Justice of the Peace at South Pass City, February 14, 1870. This was the first time in the history of the world that any woman had held judicial office. During her administration, she tried seventy cases, none of which were ever taken to a higher court. A lawyer practicing in her court said, "Although her decisions were by no means popular, they were regarded as just."
Likewise, the first woman in the world to serve as bailiff of a court was Mary Symons-Boies-Atkinson, of Laramie, who served in this capacity during the entire sessions of the grand and petit juries at Laramie in 1870.
Wyoming also claims the honor of having the first woman voter in a general election—Mrs. Eliza A. Swain, "a gentle, white-haired housewife, Quakerish in appearance", who was a great favorite in the town of Laramie. She was en route to a neighbor's for yeast and stopped in early at the polls. Those in charge thought that because of her interest, her age and her early arrival that it would be a great honor to bestow on her, should they allow her to be the first voter. The opinion being unanimous, the polls were opened earlier than the hour set and she cast the first ballot. Those interested afterwards made investigation while there were still living many persons who had participated in the elections throughout the territory and the evidence secured confirmed the statements of the Laramie election officials.
The record of Wyoming women in public office is a splendid one—in many instances they have been the first to serve in their individual offices in the United States, and in this connection, we mention Governor Nellie Tayloe Ross, the first woman Governor of Wyoming as well as of the United States.
Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain west has been termed "the last frontier", so the women of Wyoming can well be termed "pioneers", as many of the generation that settled the country and helped to make it safe from the depredations of the Indians and outlaws, still live there, and the memory of many more is fresh in the minds of the people of Wyoming, who have ever given to their women full credit for their part in making it one of the most progressive of our states, "Out Where the West Begins.'"
208
