These are the first women to serve in each chamber of a state or territorial legislature, whether elected or appointed. Note that “Year” denotes the year a woman first served; in most cases, this means the year following a November election.
| |
House |
Senate |
| State |
Year |
Name |
Year |
Name |
| Alabama |
1923 |
Harriet Hooker Wilkins |
1983 |
Ann Bedsole
Frances Strong |
Alaska
(Territory) |
1936 |
Nell Scott |
1949 |
Anita Garnick |
Alaska
(State) |
1959 |
Helen Fischer
Blanche McSmith
Doris Sweeny |
1959 |
Irene Ryan
|
| Arizona |
1915 |
Rachel Emma Berry |
1915 |
Frances Willard Munds |
| Arkansas |
1922 |
Frances Matthew Jones Hunt |
1964 |
Dorathy Allen |
| California |
1919 |
Esto Broughton
Grace Dorris
Elizabeth Hughes
Anna Saylor |
1977 |
Rose Ann Vuich |
| Colorado |
1895 |
Clara Cressingham
Carrie Clyde Holly
Frances Klock |
1913 |
Helen Robinson |
| Connecticut |
1921 |
Emily Sophie Brown
Rev. Grace Edwards
Lillian Frink
Mary Hooker
Helen Jewett |
1925 |
Alice Merritt |
| Delaware |
1925 |
Florence Hanby |
1947 |
Vera Davis |
| Florida |
1929 |
Edna Giles Fuller |
1963 |
Beth Johnson |
| Georgia |
1923 |
Bessie Kempton
Viola Ross Napier |
1925 |
Margaret Johnson |
Hawaii
(Territory) |
1925 |
Rosalie Keliinoi |
1933 |
Elsie Wilcox |
Hawaii
(State) |
1959 |
Dorothy Devereux
Eureka Forbes |
1963 |
Patsy Mink |
| Idaho |
1899 |
Clara Campbell
Hattie Noble
Mary Wright |
1935 |
Margaret Bognet Pike |
| Illinois |
1923 |
Lottie Holman O’Neill |
1925 |
Florence Fifer Bohrer |
| Indiana |
1921 |
Julia Reynolds Nelson |
1943 |
Arcada Balz |
| Iowa |
1929 |
Carolyn Campbell Pendray |
1933 |
Carolyn Campbell Pendray |
| Kansas |
1919 |
Minnie Tamar Johnson Grinstead |
1929 |
Patricia Solander |
| Kentucky |
1922 |
Mary Elliott Flanery |
1950 |
Carolyn Moore |
| Louisiana |
1940 |
Doris Lindsey Holland
Beatrice Hawthorne Moore |
1936 |
Doris Lindsey Holland |
| Maine |
1923 |
Dora Pinkham |
1927 |
Katharine Allen
Claire Carter
Dora Pinkham |
| Maryland |
1922 |
Mary Risteau |
1935 |
Mary Risteau |
| Massachusetts |
1923 |
Sylvia Donaldson
Susan Fitzgerald |
1937 |
Sybil Holmes |
| Michigan |
1925 |
Cora Belle Reynolds Anderson |
1921 |
Eva McCall Hamilton |
| Minnesota |
1923 |
Myrtle Cain
Sue Metzger Dickey Hough
Hannah Jensen Kempfer
Mabeth Hurd Paige |
1927 |
Laura Johnson Naplin |
| Mississippi |
1924 |
Nellie Nugent Somerville |
1924 |
Carrie Belle Kearney |
| Missouri |
1923 |
Mellcene Smith
Sarah Lucille Turner |
1973 |
Mary Gant |
| Montana |
1917 |
Margaret Smith Hathaway
Emma Ingalls |
1945 |
Ellenore Bridenstine |
| Nebraska |
1925* |
Mabel Gillespie
Clara Humphrey
Sarah Muir |
1945 |
Nell Krause |
| Nevada |
1919 |
Sadie Hurst |
1935 |
Frances Friedhoff |
| New Hampshire |
1921 |
Jessie Doe
Dr. Mary Farnum |
1931 |
E. Maude Ferguson |
| New Jersey |
1921 |
Margaret Laird
Jennie Van Ness |
1966 |
Mildred Barry Hughes |
| New Mexico |
1923 |
Bertha Paxton |
1925 |
Louise Holland Coe |
| New York |
1919 |
Mary Lilly
Ida Sammis |
1935 |
Rhoda Fox Graves |
| North Carolina |
1921 |
Lillian Clement |
1931 |
Gertrude Dills McKee |
| North Dakota |
1923 |
Minnie Craig
Nellie Doughterty |
1951 |
Agnes Kjorlie Geelan |
| Ohio |
1923 |
Nettie Clapp
Lulu Gleason
Adelaide ott
May Van Wye |
1923 |
Nettie Loughead
Maude Waitt |
| Oklahoma |
1921 |
Bessie McColgin |
1921 |
Lamar Looney |
| Oregon |
1915 |
Marian Towne |
1915 |
Kathryn Clarke |
| Pennsylvania |
1923 |
Alice Bentley
Rosa DeYoung
Sarah McCune Gallaher
Helen Grimes
Sarah Gertrude MacKinney
Lillie Pitts
Martha Speiser
Martha Thomas |
1925 |
Flora Vare |
| Rhode Island |
1923 |
Isabelle Ahearn ONeill |
1929 |
Lulu Mowry Schlesinger |
| South Carolina |
1945 |
Harriet Johnson |
1929 |
Mary Ellis |
| South Dakota |
1923 |
Gladys Pyle |
1937 |
Jessie Sanders |
| Tennessee |
1923 |
Marion Scudder Griffin |
1921 |
Anna Lee Worley |
| Texas |
1923 |
Edith Wilmans |
1927 |
Margie Neal |
| Utah |
1897 |
Sarah Elizabeth Anderson
Eurithe LaBarthe |
1897 |
Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon |
| Vermont |
1921 |
Edna Beard |
1923 |
Edna Beard |
| Virginia |
1924 |
Sarah Lee Fain
Helen Henderson |
1980 |
Eva Mae Scott |
| Washington |
1913 |
Frances Axtell
Dr. Nena Jolidon Croake |
1923 |
Reba Hurn |
| West Virginia |
1923 |
Anna Johnston Gates |
1934 |
Hazel Edna Hyre |
| Wisconsin |
1925 |
Mildred Barber
Hellen Brooks
Helen Thompson |
1975 |
Kathryn Morrison |
| Wyoming |
1911 |
Mary Bellamy |
1931 |
Dora McGrath |
| |
|
|
|
|
American Samoa
(Territory) |
1953 |
Zilpher Jennings
Mabel Reid |
|
|
Guam
(Territory) |
|
Unicameral |
1955 |
Cynthia Torres |
Northern Mariana
Islands (territory) |
2006 |
Maria Frica Pangelinan |
1978 |
Felicidad Ogumoro |
Puerto Rico
(Territory) |
1933 |
Maria Luisa Arcelay De La Rosa |
1937 |
Maria Martinez De Perez Almiroty |
U.S. Virgin Islands
(Territory) |
|
Unicameral |
1955 |
Lucinda Millin |
| |
|
|
|
|
* The Nebraska Legislature had two chambers until 1936.
Source: "Women State and Territorial Legislators, 1895-1995," by Elizabeth M. Cox; McFarland & Company Inc., 1996.
Please contact us with any questions or corrections.