Bailey, Consuelo Northrop, 1899-1976

Consuelo Northrop was born in Fairfield, Vermont, October 10, 1899. Consuelo graduated from St. Albans High School in 1917, at which time she, her sisters, and their Mother moved to Burlington, where she attended the University of Vermont. She graduated in 1921, and taught for one year in the Shelburne School. In the fall of 1922, Consuelo began her law studies at Boston University, graduating with an L.L.B. in 1925. Consuelo returned to Burlington and prepared for the Vermont Bar Exam while working in the legal office of Alfred Sherman.

In 1925, she became the first woman to serve as Burlington City Grand Juror. In the fall of 1926, she was elected States Attorney, and served two terms from 1927-31. From 1931-37, she was the personal secretary to Ernest W. Gibson, Sr. At the same time, she served as State Senator from Chittenden County from 1931-33, and later as State Representative for South Burlington 1951-55. In 1953, she became the first Speaker of the House in Vermont who was a woman. In 1953, she was appointed by President Eisenhower to the U.S. Post Office Advisory Board. In 1954, she was elected Lieutenant Governor, the first woman in any state to be elected to this position. Consuelo passed her bar exams in the fall of 1925. She was admitted to the Vermont Supreme Court in 1926, the United States District Court in 1927, United States Supreme Court in 1933 (the first woman from Vermont to be so), and the United States Customs Court in 1942.

In 1940, Consuelo married Henry Albon Bailey, who had a legal practice in Burlington. Together they began a legal firm, Bailey & Bailey. However Albon became ill in 1941, was soon diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and Consuelo took over sole responsibility for the firm. Albon died in 1961.

Throughout most of her life, Consuelo was active in the Republican Party. She was a member of Town, County, and State Republican Committees. In 1936, she was elected a National Committeewoman from Vermont, a position she held for 37 years until her retirement in 1973. She was elected as a Vermont Delegate to National Conventions, in 1936 and 1944. She was a Presidential Elector twice, in 1956 and 1972. She was elected Vice Chairman of National Committee in 1952, and the Chairman of the Committee on Call at the National Republican Convention in 1960. She served on several committees during her time with the Republican National Committee. After her retirement from the Republican National Committee in 1973, Consuelo worked on her autobiography, Leaves Before the Wind: the Autobiography of Vermont’s Own Daughter, which she finished but did not see published. Consuelo died September 9, 1976.