The bust of Marie Watkins Oliver, known as the “Betsy Ross of Missouri, will be inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians at 1 p.m. Monday, April 15, 2024. Located in the Missouri State Capitol building between the Senate and House chambers, the hall currently displays a series of 49 privately funded bronze busts. Marie was born January 11, 1854, to Charles and Henrietta Watkins on a farm southeast of Richmond. “She was educated at home by governesses and at private schools in nearby Farmville,” according to Historicmissourians.SHSMO. org. “Later, she attended Richmond College along with her younger brothers.” The site noted she was both thoughtful and intellectual, preferring country life to big city living. After a long courtship, Marie married Robert Burett Oliver at her family home in Ray County on December 10, 1879. The couple moved to Jackson, where Robert worked as a lawyer until he was elected to the Missouri Senate in 1882. For the next 17 years, the couple raised a…