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Sunday, November 14, 2010

Oregon Women Candidates for Statewide Office 1914-1920 (Including Esther Pohl Lovejoy)

Thanks to dedicated archivists and librarians at the Oregon State Library and Oregon State Archives, we can now use the lists of state office campaign expenditures to track women candidates.
This week I'm honored to be making a presentation to the Mary Leonard Law Society, the Marion County chapter of Oregon Women Lawyers on early women candidates and office holding before and after the achievement of suffrage.
So, from the campaign expenditure reports, here is the list of women candidates who ran for state offices from 1914-1920 -- from the first state election after the achievement of full voting rights in Oregon to 1920, when Esther Pohl Lovejoy made her bid for U.S. Congress from Oregon's Third District.
Two, Manche Langley and Celia Gavin, were lawyers and Marian Towne studied law for a term. Cora Talbot and Esther Lovejoy were both physicians. Socialist, Progressive Party and Prohibition candidates joined Republicans and Democrats in this Progressive Era election period.
Not many achieved victory. But locating them is an important step to understanding the full range of women's efforts to exercise the full range of citizenship rights through office holding.
This list does not include the many, many local races that will yield more important perspectives in this broad field of study.
But for now, here are the women who ran for state office in Oregon from 1914-1920:

1914
Primary Election May 15, 1914

For Representative, Eighth Representative District
Marian B. Towne, Jackson County, Democratic

For Representative, Eighteenth Representative District
Cora C. Talbott, Multnomah County, Democratic
Mrs. L. (Lizzie) Gee, Multnomah County, Progressive
Maria L. T. Hidden, Multnomah County, Progressive
Lora Cornelia Little, Multnomah County, Progressive

General Election, November 3, 1914
                                                 
For Superintendent of Public Instruction
Flora I. Foreman, Columbia County, Socialist

For Representative, First Representative District
Mrs. Fannie M. Penn, Marion County, Independent
Mrs. Z. A. (Zanana) Rosebraugh, Marion County, Independent

For Representative, Eighth Representative District
Marian B. Towne, Jackson County, Democratic-Progressive -- Elected

For Representative, Eighteenth Representative District
Cora C. Talbott, Multnomah County, Democratic
Mrs. L. (Lizzie) Gee, Multnomah County, Progressive
Maria L. T. Hidden, Multnomah County, Progressive
Lora Cornelia Little, Multnomah County, Progressive
Lucia Faxton Addition, Multnomah County, Prohibition
Mrs. Mary L. Mallett, Multnomah County, Prohibition
Sadie Althouse, Multnomah County, Socialist

(Note: Kathryn Clarke, Douglas County, Republican won a special election in January 1915 for Senator, Fifth Senatorial District)

1916
Primary Election May 19, 1916

For Delegates to National Conventions – State at Large
Bertha Mason (Mrs. G.L.) Buland, Multnomah County, Republican
Helen I. Tomlinson, Multnomah County, Democratic

For Representative, First Representative District
Mrs. Alice H. Page, Marion County, Republican
Mrs. Hattie Cameron, Marion County, Democratic
Mrs. W. A. Chapman, Marion County, Democratic

For Representative, Eighth Representative District
Marian B. Towne, Jackson County, Democratic

For Representative, Eleventh Representative District
Mrs. Ella J. Metzger, Polk County, Republican

For Representative, Fifteenth Representative District
Manche Langley, Washington County, Democratic

For Representative, Eighteenth Representative District
Mrs. Maria L. T. Hidden, Democratic
Mrs. June Nissen, Multnomah County, Democratic
Mattie M. Sleeth, Multnomah County, Democratic

For Representative, Twenty-ninth Representative District
Sylvia McGuire (Mrs. Alexander) Thompson, Wasco County (party not listed here)


General Election, November 7, 1916

For Electors of President and Vice-President
M. Frances Swope, Multnomah County, Prohibition
Selma J. McCone, Multnomah County, Socialist

For Representative, First Representative District
Mrs. Hattie Cameron, Marion County, Democratic
Mrs. W. A. Chapman, Marion County, Democratic

For Representative, Eighth Representative District
Marian B. Towne, Jackson County, Democratic

For Representative, Fifteenth Representative District
Manche I. Langley, Washington County, Democratic

