Adella M. Parker (variously spelled as Adele Parker, Adele Parker-Bennett, or Adela Parker) (1870 – April 8, 1956) was an American suffragist, politician, lawyer, journalist, and teacher who lived in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. She was a state representative for District 37 in Washington from 1935 to 1937. In 1909, she was the president of the Washington College League.

Early life and education

Parker was born in

Whitehall, Michigan Whitehall is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,706 at the 2010 census. The city is located in the southwest corner of Whitehall Township. Montague is its neighbor. It is located on White Lake (act ...

in 1870. She moved with her parents to Seattle. Parker went to law school at the University of Washington, from which she graduated in 1903 as the only woman in the class. She completed graduate work at the

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

and the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Career

In addition to practicing law, Parker taught political economics and government at Broadway High School. She was the executive secretary of the Seattle High School Teachers' League from 1931 to 1934. Parker was an advocate for municipal

good government Good government is a normative description of how government is supposed to be constituted. It has been frequently employed by various political thinkers, ideologues and politicians. Thomas Jefferson and good government Thomas Jefferson often r ...

and for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

. She was a member of the Women's Good Government League in Seattle and president of the Women's Suffrage League. She drafted a recall law and led a campaign for it to be adopted by Seattle city council as a charter amendment, eventually leading to the recall of Mayor Hiram Gill, who was accused of condoning gambling. It was noted by the media that Parker drafted the law and had it adopted before women acquired the right to vote. Parker married Charles Enoch Allen Bennett in 1921; the couple honeymooned in Siberia. From 1922 to 1923, Parker served as a Moscow correspondent for the

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

. Bennett died in 1929. From 1935 to 1937, Parker represented District 37, comprising

King County King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...

, in the Washington State House of Representatives. She was a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Death

Parker died on April 8, 1956, after a short illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Adella Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Women state legislators in Washington (state) 1956 deaths 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians People from Whitehall, Michigan University of Washington School of Law alumni Schoolteachers from Washington (state) 20th-century American educators American suffragists 20th-century American lawyers Activists from Washington (state) 20th-century American women lawyers 1870 births 20th-century American women educators