Mrs. Mary Bellamy was Wyoming’s first woman legislator. She was elected in 1910 and served for two years in the State of Wyoming House of Representatives. She wielded considerable influence. Bellamy was the first to vote on the Democratic side when the roll was called, and many of the male Democrats simply followed along and voted as she did.
The legislative session lasted for 40 days and passing bills took considerable time. Representatives handed cigars around to celebrate, but Mrs. Bellamy was offered chewing gum.
Bellamy was also an active suffragist. After serving in the legislature, she went to Washington D.C. where women were lobbying to get the vote nationally. As a representative of Wyoming, she was a bit of a celebrity – Wyoming women already had the right to vote.
Listen to Mary Bellamy recount her time as a Wyoming legislator in the Wyoming Pioneers Oral History Project recordings at UW’s American Heritage Center.