Nell Scott Chadwick was a Democratic politician from the

U.S. territory In the United States, a territory is any extent of region under the sovereign jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters (around islands or continental tracts). The United States asserts sovereign rights for ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. She was the first woman to serve in the Alaska Territorial Legislature, serving a single term in the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives from 1937 to 1939.

Family and early life

Nell Scott was born in Marengo, Michigan, November 9, 1900. She attended public schools in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. Scott moved to

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

from Seattle with her husband Dick Scott in 1923. While in Anchorage, she worked as a legal secretary. They relocated to

Seldovia, Alaska Seldovia (Alutiiq: ; Dena'ina: ''Angidahtnu''; ) is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. Its population was 255 at the 2010 census, down from 286 in 2000. It is located along Kachemak Bay southwest of Homer. There is n ...

when Dick was appointed Deputy

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

in 1934.

Political career

The 1936 election for the Territory of Alaska Legislature had two females; Scott on the Democratic ticket and Juanita Anderson on the Independent Party ticket, competing for one of 4 available seats in the 3rd District. Alaska in territorial days had only 4 legislative districts; the 3rd District covered an area roughly from the

Copper River Copper River may refer to several places: *Copper River (Alaska), in the United States * Copper River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (afte ...

valley and

Prince William Sound Prince William Sound ( Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the ...

west to

Bristol Bay Bristol Bay (, ) is the easternmost arm of the Bering Sea, at 57° to 59° North 157° to 162° West in Southwest Alaska. Bristol Bay is 400 km (250 mi) long and 290 km (180 mi) wide at its mouth. A number of rivers flow in ...

and the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

. In this sprawling and (at the time) sparsely populated area, Scott campaigned by piloting her plane across her district and meeting people one on one. She won election and on January 11, 1937, Scott took a seat in the

Territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an Organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The ...

Legislature. Scott was the only representative from the 3rd District in this legislature not to hail from Anchorage. She served only one term, then moved back to Washington State for personal reasons.

Later life, death, and legacy

Dick and Nell divorced, and Nell remarried and was later widowed. The

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-, National Sea Grant College Program, sea-, and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, space-grant research university in ...

maintains a collection of her legislative papers.

References

External links

Nell Scott
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Nell 1900s births Alaska Democrats Members of the Alaska Territorial Legislature Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska People from Calhoun County, Michigan People from Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska Politicians from Seattle Women territorial legislators in Alaska Year of death missing 20th-century American women politicians