Ina Phillips Williams (February 24, 1876 - March 23, 1934) was an American politician who served as a member of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

from 1917 to 1919. She represented Washington's 20th legislative district as a Republican.

Early life and education

Williams was born Ina May Phillips in

Tuscumbia, Missouri Tuscumbia is a village in and the county seat of Miller County, Missouri, United States. The population was 203 at the 2010 census, at which time it was a town. History Tuscumbia was laid out in 1837. The community's name most likely is a transfe ...

on February 24, 1876. When she was 10, she was orphaned and moved with her siblings to live with an uncle in Prosser, Washington. By the age of 15, she had begun teaching school. In 1897, at the age of 20 or 21, she married Wallis B. Williams, a Yakima Valley

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

ist. The 1910 census recorded five children (daughters aged 11, 8, 6, and 4, and a one-year-old son), as well as a servant. Wallis is listed as a milling company manager.

Political career

Williams won election to the state House of Representatives and represented the 20th District as a Republican for one term, from 1917 to 1919.

Third party politics

Before and after finding electoral success as a Republican, Williams was engaged in liberal third party politics. She was a delegate for

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

to the

1912 Progressive National Convention The 1912 Progressive National Convention was held in August 1912. Angered at the renomination of President William Howard Taft over their candidate at the 1912 Republican National Convention, supporters of former President Theodore Roosevelt con ...

. She also served on the national executive committee of the

Committee of 48 The Committee of 48 was an American liberal political association established in 1919 in the hope of creating a new political party for social reform to stand in opposition to the increasingly conservatism of both major U.S. political parties, t ...

, a liberal political association founded in 1919, with the ultimately unsuccessful hope of launching a third political party in opposition to increasingly conservative Republican and Democratic politics. In August, 1920, she represented the Farmer-Labor Party in a "triangular political discussion" alongside congressional candidate E.K. Brown (representing the Republicans) and the honorable J.J. Miller representing the Democrats. The event in Wapato drew "an immense crowd from all parts of Yakima County."

Personal life

Williams was an enthusiastic gardener, even helping found gardening clubs around the Yakima Valley. She also served as president of the Yakima Woman's Century Club, an organization founded in 1894 as the Woman's Club that furthered women's civic, social, and literary engagement. The 1920 census lists Wallis as a fruit farmer. Neither the 1910 nor 1920 census lists an occupation for Ina, and her death certificate says she was a housewife for 30 years.

Death and legacy

Williams died of metastatic breast cancer on March 23, 1934, at the age of 58. She is buried at Tahoma Cemetery in Yakima.

References

External links

Yakima Woman's Century Club
* Central Washington Universit
biography podcast
on Williams
1917 publication
from the Washington Secretary of State showing Williams as a 1919 Republic primary candidate for Congress from the Fourth Congressional District, and successful election results (from 1916 or 1918?) for state House
Google Books result
showing unsuccessful run for state legislature as Progressive
Google Books result
with some history of Williams's house and a meeting there with

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Ina Phillips 1876 births 1934 deaths Republican Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Women state legislators in Washington (state) People from Miller County, Missouri Politicians from Yakima, Washington Central Washington University alumni Washington (state) Progressives (1912) Washington (state) Farmer–Laborites 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American women politicians