From collection Candidates
Elizabeth S. Cooke was elected to the office of County Superintendent of Common Schools in Warren county, Iowa in 1875. One of her opponents John A. Huff brought a suit, claiming that Cooke was ineligible for the office on account of her sex. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in early 1877, that Cooke was entitled to hold office, as the state legislature had passed a law in 1875 allowing women to hold educational county offices in the state.
