Esther Morris, a key figure in Wyoming's woman suffrage movement, was born in Tioga County, New York. In 1841, Morris married Artemus Slack; they had one son. Widowed in 1845, Morris moved to Peru, Illinois, where she married John Morris. In 1869 the family moved to the gold rush camp of South Pass City in the Wyoming Territory. There, Morris helped to influence legislator William H. Bright to introduce a woman suffrage bill, which passed on December 10, 1869, and was signed into law shortly thereafter.
In 1870, Morris was appointed justice of the peace in South Pass City, becoming the first woman to hold that office. The following year, she left office and moved to Laramie. Morris left Wyoming in 1873 and spent some time in New York State. By 1890, she had returned to Wyoming. She lived in Cheyenne until her death at the age of 87.
