Nellie Cline Steenson (December 7, 1885 - April 1, 1984) was an American politician and lawyer who served in the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

, Idaho House of Representatives and Idaho Senate. A Democrat, she was the elected county attorney of Pawnee County, Kansas before her 1920 election to the Kansas House of Representatives, where she served two terms. Moving to

Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...

in 1935, she entered Idaho politics in 1942 and was the first woman elected to the Idaho Senate. She served a total of eight terms in the Idaho Legislature. Senator Steenson was the first woman to argue a case before the Kansas Supreme Court. A graduate of Baker University in

Baldwin City, Kansas Baldwin City is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States, about south of Lawrence. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,826. The city is home to Baker University, the state's oldest four-year university. History ...

and a native of

Larned, Kansas Larned is a city in and the county seat of Pawnee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,769. History Larned was laid out in 1873. The first post office was established at Larned in 1872. The c ...

, she was part of the second group of women to serve in the Kansas House of Representatives, serving with Rep. Minnie J. Grinstead, Rep.

Minnie Minnich Minnie Minnich (January 26, 1889 - February 28, 1941) was an American politician who served one term in the Kansas House of Representatives representing the 69th District in Sumner County, Kansas. A social worker and resident of Wellington, Kansa ...

and Rep.

Ida Walker Ida Walker (February 22, 1876 - June 18, 1968) was an American politician, educator and journalist who served two terms as a member of the Kansas House of Representatives as the representative of the 101st District in Norton County, Kansas. A Repub ...

. During her tenure in the

Kansas Legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...

, she authored the state's first law providing protections to farm labor. During her tenure in the Idaho Legislature she passed legislation to provide pensions for retired police officers and firefighters and worked to promote the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

. 1921-1922 Kansas House of Representatives Committee Assignments * Education * Irrigation * Judiciary * State Institutions 1923-1924 Kansas House of Representatives Committee Assignments * Agriculture * Buildings and Grounds * Education * Judiciary

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cline Steenson, Nellie 1885 births 1984 deaths Democratic Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Idaho House of Representatives Democratic Party Idaho state senators People from Pawnee County, Kansas People from Pocatello, Idaho Baker University alumni Women state legislators in Kansas Women state legislators in Idaho Kansas lawyers Idaho lawyers 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century Idaho politicians