Alice Pattison Merritt (May 13, 1876 – October 17, 1950) was an American politician who was the first woman to be elected to the

Connecticut State Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sena ...

, in 1924. Reelected in 1926, she served in the senate from 1925 to 1929.

Early life

Merritt was born Alice Virginia Pattison in

Simsbury, Connecticut Simsbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, incorporated as Connecticut's 21st town in May 1670. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 24,517 in the 2020 census. History Early history At ...

, on May 13, 1876, and graduated from Hartford High School in 1895. She worked in insurance until 1903 when she married Joseph Merritt, future president of Hartford Special Machinery Company, which specialized in blueprints. During World War I in 1918, she served as a lieutenant of the Hartford Chapter of the

American Red Cross Motor Corps American Red Cross Motor Corps (also known as American Red Cross Motor Service) was founded in 1917 by the American Red Cross (ARC). The service was composed of women and it was developed to render supplementary aid to the United States Army, U.S. ...

. She was evidently independent enough to drive when most women did not.

Political career

A Republican, Merritt represented Connecticut's 2nd Senate District, which at that time comprised the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth wards of the city of

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. In February 1925, Merritt became the first woman to preside over a Connecticut State Senate session. She served on the Education, Capital House and Grounds, and Federal Regulations Committees and chaired the Committee on Humane Institutions. She was a member of the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

. Merritt opposed welfare and other forms of government intervention, voting against a child labor law and strongly supporting President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

. She cited her husband as her "wisest adviser." While engaged in politics, she was invited to speak at many local and national Republican meetings, including ones in Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York.

Civic service

Merritt was active in the Republican Party and the

Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, a year after she ...

, in addition to singing contralto in church choir. She served on the Republican state central committee and co-founded and served as commissioner of the Hartford Council of Girl Scouts. In 1929, she was appointed New England regional chair of the Girl Scouts and was elected to the board of directors of the national organization in 1943. Camp Alice P. Merritt in

Hartland, Connecticut Hartland is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,901 at the 2020 census. The rural town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region and forms the northwestern border of Hartford County. Currently, the t ...

, was named in her honor. Merritt remained active in civic affairs after leaving office. In 1949, she was serving as a trustee of the

Connecticut Valley Hospital Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown, Connecticut, is a public hospital operated by the state of Connecticut to treat people with mental illness. It was historically known as Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane. It is a historic ...

. That same year, she was the inaugural recipient of a civil leadership award from the Hartford chapter of the B'nai B'rith Women. The

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

named a women's dormitory in her honor.

Personal life

Merritt died suddenly while shopping in Hartford on October 17, 1950. Her husband had died in January 1950. She was survived by children Robert, Philip, and Virginia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merritt, Alice Pattison 1876 births 1950 deaths People from Simsbury, Connecticut Politicians from Hartford, Connecticut Republican Party Connecticut state senators Women state legislators in Connecticut 20th-century American women politicians Girl Scouts of the USA people 20th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly