Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
Did you know that Utah was home to the first woman to cast a vote in America as well as the first female state senator? The Beehive State is full of rich history when it comes to exemplary women. Some you may have heard about, and others are only beginning to receive their long-due recognition.
Here are eight trailblazing women in Utah's history.
Martha Hughes Cannon (1857-1932)
Martha Hughes Cannon was a pioneering physician, suffragist and America's first female state senator. Born in Wales, "Mattie" came to Salt Lake City as a child with her family and other Mormon pioneers. After heading East to earn postgraduate medical and pharmacy degrees — a feat made more impressive by the fact that few medical schools at the time admitted women — Cannon became the first resident physician at Deseret Hospital and established a school for nurses.
Martha married Angus Cannon in 1884, and in 1896 was asked to run for Utah State Senate by the Democratic party. One of her opponents was her husband. Martha won the race decisively, becoming the country's first female state senator.
During her four years in office, Cannon took a special interest in public health. The National Women's History Museum says that Cannon wrote bills to start the Utah Health Department, improve sanitation, provide education for children with disabilities and was known as an effective and respected Senator. All this in a time before women were allowed to vote!
Mae Timbimboo Parry (1919-2007)
Utah native Mae Timbimboo Parry was an important voice for the Shoshone Indian Tribe. A survivor or the brutal Native American boarding school system of the 1920s, Parry began recording stories that were passed down from elders.
By writing down this important oral history — like her grandfather's experience at the Bear River Massacre — Parry was able to quite literally set the record straight on a dark moment in American history where innocent Shoshone people were slain. Parry's work and activism also led to her appointment to the White House Council for Indian Tribal Affairs.
Barbara Toomer (1929-2018)
Barbara Toomer became a disability advocate when she contracted polio and lost the use of her legs after giving birth to her first child in the 1950s. Toomer continued to live a full life despite her disability.
She co-founded the Utah Independent Living Center and organized nonviolent protests, or "crawl-ons" at the Utah Transit Authority to fight for wheelchair accessibility on public buses.
Toomer rallied and protested in Washington D.C. to support the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 and continued to fight for disability rights until her death in 2018 at age 88.
Olene Walker (1930–2015)
"I've always thought leadership was the ability to get things done," Olene Walker said in Susan Madsen's book Developing Leadership.
Olene Walker blazed a trail for women in Utah politics. Walker first served eight years in the Utah House of Representatives, then served as lieutenant governor under Gov. Mike Leavitt from 1993 to 2003. Walker became Utah's first (and only) female governor in 2003.
According to Utah Women's History, her legacy includes establishing programs to encourage early literacy skills and help children in foster care, legislation to protect Utah's watersheds and progress toward reforming Utah's tax code.
Alice Kasai (1916-2007)
Born in Seattle, Alice Kasai moved to Utah as a child when her family found work in the Latuda Mines. Alice married Henry Yoshihiko Kasai, and they became the first Japanese American family to live in the Avenues of Salt Lake City.
During World War II, Henry was arrested and sent to one of Utah's Japanese internment camps. Alice took over as the first female president of Salt Lake's Japanese American Citizens League and began lobbying for civil rights for Japanese immigrants. She fought for fair housing, employment, education and helped hundreds of Japanese American families who were relocated.
Alice and Henry Kasai founded the International Peace Gardens at Jordan Park. She continued to empower and advocate for civil rights throughout her life, accumulating many honors and awards.
Lucille Bankhead (1902-1994)
In 1939, a Utah state representative proposed a plan to segregate the city, relegating all black families into a designated ghetto. This petition even received thousands of signatures, according to the Utah Division of State History.
Lucille Bankhead, a prominent citizen and descendant of one of the first African American members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, drove a horse and wagon directly to the state legislature.
Along with members of her Arts & Crafts Club, Bankhead protested the law. Because of her efforts, black Utahns were able to stay in their homes. Bankhead went on to become Relief Society president of the Genesis Group, a support group for African American members of the Church.
Gail Miller (1943-)
Larry Miller began a business empire with the purchase of a car dealership in 1979. Upon his death in 2009, his wife Gail Miller took the reins of a dynasty that included ownership of the Utah Jazz and other businesses that employed thousands.
Under her smart leadership, the company's size and value doubled, amassing a fortune Forbes estimates at $4.2 billion dollars. Miller has become one of the state's foremost philanthropists, creating multiple foundations focused on education, humanitarian work and community outreach.
Miller serves on boards like Intermountain Health's Board of Trustees and the Utah Homeless Council and co-founded a nonpartisan nonprofit called Count My Vote to encourage voting.
Seraph Young
It's been more than 100 years since American women gained the right to vote. But women voted in Utah decades earlier, with Seraph Young being the very first. Young cast her vote in Salt Lake City on February 14, 1870, shortly after the Territory of Utah granted voting rights to women.
Her vote placed Utah at the forefront of women's suffrage and marked a pivotal moment in the national movement for women's rights, although it would be another 50 years before the 19th Amendment passed. You can learn more about Seraph Young in this 2020 KSL article.
Siegfried & Jensen
Since 1990, Siegfried & Jensen have been helping the people of Utah who have suffered needless injuries and death caused by car accidents, truck accidents, medical malpractice, defective drugs, dog bites, wrongful death, and other types of personal injury.
The firm is committed to keeping Utah families and communities safe by ensuring wrongdoers are held accountable. While a lawsuit isn't always the answer, having someone on your side can mean the difference between declaring bankruptcy and rebuilding your life, especially when you're up against an insurance company or a hospital.
Siegfried & Jensen has represented more than 35,000 clients and recovered over $1.2 billion for them.
