Watkins, Elvira

In 1899 Elvira Watkins was elected to the Beattie, Marshall County (Kansas) city council. The mayor, city clerk, and other council members elected this year were all women. In its August 13, 1899 article, "Women Rule in Kansas," the New York Times reported that the women were pressed to run because the streets were untended, and saloons and gambling houses were open in defiance of the law. Women could vote in municipal elections in Kansas at this time.