Dora Hall Stockman (August 4, 1872May 25, 1948) was an American politician who served as a member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

for four terms from 1939 to 1946. In 1919, she was elected to the State Board of Agriculture, making her the first woman in Michigan to hold statewide office.

Biography

Stockman was born Eudora Hall on August 4, 1872, to Leander L. and Lucy J. Hall, in Marilla Township, Michigan. She attended Benzonia Academy from 1895 to 1902, and Hillsdale College from 1902 to 1903. She married Francis Stockman in 1889, at the age of 17. She was a member of the

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far ...

, and advocated for prohibition. In 1913, Governor Woodbridge N. Ferris invited her to serve as a delegate to the International Congress of Farm Women. The following year, she was elected State Grange Lecturer, a position which she held until 1930. Stockman was elected to the State Board of Agriculture in 1919, where she served until 1931. She helped to promote the liberal arts program of Michigan Agricultural College (now

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

). Stockman ran for a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives in the 1938 general election for

Ingham County Ingham County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 284,900. The county seat is Mason. Lansing, the state capital of Michigan, is largely located within the county. Lansing is the onl ...

, winning against her Democratic rival by 3,000 votes. In her first year as a representative, she introduced seventeen bills, and was placed on several committees. She retired from the legislature in 1946 due to complications of

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

. Stockman married Gustaf Weinkauf in April 1947. She died on May 25, 1948, at the age of 75.

Awards and honors

In 1934, Michigan State University awarded Stockman an honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree. In 2006, she was inducted into the

Michigan Women's Hall of Fame The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (MWHOF) honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan. The hall of fame was founded in 1983 by Gladys Beckwith and is sponsored by the Michi ...

. A plaque honoring Stockman is located on the campus of Michigan State University.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stockman, Dora Hall 20th-century American women politicians 1872 births 1948 deaths Members of the Michigan House of Representatives Hillsdale College alumni 20th-century members of the Michigan Legislature