Therese Alberta Parkinson Jenkins (May 1, 1853 - February 28, 1936) was a suffragist, credited with saving

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to gran ...

in the State of Wyoming. She was the first woman delegate to any Republican National Convention, the one in Minneapolis in 1892.1890-1990 Wyoming Centennial, A Lasting Legacy
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Early life

Therese Alberta Parkinson was born in

Fayette, Wisconsin Fayette is a town in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 376 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated communities of Fayette and Yellowstone are located in the town. Geography Fayette is in northeastern Lafayette Coun ...

, on May 1, 1853. She was the daughter of the Peter "Badger Pete" Parkinson (1813-1895), one of the pioneers of Wisconsin, who fought in the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", cross ...

and won military honors, and Cleantha Stone Welch (1825-1863). She was a thoroughly educated woman, and her writings are clear and forcible.

Career

Since 1887 Jenkins worked to secure equal rights and justice for all citizens. She was one of the orators of the day when Wyoming's admission to statehood was celebrated on July 23, 1890, and her address on that occasion was powerful and brilliant. She did much journalistic work. In April 1889, she contributed to the ''

Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

'' a striking paper entitled, ''The Mental Force of Woman'', in reply to Professor Cope's article on ''The Relation of the Sexes to the Government'', in a preceding number of that journal. She contributed a number of graceful poems to ''

The Denver Times The Denver Times was a daily newspaper in Denver, Colorado during 1872 to 1926. It was merged into the ''Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United ...

'' and other journals. She was the regular Wyoming correspondent of the Omaha ''Central West'', ''

The Woman's Tribune ''The Woman's Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in Beatrice, Nebraska, by women's suffrage activist Clara Bewick Colby. In print from 1883 to 1909, and published in Beatrice and in Washington, D.C., the newspaper connected radical femin ...

'' and ''

The Union Signal ''The Union Signal'' (formerly, ''The Woman's Temperance Union'', ''Our Union'') is a defunct American newspaper, established in 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. Focused on temperance, it was the organ of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), ...

''. In 1891 she was named National Superintendent of the Franchise for her work to protect woman suffrage in the new constituted Wyoming. She joined the amendment campaigns in Colorado in 1893 and Kansas in 1894. Jenkins and Cora Georgiana Snow Carleton were sent as alternate delegates to the Republican national convention in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

, in 1892. She was active in church work and was a member of the

Woman's Relief Corps The Woman's Relief Corps (WRC) is a charitable organization in the United States, originally founded as the official women's auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1883. The organization was designed to assist the GAR and p ...

and, inspired by

Frances Willard Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard (September 28, 1839 – February 17, 1898) was an American educator, temperance reformer, and women's suffragist. Willard became the national president of Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1879 ...

, she organized the local

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international Temperance movement, temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social ref ...

(WCTU) in 1883; she advocated prohibition in Wyoming.

Personal life

Parkinson moved from Wisconsin to Wyoming in 1877 and on December 20, 1877, she married James Flood Jenkins (1852-1928), a commissary clerk and later wealthy merchant of

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistica ...

. She had four children: May Jenkins (1879-1879), Elsie C. Jenkins (b. 1881), Horace M. Jenkins (b. 1882) and Agnes W. Jenkins (b. 1889). She died on February 28, 1936, and is buried at Lakeview Cemetery, Cheyenne, with her husband.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Therese A. 1853 births 1936 deaths People from Fayette, Wisconsin American feminists American suffragists American temperance activists American Congregationalists Woman's Christian Temperance Union people Woman's Relief Corps people Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century