Rita D. Millar (1884-June 17, 1953) was an American politician and the first woman in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

to hold public office following the

Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its U.S. state, states from denying the Suffrage, right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recogni ...

Personal life

Millar was born in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

Kingdom of Hawai'i The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

in 1884 to Alfred and Ada McCarthy. She had a brother, Jack McCarthy, the publisher of the Yerrington Times. When Millar was an infant, her parents moved to

Virginia City, Nevada Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, United States, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno, Nevada, Reno–Sparks, Nevada, Sparks Reno, NV Metropolitan ...

and then to

Hawthorne, Nevada Hawthorne is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mineral County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,118. It is the county seat of Mineral County. The nearby Hawthorne Army Depot is th ...

. Millar went to school in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, where she met her husband, James Millar. The couple moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and then to Hawthorne. They had three children, Jules, Jack, and Mrs. Jack Burns. James Millar predeceased her. She was the president of the Nevada Women's Club and was a member of the Pythian Sisters,

International Association of Rebekah Assemblies The Daughters of Rebekah, also known as the Rebekahs and the International Association of Rebekah Assemblies, is an international service-oriented organization and a branch of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. As the Independent Order of Odd ...

, the Neighbors of Woodcraft, and the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

Auxiliary. Millar died on June 17, 1953. Her funeral was at St. Theresa's Catholic Church and she was buried in the Catholic Cemetery.

Career

In 1916, Millar was elected as the recorder and ex-officio auditor of

Mineral County, Nevada Mineral County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,554, making it the fifth-least populous county in Nevada. Its county seat is Hawthor ...

, becoming the first woman elected to a public position in Nevada. She was re-elected in 1920. In that election, upon the first count of ballots, Millar was declared the winner by a margin of three votes. He opponent, Agnes B. Crownover, contested the election and a district judge ruled that Crownover had won, 306–304. Millar appealed to the

Nevada Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Nevada is the highest state court of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the head of the Nevada Judiciary. The main constitutional function of the Supreme Court is to review appeals made directly from the decisions of the distri ...

where the lower court's decision was overturned. Millar finally took office six months after the election. Millar represented Mineral County as a Democrat in the Nevada State Assembly. When elected in 1922, she was one of four women in the legislature. She beat Genevieve H. Sterling, the Republican candidate who served as an attache of the previous session, by a single vote. For the last 20 years of her life, Millar worked in the

Nevada State Treasurer The Nevada state treasurer is an independent constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Nevada. The State Treasurer's Office is based in Carson City, Nevada. Twenty-three individuals have occupied the off ...

's office, including five as the deputy treasurer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Millar, Rita D. Democratic Party members of the Nevada Assembly Women state legislators in Nevada Politicians from Honolulu People from Mineral County, Nevada 1884 births 1953 deaths 20th-century members of the Nevada Legislature 20th-century American women politicians