1184: Laura Eisenhuth Alming
The First Woman to Win an Election for State Office in the United States
Born: 29 May 1859, Blenheim, Ontario, Canada
Died: 20 September 1937, Medford, Oregon, United States of America
Laura was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction in North Dakota in 1892. She ran for office once again in 1894.
When Laura was a young toddler, her family moved to Iowa in the United States. She went on to earn some college credits before starting a job as a teacher at a local high school.
In the summer of 1885, Laura moved to what was then the Dakota Territory in the Northern United States. Laura laid claim to a deed of land that totaled 160 acres. For the next two years, Laura taught in Iowa during the school year but spent her summers in what is now North Dakota.
Laura’s first husband was also a teacher, but he moved to the Dakota Territory to open a drugstore instead of teaching. Around this same time, Laura began teaching in the Dakota Territory. Her first year she had eighty students in a one-room schoolhouse. Luckily for her, the town hired an assistant for her the next year.
In 1889, she was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction for Foster County. During her time in that office, Laura oversaw the creation of several institutions for teacher-training, in the hopes of improving the public education system in the county.
When Laura was elected to state office in 1892, women in North Dakota could only vote on school-related issues. Laura was a champion for further training for teachers, as well as improving hygiene within the schools and adding fencing to school curriculum.
Laura’s husband became very ill, and Laura resigned her position as Superintendent in order to care for him further. She became a teacher and later assistant principal at a local high school instead.
Laura’s husband passed away in 1902. Five years later, Laura remarried and moved with her new husband to Oregon, where she spent the rest of her life in relative quiet.
Badges Earned:
Find a Grave Marked
Sources:
https://chalkboardchampions.org/north-dakotas-laura-eisenhuth-alming-teacher-pioneer-politician/
https://herhat.historyit.com/items/view/project/1132/search
https://cawp.rutgers.edu/node/3105
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58191141/laura-j-eisenhuth_alming