From collection Candidates
Frances Willard, educator and beloved leader of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union was nominated by the Republican party of Illinois for the office State Superintendent of Schools. Willard received the majority of delegate votes on the first ballot at the 1874 Illinois Republican convention. It was the first year that women in the state were eligible to be elected to school offices. Her name was withdrawn on the second ballot. At the time of the nomination Willard was Dean of Women at Northwestern University.
