Wyoming Women’s Legislative History

In no way is this a total list, but a celebration of a few achievements related to Wyoming women’s suffrage and history in elected offices. Resources come from the American Heritage Center digital archives, University of Wyoming or WyoHistory.org unless otherwise credited.

1869

WYOMING RECOGNIZES WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE

A bill introduced by William Bright to the first Wyoming territorial legislature passed in 1869, recognizing women’s right to vote, free from restrictions such as property ownership, monetary requirements, or marital status requirements.

“One stipulation included in the bill was that women had to either be naturalized citizens or swear an oath that they were seeking citizenship. This would have excluded Chinese immigrants as well as Native American women, who were not considered citizens until 1924. According to census data, there were 10 Black women over the age of 21 in Wyoming at the time. These Black women would have been eligible to vote. Read more from Blackpast.org.

There are many opinions as to why this bill was passed. WyomingPBS, in partnership with Caldera Productions, attempt to address these varying opinions in the documentary “The State of Equality.”

Find out more about this historic day by reading It All Began in Wyoming and Right Choice, Wrong Reasons.

1870

FIRST WOMEN JURORS AND BAILIFF IN WYOMING

Three months after the Wyoming Territorial Legislature recognized women’s rights to vote and hold office, women were called to serve on a grand jury—the first time in history.

Martha Symons Boies was selected to act as a bailiff for that same grand jury, the first woman in history to serve in such a judicial position.

To learn more, click here.


Not pictured: Jane Hilton, Mary Jane Mackle and Mrs. Annie Monaghan.

1870

FIRST WOMAN JUSTICE OF THE PEACE IN WYOMING

Esther Hobart McQuigg Slack Morris became the first woman Justice of the Peace in South Pass City, Wyoming. During Morris’s eight and a half months in office, she proved to be an efficient public servant. By her own reckoning, she tried about 30 civil actions, and only one of her rulings was appealed (and a higher court affirmed that one).

Read more at Wyohistory.org.

1878

9 YEARS OF WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE

What did equality look like 140 years ago? This newspaper article from 1878, made accessible by the American Heritage Center, gives us a glimpse into views of women at the time, and why women’s suffrage might not have meant “equal”.

1895

FIRST WOMAN ELECTED TO A STATE-WIDE OFFICE IN WYOMING

Estelle Reel was elected as Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1895, making her the first woman in Wyoming to be elected to a statewide office. Three years later, she would become the first woman to be confirmed for a federal office by the Senate when she became the National Superintendent of Indian Schools.

To learn more, click here.

1910

FIRST WOMAN TO SERVE IN THE WYOMING LEGISLATURE

Mary Godat Bellamy was the first woman to be elected to the Wyoming Legislature in the state’s history. She was elected to the House of  Representatives in 1910 and served a single, two-year term.

To learn more, click here.

1912

FIRST WOMAN TO SERVE AS MAYOR IN WYOMING AND SECOND IN THE NATION

Susan Wissler made history as the first woman to serve as mayor of Wyoming in 1912, after a successful write-in campaign in the small town of Dayton.

To learn more, click here.

https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/wyomings-first-woman-mayor

1920

FIRST TOWN GOVERNED BY WOMEN IN THE NATION

Grace Miller made history as the woman to serve as mayor of Jackson, Wyoming, in 1920, leading the town’s all-women government known as the “Petticoat Rulers”. The town also elected Rose Crabtree, Mae Deloney, and Genevieve Van Vleck to the council, with Pearl Decker appointed as town marshal.

This was an exceptional achievement for the time, especially given that women’s suffrage was granted nationwide through the 19th Amendment in the very same year.

To learn more, click here.

https://buckrail.com/petticoat-rules-the-first-women-leaders-of-jackson-100-years-ago/

1924 & 1933

FIRST WOMAN ELECTED AS GOVERNOR IN THE NATION
AND FIRST TO BE APPOINTED AS DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF THE MINT IN THE NATION

Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first women to serve as governor in the nation in 1924, following her husband’s death.

Nellie became the director of the Bureau of the Mint, the government agency responsible for making new bills, new coins and melting down old ones in 1933. It was a big job, and Nellie was the first woman to hold it.

To learn more, click here.

1930

FIRST WOMAN ELECTED TO THE EASTERN SHOSHONE TRIBAL BUSINESS COUNCIL

Irene Kinnear Meade became the first woman elected to the Eastern Shoshone Tribal Business Council, which governs the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, overseeing economic development, cultural preservation, and community services, in 1930.

Unfortunately, there is limited research available about Meade. Learn more about the forming of Tribal Business Councils by reading Holding on to Sovereignty: The Tribes Mix Old Forms with New.

The Arapho-Shoshone Joint Council in 1935.

1931

FIRST WOMAN STATE SENATOR IN WYOMING

Dora McGrath made history as Wyoming’s first woman state senator in 1930, representing Hot Springs County. She served two terms in the Wyoming State Senate, where she advocated for veterans and played a key role in the establishment of a veterans’ hospital.

Learn more by reading First Female State Senator Anti-Prohibition, Pro Veteran’s Hospital.

The Arapho-Shoshone Joint Council in 1935.

1937

FIRST WOMAN ELECTED TO THE NORTHERN ARAPAHO TRIBAL BUSINESS COUNCIL

Nellie Scott became the first woman elected to the Northern Arapaho Tribal Business Council in 1937. She continued to serve the tribe in various capacities, including as president of the council, until her retirement in 1972.

