Elected County Clerk Before Women Could Vote

Carthage Courthouse

Jasper County, Missouri

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Margot and Heather travel to Carthage, Missouri’s Jasper County Courthouse, a striking historic building connected to an unusual moment in the history of women and public office. They speak with Jasper County Clerk and former Missouri State Representative, Charlie Davis, who shares the story of Annie White Baxter, who in 1890 was elected Jasper County Clerk—decades before women had the right to vote in Missouri. Her victory meant that an all-male electorate chose a woman to hold one of the county’s most important administrative offices, an extraordinary outcome for its time.

 
  • “Emily Newell Blair.” McMillen, Margot Ford and Heather Roberson. 2004. Into the Spotlight: Four Missouri Women. University of Missouri Press.

    Laas, Virginia Jeans. 1999. Bridging Two Eras: The Autobiography of Emily Newell Blair. University of Missouri Press.

    McMillen, Margot. The Golden Lane: How Missouri Women Gained the Vote and Changed History. Charleston: History Press. 2011.

    Christenson, Lawrence O. 1999. Dictionary of Missouri Biography. University of Missouri Press.

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