Nellah Massey Bailey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mississippi State Tax Collector | |
| In office January 19, 1948 – March 31, 1956 | |
| Governor | Fielding L. Wright Hugh L. White James P. Coleman |
| Preceded by | Carl Craig |
| Succeeded by | William Winter |
| First Lady of Mississippi | |
| In role January 18, 1944 – November 2, 1946 | |
| Governor | Thomas L. Bailey |
| Preceded by | Clara Murphree |
| Succeeded by | Nan Wright |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nellah Izora Massey June 30, 1893 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | March 31, 1956 (aged 62) Meridian, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Nellah Izora Massey Bailey (née Massey; June 30, 1893 – March 31, 1956) was an American politician and librarian. She was the first lady of Mississippi from 1944 to 1946 and the Mississippi state tax collector from 1948 to 1956. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first woman elected to statewide office in Mississippi.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Bailey attended library school in Chautauqua, New York, and worked at the public library in Meridian, Mississippi, for thirty years. She married future governor Thomas L. Bailey in 1917. As the first lady of Mississippi, she chaired the Mississippi Joint Recruitment Campaign, a statewide canvass that encouraged women to serve in the United States Armed Forces during World War II.
In 1947, Bailey entered the race for Mississippi state tax collector. She won the Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election. She was re-elected in 1951 and 1955, but died three months into her third term after a series of heart attacks.