Hello Cadell/Cadell searchers! Found some more on our common family.
Nanci Presley-Holley
Hope someone finds it helpful:
MARRS, INA CADDELL (ca. 1875-1960). Ina Caddell Marrs, teacher and civic
leader, was born in Belton, Texas, around 1875, the daughter of R. M. and
Sarah M. (Elliott) Caddell. Her mother died when Ina was very young. Ina
graduated from North Texas Normal College (now the University of North
Texas) in Denton and began her career as a public school teacher in that
town. On June 9, 1909, she married Starlin Marion Newberry Marrs,qv a
widower with four children who was then the school superintendent in Terrell
and later served as state superintendent of public instruction (1923-32).
The Marrses moved to Austin from Terrell in 1919, when Starlin accepted a
position with the state department of education. Mrs. Marrs shared her
husband's interest in statewide school issues and was active in various
educational groups. In 1920 she was elected the fifth president of the Texas
Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations (now the Texas Congress
of Parents and Teachersqv), a position she held for two terms (through
1924). The Congress, which had 40,000 members by the 1920s, was devoted to
improved welfare for children in home, school, church, and state. During her
tenure in office she emphasized a "participating membership" and led the
organization as it worked closely with other prominent women's groups,
including the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs, the League of Women Voters,
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union,qqv and the Texas Federation of
Business and Professional Women's Clubs. These groups, known collectively as
the Joint Legislative Councilqv or "Petticoat Lobby," sought a wide variety
of social reforms for the state. Under Ina Marrs's leadership the Texas
Congress joined the council in support of prison reform, health programs for
school students, play programs, compulsory attendance laws, child labor
laws, stronger prohibitionqv laws, and aid to mothers and infants. During
her administration the Congress also sponsored a survey that ascertained
conditions of Texas children in rural areas. She began the organization's
monthly bulletin, oversaw a revision of its constitution, and directed its
incorporation. Shortly before she left office a loan fund was established in
her honor by the Texas Congress to help teachers continue their education.
Ina Marrs was also active in the National Congress of Parents and Teachers.
In the 1920s she served as a vice president of this organization and headed
its Department of Public Welfare. From 1928 to 1930 she was president of the
National Congress, the fifth person so elected and the first former Texas
president to hold this office. As national president she represented the
organization at the Geneva Conference on the International Federation of
Home and School. Her other civic endeavors reflected her educational
interests. In 1930 she was appointed by United States secretary of the
interior Ray Lyman Wilbur to serve on the nation's Advisory Committee on
Education and White House Conference on Child and Health Protection. She
also served as a vice president of the American Child Health Association and
a director of the International Federation of Home and School. Additional
organizational interests included the Texas Public Health Association and
Daughters of the Republic of Texas.qv
After her husband's death Ina Marrs moved to California to live with
relatives. She died in Santa Ana, California, on June 13, 1960, and was
buried in the State Cemeteryqv in Austin. She was survived by three
step-sons and a step-daughter.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Austin American, June 14, 1960. Files, Texas Congress of
Parents and Teachers, Austin. Lucille Moore, History and Development of the
Texas Congress of Parents and Teachers (M.A. thesis, University of Texas,
1946). Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at
Austin (Starlin M. N. Marrs, Mrs. S. M. N. Marrs).
Debbie Mauldin Cottrell