Ella Knowles Haskell (July 31, 1860 – January 27, 1911) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

, and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Born in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, she moved to

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

to improve her health following a bout of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and there became the first woman to be licensed as a lawyer, the first female

notary public A notary public ( notary or public notary; notaries public) of the common law is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with general financial transactions, estates, deeds, powers- ...

, the first woman to run for Montana State Attorney General, and the 26th woman to be admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court. She served as the President of the Montana Equal Suffrage Association and was widely known in Montana for her advancement of 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 ...

, political feminism and

social equity Social equity is concerned with justice and Social justice, fairness of social policy based on the principle of substantive equality. Since the 1960s, the concept of social equity has been used in a variety of institutional contexts, including ed ...

Early years

Ella Lousie Knowles was born on July 31, 1860, in

Northwood, New Hampshire Northwood is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,641 at the 2020 census. History First settled in 1763, Northwood was incorporated on February 6, 1773, by colonial governor John Wentworth, when ...

. She graduated from Northwood Academy at the age of 15 and then attended Plymouth Normal School for one year. She then taught in country schools for a few years to earn tuition for college. She attended

Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian ...

, in

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ) is the List of municipalities in Maine, second most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine, with the city's population at 37,121 as of the 2020 United States census. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, Augusta, the sta ...

, where she was the first female editor of the college's student magazine, the '' Bates Student'', and was active in the Debate Society. Bates was one of the few co-educational colleges in the Northeast at that time, and she graduated with honors in 1884.Seacoast Women, Ella Louise Knowles Haskell
, Seacoast New Hampshire site In her school-days she was noted for her elocutionary powers, and she often gave dramatic entertainments and acted in amateur theatrical organizations. She received her degree of A. M. in June, 1888, from Bates College, and after hesitating between school-teaching and law as a profession, she decided to study law. Upon graduating from the college, she moved to

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

, where she studied law with Henry E. Burnham, who was to later become a

U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Career

In 1887, she fell ill with

and was advised to move to the drier climate of the

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

to improve her health. She went to

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, where she taught classes in French and German in a seminary for a short time, and rhetoric and elocution at Western Normal College. She next went to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, where she took a position as teacher. While there, she received an offer of a larger salary to return to the Iowa University, in which she had taught. She had seen enough of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

and of the people of that region to make her willing to remain in the West. In 1888, she moved to

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat, seat of Lewis and Clark County, Montana, Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold ...

, and was offered the job of principal at the West Side School. Not long after reaching Helena, she decided to finish her law course, and she entered a law office,

reading law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship u ...

in the Helena office of Joseph Kinsley. In that same year, she was appointed a

by Governor Leslie, and she was the first woman to hold such an office in Montana. During her first year in Helena, she served as secretary of a lumber company. While studying law, she acted as collector, and then look up attachment and criminal cases, and she received several divorce cases, which she handed over to Kinsley. She

lobbied Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

against Montana statutes that governed admission to the bar and prohibited women from practicing. She successfully lobbied the legislature to permit women to be allowed to practice law, which subsequently resulted in the state bill permitting qualified people to practice law "without regard to sex". In 1889, she was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

to practice before the Supreme Court of Montana, becoming the first woman allowed to practice law in Montana. She at once formed a law partnership with Kinsley. On April 18, 1890, she was admitted to practice before the District Court of the United States, and on April 28, 1890, she received credentials that enabled her to practice before the Circuit Court of the United States In 1892, she was nominated for Attorney-General of Montana by the Alliance party. In 1902, she

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

d her husband, and moved to

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the 2 ...

, where she became a very successful attorney for various

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

interests. She went on to argue and win cases before the

United States Circuit Court The United States circuit courts were the intermediate level courts of the United States federal court system from 1789 until 1912. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, and had trial court jurisdiction over civil suits of diversit ...

and the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

, the first woman to do so.''Ella L. Knowles : a dangerous woman'' By: Robert Branham, Fawn Johnson, and Julie Morrison Location: Ladd Library at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Template: Audio & Video Call #: KF368.H38 E55 1992 Description: 1 videocassette (25 min., 30 sec.) : sound, color and black and white; 1/2 in

Political activities

In 1892, 22 years before Montana women received the

right to vote Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in ...

, Knowles ran for state

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

after being nominated by the

Populist Party Populist Party may refer to: Asian and European political parties and movements *Croatian Popular Party (1919), a Croatian right-wing party also known as Croatian Populist Party * Indonesian National Populist Fortress Party, an Indonesian populist ...

, becoming the first woman in the United States to run for that office. She narrowly lost the election, but was nominated to be the Montana Assistant Attorney General by

Henri J. Haskell Henri James Haskell (July 20, 1843 – March 11, 1921) was the first Montana Attorney General from 1889 to 1897. Haskell was born in Palmyra, Maine, in 1843 to Aretas Haskell and Sophia Hathorn (Haskell). He attended Bates College's Nichols L ...

, a Republican who had won the election. Haskell and Knowles later married. In 1896, Haskell became the first Montana woman to be elected to a national political convention, that of the Populist party. She went on to convince the U.S. Secretary of the Interior,

Hoke Smith Michael Hoke Smith (September 2, 1855November 27, 1931) was an American attorney, politician, and newspaper owner who served as United States secretary of the interior (1893–1896), 58th governor of Georgia (1907–1909, 1911), and a United S ...

, to grant Montana $200,000 worth of land for schools near Great Falls. Throughout her time in Montana, Haskell remained active in the women's

. She was a part of the Helena Business Women's Suffrage Club from its inception and was chosen to serve as the President of the Montana Equal Suffrage Association. As the populist movement grew in Montana she remained active and campaigned in support of

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

, for he was chosen as the Democratic nominee for the presidency in 1896.

Legacy

Haskell died in Butte in 1911. The Magistrate Courtroom on the Fourth Floor of the James F. Battin Federal Courthouse in

Billings, Montana Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...

, is named in her honor.

Notes

References

Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haskell, Ella J. Knowles 1860 births 1911 deaths 19th-century American women lawyers American women's rights activists Bates College alumni Montana lawyers Montana Populists New Hampshire lawyers People from Butte, Montana People from Northwood, New Hampshire Politicians from Butte, Montana Women in Montana politics Suffragists from New Hampshire American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century American lawyers Suffragists from Montana Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century