She was born Edness Kimball to parents Wilson, mayor of Casper, and Edness Merrick Kimball in Casper, Wyoming, on January 31, 1896.[1] She studied at both the University of Nebraska and the University of Kentucky.[1] She was married to Ronald Wilkins, and together they had one son.[1] During her life she was an active member of the League of Women Voters.[1]
Careeredit
She worked as an assistant for Nellie Tayloe Ross, the first woman to be governor of a US state,[2] from 1931 to 1935 when Ross was director of the US Mint.[1] Later, Wilkins ran the Water and Sanitation Department for Casper, Wyoming, from 1950 to 1953.[1]
In 1954, Wilkins was elected for the first time to the Wyoming House of Representatives to represent Natrona County.[1] She went on to serve five more terms in the state legislature.[1]
Wilkins was originally rejected as Speaker, and instead Walter B. Phelan was elected Speaker of the House in 1965, despite the fact that Wilkins was leader of the majority party, the Democrats.[3] At the time, she commented she was used to "stepping aside for the men".[3] When Phelan died in 1966, as the leader of the majority party, Wilkins assumed the office of Speaker.[4] However, because the House met only on odd numbered years and the next year Wilkins was elected to the State Senate, she never actually served in session as speaker.[5]
In 1966, Wilkins ran for and won election to the Wyoming State Senate.[1][4] She lost her bid for reelection in 1970. In 1972, she again won election to the Wyoming House of Representatives, and she continued to serve there until her death on July 15, 1980.[6][1]
^ abcdefghijkSharp, Nancy Weatherly; Sharp, James Roger; Ritter, Charles F.; Wakelyn., Jon L. (1997). American Legislative Leaders in the West 1911-1994. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN031330212X. OCLC 833126991.
^"Today in History - December 10". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
^ abLarson, T. A. (April 1965). "Woman Suffrage in Wyoming". The Pacific Northwest Quarterly. 56 (2): 57–66. JSTOR 40488005.
^ ab"Wyoming Women in the Legislature" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. January 2013.
^"Verda James, First Full-term Woman Speaker of Wyoming's House of Representatives | WyoHistory.org". www.wyohistory.org. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
edness, kimball, wilkins, january, 1896, july, 1980, first, woman, speaker, wyoming, house, representatives, member, wyoming, state, house, representatives, from, natrona, countyin, office, january, 1973, july, 1980succeeded, byfrank, chapmanin, office, januar. Edness Kimball Wilkins January 31 1896 July 15 1980 was the first woman speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives 1 Edness Kimball WilkinsMember of the Wyoming State House of Representatives from Natrona CountyIn office January 9 1973 July 15 1980Succeeded byFrank ChapmanIn office January 1955 January 9 196738th Speaker of the Wyoming House of RepresentativesIn office May 30 1966 January 9 1967Preceded byWalter B PhelanSucceeded byWilliam F SwantonMember of the Wyoming Senatefrom Natrona CountyIn office January 9 1967 January 12 1971Succeeded byDick TobinPersonal detailsBorn 1896 01 31 January 31 1896Casper Wyoming U S DiedJuly 15 1980 1980 07 15 aged 84 Casper Wyoming U S Political partyDemocraticSpouseRonald WilkinsAlma materUniversity of KentuckyUniversity of Nebraska Contents 1 Life 2 Career 3 Legacy 4 See also 5 ReferencesLife editShe was born Edness Kimball to parents Wilson mayor of Casper and Edness Merrick Kimball in Casper Wyoming on January 31 1896 1 She studied at both the University of Nebraska and the University of Kentucky 1 She was married to Ronald Wilkins and together they had one son 1 During her life she was an active member of the League of Women Voters 1 Career editShe worked as an assistant for Nellie Tayloe Ross the first woman to be governor of a US state 2 from 1931 to 1935 when Ross was director of the US Mint 1 Later Wilkins ran the Water and Sanitation Department for Casper Wyoming from 1950 to 1953 1 In 1954 Wilkins was elected for the first time to the Wyoming House of Representatives to represent Natrona County 1 She went on to serve five more terms in the state legislature 1 Wilkins was originally rejected as Speaker and instead Walter B Phelan was elected Speaker of the House in 1965 despite the fact that Wilkins was leader of the majority party the Democrats 3 At the time she commented she was used to stepping aside for the men 3 When Phelan died in 1966 as the leader of the majority party Wilkins assumed the office of Speaker 4 However because the House met only on odd numbered years and the next year Wilkins was elected to the State Senate she never actually served in session as speaker 5 In 1966 Wilkins ran for and won election to the Wyoming State Senate 1 4 She lost her bid for reelection in 1970 In 1972 she again won election to the Wyoming House of Representatives and she continued to serve there until her death on July 15 1980 6 1 Legacy editThe Edness K Wilkins State Park near Casper Wyoming was named for Wilkins 7 See also editSpeaker of the Wyoming House of RepresentativesReferences edit a b c d e f g h i j k Sharp Nancy Weatherly Sharp James Roger Ritter Charles F Wakelyn Jon L 1997 American Legislative Leaders in the West 1911 1994 Greenwood Publishing Group ISBN 031330212X OCLC 833126991 Today in History December 10 Library of Congress Retrieved 2019 11 03 a b Larson T A April 1965 Woman Suffrage in Wyoming The Pacific Northwest Quarterly 56 2 57 66 JSTOR 40488005 a b Wyoming Women in the Legislature PDF Wyoming Secretary of State January 2013 Verda James First Full term Woman Speaker of Wyoming s House of Representatives WyoHistory org www wyohistory org Retrieved 2019 11 14 Edness Kimball Wilkins dies Casper Star Tribune July 16 1980 p A1 Retrieved January 24 2023 via Newspapers com Edness K Wilkins State Park PDF Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources Political offices Preceded byWalter B Phelan Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives1966 1967 Succeeded byWilliam Swanton Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Edness Kimball Wilkins amp oldid 1213552709, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
