Morris, Esther Hobart, 1814-1902

Esther Morris, a key figure in Wyoming's suffrage movement, was born in Tioga County, N.Y. In 1841, Esther Morris married Artemus Slack; they had one son. Widowed in 1845, Morris moved to Peru, Ill., 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. For further information, see Notable American Women, 1607-1950 (1971).

From the description of Papers in the Woman's Rights Collection, 1869-1935 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 232008764

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