Emma Burleson
Born in San Marcos, Texas in 1869, Emma Burleson had some of the deepest ties to the state among those in Elisabet Ney's inner circle. Her grandfather came to Texas in 1830, was a general at the Battle of San Jacinto, and later served as Vice President of the Republic of Texas. Her father was a Texas Ranger and would go on to serve as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1875.
Emma held particularly strong beliefs regarding the preservation of the history of Texas, and these beliefs would manifest themselves completely upon her ventures as a member of the Texas State Historical Association, the Texas Historical Commission, and the Philosophical Society of Texas.
As a very close friend throughout the later half of Ney's life, Burleson and the sculptress frequently exchanged letters and often visited one another. After Ney's death in 1907, Burleson would become one of the founding members of the Texas Fine Arts Association (TFAA). There are some accounts of Burleson and other members of the TFAA coming to heated exchanges regarding the future of the Formosa property, but Burleson worked tirelessly, nonetheless, to ensure that Ney's legacy would succeed in outliving her friend's lifetime.