Julia D. Nelson (December 11, 1863 – May 27, 1936) was an American politician elected to the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...

in 1921, the first woman elected to the

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Sena ...

Early life

Nelson was born in

Mooresville, Indiana Mooresville is a town in Brown Township, Morgan County, Indiana, Brown Township, Morgan County, Indiana, Morgan County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The town is notable for being where the current flag of Indiana was created. As of the 2020 Unite ...

. She moved to

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

around 1887, and then to Muncie around 1903. Nelson attended common schools and high school. She was married to Edward F. Nelson, with whom she had three children. Nelson was Chair of the Delaware County Republican Women in 1920. She was active in the

suffrage movement Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

, the Eastern Star, and the State Assembly Women's Club. Nelson returned to Indianapolis in 1923.

Career

Nelson was elected to the

in 1921, representing Delaware County. Her first speech in office addressed the care of poor parents by their children. While in office, Nelson supported legislation to regulate the hours of women in industry, and to establishing a state probation officer. She also supported a poll tax for women, and increased salaries for legislators. Nelson introduced a bill supporting movie censorship.

Later life

Her husband Edward died in 1923. Julia D. Nelson died in Indianapolis on May 27, 1936.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Julia D. Republican Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives Women state legislators in Indiana People from Mooresville, Indiana 1863 births 1936 deaths 20th-century members of the Indiana General Assembly 20th-century American women politicians