Postponing marriage for his family and for his political career
Thurmond delayed getting married to focus on caring for his family members and building a base for his political career. He chose to marry after he became governor of South Carolina.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Strom Thurmond, July 20, 1978. Interview A-0334. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- JAMES G. BANKS:
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You married rather late.
- STROM THURMOND:
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Yeah.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
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Why.
- STROM THURMOND:
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Well, my father died in 1934 and my mother lived on and didn't die until
1958. After he died my sister was there teaching school.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
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This is your older sister?
- STROM THURMOND:
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No, the younger sister, Mary Tompkins. She married Mr. Tompkins and they
lived on in the house, the home house, and my mother lived there with
them. Later she moved over into town. But at any rate, I guess, having a
mother and a sister to kind of look after that part of
that;meals and such as that. And then, I could go and come.
And another thing, I wouldn't be tied down, because I felt sooner or
later I'd go into politics. I started making contacts when I was
teaching school, I felt sooner or later I'd end up in statewide
politics. So I could make more contacts;if I'd had a wife
it'd hold you back. Have to come home every night, or you'd have to be
in by a certain time, take your wife out. And whereas I felt being
unfettered that I could make my own schedule wouldn't inconvenience
anybody. But then after I got to be governor why;in other
words I had gotten there then so it was feasible.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
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You'd arrived, right.
- STROM THURMOND:
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(chuckle)
And so I felt I could take time to get married.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
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Did you almost;this is maybe asking too much;but
did you say, well, it's time to get married. Almost like that?
- STROM THURMOND:
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Yeah. I'd sort of like to get married and have a family. But I didn't
have any children by my first wife.