From collection Candidates
On November 4, 1873 Nettie M. Sinclair was elected Kankakee County, Illinois Superintendent of Schools for a four year term. She and eight other Illinois women were selected to run for this office following the enactment of state legislation earlier that year allowing single and married women, twenty-one and older, to hold any office under the general or special school laws in the state. Legislation to permit women to hold office or pursue professions had been lobbied by several reformers including Chicago attorney and publishing businesswoman Myra Bradwell [see Bradwell v. Illinois, 83 U.S. 36 (1873)]. After holding office, Sinclair married William F. Kenaga, a Republican, on October 26, 1882 with whom she had two daughters. She was a member of the State Teachers Association.