For Representative, Eighteenth Representative District
Mrs. Maria L. T. Hidden, Democratic
Mattie M. Sleeth, Multnomah County, Democratic-Prohibition
Mary L. Mallett, Multnomah County, Prohibition
Katherine Brandes, Multnomah County, Socialist
Ina Coleman, Multnomah County, Socialist

For Representative, Twenty-fourth Representative District
Bessie Baird, Wallowa County, Socialist

For Representative, Twenty-ninth Representative District
Mrs. Alexander Thompson, Wasco County, Democratic--Elected

1918
Primary Election, May 17, 1918

For Representative in Congress, Third District
Maria L.T. Hidden, Multnomah County, Democratic

For Representative, Eighteenth Representative District
Mrs. Alice McNaught, Multnomah County, Democratic

For Representative, Twenty-third Representative District
Ella Terpening, Umatilla County, Democratic

For Representative, Twenty-ninth Representative District
Mrs. Alexander Thompson, Wasco County, Democratic--Elected

General Election, November 5, 1918

For United States Senator in Congress, To fill vacancy in term ending March 4, 1919
Martha E. Bean, Malheur County, Socialist

For State Treasurer
Pauline Sears, Malheur County, Socialist

For Superintendent of Public Instruction
Inez Augusta Lusk, Coos County, Socialist

For Representative, Eighteenth Representative District
Alice M. McNaught, Multnomah County, Democratic
Maria L.T. Hidden, Multnomah County, Prohibition
Ada Wallace Unruh, Multnomah County, Prohibition-National
Emma Wold, Multnomah County, National
Alvina Hagen, Multnomah County, Socialist
Julia Jackson, Multnomah County, Socialist

For Representative, Twenty-third Representative District
Ella Terpening, Umatilla County, Democratic

For Representative, Twenty-ninth Representative District
Mrs. Alexander Thompson, Wasco County, Democratic -- Elected


1920
Primary Election, May 21, 1920

For Delegate to the National Convention – State at Large:
Maria L.T. Hidden, Multnomah County, Democratic -- Elected

For Delegate to the National Convention, Third Congressional District
Ethel (Mrs. F.O.) Northrup, Multnomah County, Republican -- Elected
Alice M. McNaught, Multnomah County, Democratic
Bessie M. Richards, Multnomah County, Democratic -- Elected

For Electors of President and Vice-President of the United States
Harriet C. Hendee, Multnomah County, Republican
Celia Gavin, Wasco County, Democratic

For Representative in Congress, Third District
Esther Lovejoy, Multnomah County, Democrat
Mrs. Alexander Thompson, Multnomah County, Democrat

For Commissioner of the Public Service Commission of Oregon, District Composed of the Counties Lying East of the Cascade Mountains
Rhea Luper, Morrow County, Republican

For Representative, Nineteenth Representative District
Mary Strong (Mrs. William S.) Kinney, Clatsop County, Republican

For Representative, Twenty-sixth Representative District
Kathleen W. Kivett, Baker County, Republican


General Election November 2, 1920

For Presidential Electors
Mary H. Jewitt, Lane County, Prohibition

For Representative in Congress, Third District
Esther Pohl Lovejoy, Multnomah County, Democratic-Prohibition

For State Senator, Twelfth Senatorial District
Emma Rayner, Clackamas County, Socialist

For Representative, Nineteenth Representative District
Mary Strong (Mrs. William S.) Kinney, Clatsop County, Republican -- Elected

Oregon Secretary of State, Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Oregon to the Twenty-Eighth Legislative Assembly, Regular Session, 1915, for the Biennial Period Beginning October 1, 1912, Ending September 30, 1914 (Salem: State Printer, 1915), 89-102; Oregon Secretary of State, Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Oregon to the Twenty-Ninth Legislative Assembly, Regular Session, 1917, for the Biennial Period Beginning October 1, 1914, Ending September 30, 1916 (Salem: State Printer, 1917), 107-126; Oregon Secretary of State, Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Oregon to the Thirtieth Legislative Assembly, Regular Session, 1919, For the Biennial Period Beginning October 1, 1916, Ending September 30, 1918 (Salem: State Printer, 1919), 68-79; Oregon Secretary of State, Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Oregon to the Thirty-first Legislative Assembly, Regular Session, 1921, For the Biennial Period Beginning October 1, 1918, Ending September 30, 1920 (Salem: State Printer, 1921), 82-98.