To learn more, click here

1950

FIRST MIXED GENDER JURY SINCE WYOMING’S STATEHOOD

Louise Spinner Graf made history as the first woman in Wyoming to serve as foreman of a jury since the state’s admission in 1890, with one minor exception in 1891.

She was joined by five other women—Donna Schultz, Kathryn Auld, Mrs. Dave Rauzi, Mrs. D.G. Marshall, and Mrs. John Wilde—marking the first time women had served on a jury in Wyoming in nearly 80 years!

Learn more by reading “Those Damn Women:” Louise Graf and Women on Wyoming Juries. 

Members of the 1950 jury that tried Otto Long in Green River, Wyo. Louise Graf, foreman, is second from right, front row.

1953 & 1955

FIRST WOMAN TO SERVE AS WYOMING STATE TREASURER
AND FIRST WOMAN TO SERVE AS WYOMING STATE AUDITOR

Minnie Mitchell was appointed Wyoming’s first woman State Treasurer in 1952 to fill the unexpired term of her late husband, J.R. Mitchell. She was later elected State Auditor and served three terms before retiring as State Treasurer in 1971. Prior to her public service, she was the first teacher in the then newly established town of Arminto.

Explore various records related to Minnie Mitchell’s career in public office, Wyoming politics, and items of personal interest to Ms. Mitchell, in the Minnie A. Mitchell Collection held in the Wyoming State Archives.

Minnie Mitchell<br />

1988

FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN TO SERVE IN THE WYOMING LEGISLATURE

Harriet Elizabeth Byrd was the first African American woman to serve in the Wyoming House, and then later became the first African American woman to serve in the Wyoming Senate. During her years in the Wyoming Legislature, Liz Byrd sponsored a bill to make Martin Luther King Day a state holiday nine times before a version adding “Wyoming Equality Day” to the holiday’s title was adopted in 1990.

To learn more, click here

1994

FIRST ASIAN INDIAN-AMERICAN WOMEN TO SERVE IN A STATE LEGISLATURE

Nimi McConigley was the first Asian Indian-American woman elected to a state legislature in the country. She served in Wyoming House of Representatives from 1994 to 1996, often wearing her traditional Sari on the House floor. Instead of running for another term in the state legislature, Nimi ran against Mike Enzi and John Barrasso for Alan Simpson’s vacated U.S. Senate seat. Nimi was also the first woman of color to run a TV news station in the United States.

To hear more of Nimi’s courageous story, listen to Lindsay Linton Buk’s podcast Women in Wyoming.

2000

FIRST WOMAN TO SERVE ON WYOMING’S SUPREME COURT

Marilyn Kite became the first woman to be appointed to Wyoming’s highest court as a Supreme Court Justice, and later as Wyoming’s first woman Chief Justice.

Hear her talk about she came to serve in Wyoming’s Supreme court, why she felt a woman should have occupied that position years earlier, and how more women can follow in her footsteps by listening to Lindsay Linton Buk’s podcast Women in Wyoming.

2010

FIRST WOMAN TO SERVE AS A JUDGE IN THE DISTRICT OF WYOMING

Nancy Freudenthal, former first lady of Wyoming, was confirmed by the US Senate to the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming. To learn more, click here.

Chief Judge Nancy Freudenthal of the US District Court for the District of Wyoming talks about her role as a federal judge and experiences during her time on the bench, and offers practical advice to litigators in View from the Bench: Chief Judge Nancy Freudenthal of the District of Wyoming by Practical Law Litigation.

2017

FIRST NATIVE AMERICAN TO SERVE IN WYOMING SENATE

Affie Ellis is the first Navajo and first Native American person to ever serve in the Wyoming State Senate. To learn more, click here.

“I THINK THERE ARE TALENTED PEOPLE ALL ACROSS THE STATE, BUT UNLESS AND UNTIL THERE’S AN OPEN SEAT, THEY DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT RUNNING. I CERTAINLY HOPE I NEVER START THINKING THAT WAY, BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN AND THEY WILL RISE UP.”

-Wyoming Senator Affie Ellis

Affie Ellis in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Photo from Women in Wyoming

2018

WYOMING GAINS WOMAN-MAJORITY SUPREME COURT

Kari Jo Gray joined the Wyoming Supreme Court in 2018, bringing it to a women-majority bench. There are five justices of the Wyoming Supreme Court, currently three of them are women. To learn more, click here.

2019

FIRST NORTHERN ARAPAHO WOMAN TO SERVE IN WYOMING LEGISLATURE

Andrea (Andi) LeBeau was the first Northern Arapaho woman to be elected to the Wyoming Legislature when she won in 2018. To learn more, click here.

“WE STILL HAVE A WAYS TO GO ON THE NATIONAL, STATE AND EVEN MY TRIBAL LEVEL FOR WOMEN TO BE EQUAL,” SHE SAID. “MY HOPE WOULD BE TO INSPIRE WOMEN AND MEN, GIRLS AND BOYS TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER, TO ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER TO GET PAST THE STIGMA OF A WOMAN BEING IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS.”

-Wyoming Representative Andi LeBeau

Mission: To invest in the economic self-sufficiency of women and opportunities for girls in Wyoming.

Contact Us

Phone: 307-721-8300
Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 am-5:00 pm
Address: 1472 N. 5th Street, Suite 201 Laramie, WY 82072

 

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