Florence Elizabeth Smith Knapp (March 25, 1875 – October 26, 1949) was an American politician who was the first woman elected to a state cabinet office in New York state.

Biography

She was born March 25, 1875, in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, as Florence Elizabeth Smith. She was a descendant of Ebenezer Hancock, librarian of Harvard University and brother of John Hancock. She married Philip Schuyler Knapp (died 1913). In 1920,

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

awarded her the honorary degree of Bachelor of Science in education. She was a delegate to the

1920 Republican National Convention The 1920 Republican National Convention nominated Ohio Senator Warren G. Harding for president and Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge for vice president. The convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, at the Chicago Coliseum from June 8 to J ...

, and an alternate delegate to the

1924 Republican National Convention Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

. She was Secretary of State of New York from 1925 to 1927, elected in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

. After leaving office, she was accused of maladministration, and resigned her post as dean of the College of Home Economics at Syracuse University. In June 1928, she was convicted of grand larceny in office. During the taking of New York's 1925 census, Florence Knapp had put her stepdaughter's name on the payroll, then received the stepdaughter's checks herself, forged the endorsements, and spent the money on clothes. She died at the Marcy State Hospital in Marcy, New York, on October 26, 1949.

Legacy

She was the last Secretary of State of New York elected to the office. After the reorganisation of the state administration during the governorship of

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...

, the office became appointive, and has remained so to date. She remained the only woman elected to a statewide office in New York for fifty years, until the election of

Mary Anne Krupsak Mary Anne Krupsak (born March 26, 1932) is an American lawyer and politician from New York (state), New York. She was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1975 to 1978. She was the first woman to hold the office. Early life She was born on Marc ...

Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket wit ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

Biography

Legacy

References

Further reading