Sadie Dotson Hurst (July 27, 1857 – January 17, 1952) was an American politician who served as a member of the
Nevada Assembly
The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year terms from single-member district ...
, the first woman elected to the
Nevada Legislature
The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislatur ...
.
Early life
Sadie Dotson was born in
Iowa
Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
in 1857.
Horton and her family relocated to
Reno, Nevada
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is th ...
in the early-1900s.
Career
Endorsed by the ''
Nevada State Journal'',
she was the first woman elected to the
Nevada Legislature
The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislatur ...
(
R-
Washoe).
When the legislature met in special session on February 7, 1919 to ratify the
Federal Suffrage Amendment, it was Hurst who presented the resolution. She had a further distinction of being the first woman to preside over a state Legislature during the ratification of the Federal Suffrage Amendment.
At the time, she was not only Nevada's first assemblywoman but also its only one, having been picked by the Women Citizens' Club of Reno, to bring women into the legislature.
She also was the member of the Nevada Legislature who presented the bill to raise the age of consent for girls from 16 to 18, a bill which passed both houses and was signed by the Governor.
Hurst lost her 1920 bid for re-election, and eventually moved to
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
with her sons, where they established a manufacturing plant in
Escondido.
Personal life
While still in Iowa, Hurst had two children with her husband, Horton Hurst. Hurst died in
Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
...
in 1952.
See also
*
Jeannette Rankin
Jeannette Pickering Rankin (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) was an American politician and women's rights advocate who became the first woman to hold federal office in the United States in 1917. She was elected to the U.S. House of Represent ...
References
1857 births
1952 deaths
Republican Party members of the Nevada Assembly
Women state legislators in Nevada
People from Iowa
Politicians from Reno, Nevada
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