduation from Fairmont Normal School (now Fairmont State University), she attended Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia and Emerson College of Elocution in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1903, she married Matthew M. Neely, a native of West Virginia who later achieved nationwide prominence during his long career in politics, a career that began with his election as mayor of Fairmont, West Virginia in 1908.

Political activities and public service

On January 19, 1941, Neely and her husband attended the Inaugural Gala at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. as part of a delegation of thirty-two state executives and state representatives who were celebrating the third inauguration of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As a first lady during World War II, she also sold war bonds and raised money for servicemen's clubs. In May 1944, she and her husband hosted a dinner party in Charleston, West Virginia for the British Ambassador and his wife, who were visiting the United States to raise funds for the British War Relief Society.

After her husband left office, the couple moved to Washington, D.C., where Matthew Neely served in the United States Senate until his death in 1958. In 1963, her portrait was one of eleven new portraits that were hung in the governor's mansion in Charleston, West Virginia. It was officially presented to the state during an unveiling ceremony on July 10 of that year.

Following the death of her husband, Neely lived in Fairmont, West Virginia, where she died on June 30, 1976.

References

1. "Neely's Wife Never Seeks Limelight." Bristol, Virginia: The Bristol News Bulletin, January 13, 1941, p. 2 (subscription required).
2. "Colorful West Virginian: Sen. Matthew Neely Succumbs to Cancer." Shreveport, Louisiana: The Shreveport Times, January 19, 1958, p. 2 (subscription required).
3. "Attend Randolph-Macon Alumnae Banquet." Hinton, West Virginia: Hinton Daily News, March 10, 1941, p. 2 (subscription required).
4. "Inaugural Gala Tonight to Draw Brilliant Assembly: Mrs. Roosevelt and Mrs. Wallace to Hear Concert." Washington, D.C.: Times Herald, January 19, 1941, p. 52 (subscription required).
5. "Capital Events." Baltimore, Maryland: The Sun, May 7, 1944, p. 60 (subscription required).
6. "Sen. Neely Dead of Cancer at 83." Chattanooga, Tennessee: Chattanooga Daily Times, January 19, 1958, p. 1 (subscription required).
7. "11 First Ladies To Be Undraped." Beckley, West Virginia: The Raleigh Register, July 10, 1963, p. 2 (subscription required).
8. "West Virginia's First Ladies," West Virginia Division of Culture and History, June 2007.

• 1880 births
• 1976 deaths
• People from Milford, Pennsylvania
• First ladies and gentlemen of West Virginia
• People from Fairmont, West Virginia
• Fairmont State University alumni
• 20th-century American politicians
• 20th-century American women politicians