Mary Zeola Hershey Misener (October 22, 1878 – October 30, 1966) was an Indiana

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

and politician. She was the first woman elected to state legislature from her district and one of the first in the state.

Early life

Mary Zeola Hershey was born October 22, 1878 in

West Salem, Ohio West Salem is a village in Wayne County, Ohio. The population was 1,464 at the time of the 2010 census. West Salem is served by a branch of the Wayne County Public Library. The noted drag racing track Dragway 42 is located nearby. History Wes ...

to John and Carrie Stephenson Hershey. She attended the United Brethren College in

Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin and Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, the population was 39,190 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

and King's School of Oratory in

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, Pennsylvania.

Political career

Hershey Misener was a feminist and suffragist who helped organize Indiana's League of Women Voters and for several years served as vice-president. She spoke at the League's 1926 regional convention. She was elected to the

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. Th ...

in 1928, the first woman to be elected from her district and one of the first in the state. She was one of three women in the Indiana State House in the 1928—1930 term. Charles Roll in his 1931 history of Indiana called her "one of the prominent Republican women of the state." While in the legislature, Hershey Misener "was a leader in several stirring political battles."

Voter registration law

Hershey Misener first achieved notoriety in March 1929 when, as a freshman member of the General Assembly, she sponsored Indiana's first voter registration law and blocked a Senate effort to kill it. She appeared uninvited on the floor of the

Indiana Senate The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year term ...

during a "midnight session" while some senators were claiming the governor had requested they recall the bill. She asked on whose authority members of the Senate had stated that the governor had asked for reconsideration of the bill, saying, "I have just come from the governor's office, and I am informed that he has not asked this move." Then-Lieutenant Governor Edgar D. Bush ruled her out of order. She said, "That's all right. I've said everything I want to say anyhow," and left the floor to applause. After her departure, when the lieutenant governor refused to address her comments, a group of senators staged a walkout. When the Senate requested the General Assembly to recall the bill, Hershey Misener told the General Assembly, "You can kill this bill if you want to, but if you do the Republican party will be to blame."

Personal life

Hershey Misener married ''Michigan City News'' publisher Herbert Roy Misener in Chicago on February 6, 1906. They had two children, Dorothy Louise, who became an influential newspaperwoman, and Richard Hershey, who founded a major marine construction firm in

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. Hershey Misener lived with her husband and family in Michigan City, Indiana; she and her husband later moved to

. She was widowed in 1945. She died October 30, 1966 in St. Petersburg at age 88 and is buried in Greenwood cemetery in La Porte County, Indiana.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Misener, Zeola Hershey 1878 births 1966 deaths People from Michigan City, Indiana People from West Salem, Ohio Politicians from St. Petersburg, Florida Otterbein University alumni Women state legislators in Indiana Republican Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives American suffragists