Maggie B. Wheeler

Maggie B. Wheeler was elected County Clerk of St. Clair County, Missouri in 1896. Wheeler was the Republican candidate and won over 95% of the vote in the county. Her election was soon challenged in the courts by her opponent, Mr. F. Hostetter. Hostetter had been appointed to the office of county clerk in October 1896 when Wheeler's husband, then the incumbent died in office. The state attorney general supported Maggie Wheeler in her right to the office of county clerk, and the state supreme court decided in her favor. They ruled that the state constitution that women could serve in the office, even if women couldn't vote for the candidates themselves.