New Hampshire

New Hampshire voters elected two women to the legislature in November of 1920, less than three months after the 19th Amendment enfranchised all American women.  They had to fight for their seats, however, as some of the state’s leaders questioned whether the right to vote also meant that women had the right to hold office. 

Lawmakers quickly arranged a referendum on the subject in March of 1921, and voters confirmed the right of women to hold office by 30,285 to 24,142.  This, however, was short of the two-thirds requirement that New Hampshire had for constitutional amendments – a technicality that lawmakers apparently decided to ignore.  The two women were seated.

Donna Sytek

Vesta Roy

Jessie A. Doe (1887-1943)

    Born to Edith and Charles Doe, Jessie Doe grew up in a political family:  her father was the Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, and her brother Haven served in the House, Senate, and as a mayor.  Jessie was considered a bit of a rebel as a child, as she loved wild horses and mountain climbing. She was educated at Berwick Academy and a girl’s school in Cambridge.

    As a Republican from Rollinsfield, Jessie Doe won a seat in the New Hampshire House in 1920.  She served one term and then waited a decade before returning in 1930. That election was very close and controversial:  claiming a tie with the Democratic incumbent, Gardner Grant, she appealed to the Republican-dominated House, which seated her.

    Doe was a delegate to the 1932 Republican National Convention – a year that many Republican men preferred to avoid the convention.  Delegates dutifully re-nominated President Herbert Hoover, who went on to lose all but two states. 

    She unconventionally willed her body to science at her 1943 death.  The University of New Hampshire honored Jessie Doe in 1964, when a residence hall was named for her.

Dr. Mary Louise Rolfe Farnum (c. 1870-?)

    Mary Louise Rolfe was born around 1870 to Charles M. and Maria Louisa Morrison Rolfe. Before running for office at the age of 50, Dr. Farnum was a widowed physician, who graduated from the Boston University School of Medicine in 1900.

    A Democrat from Boscawen, Dr. Mary Louise Rolfe Farnum was elected to the House in 1920. During her term, she served as the vice president and secretary of the New Hampshire Association of Women Legislators. At the end of her term in office, Farnum received a wage of $100.   New Hampshire, which prides itself on its unusually large “citizen legislature,” pays the same rate today – and has an uncommon number of female representatives.

    Dr. Farnum did not run again in 1922, but New Hampshire voters sent three new women to the legislature that year:  Effie Yantis of Manchester, Gertrude Caldwell of Portsmouth, and Emma Bartlett of Raymond.  In 1924, voters elected more than a dozen female legislators, three of whom won almost unanimously.  Ten Democratic women and two Republicans managed to win without the official support of their parties.

    The town of Berlin particularly distinguished itself by electing four of five female candidates for municipal office.  Cheshire County added to this remarkable 1924 election by choosing New Hampshire’s first county commissioner, Grace A. Richardson of Keene.

Donna Page Sytek
Nominated by NFWL

    Donna Page Sytek was elected to the New Hampshire State House of Representatives in 1977.  During that time she also served as Speaker of the House and Chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. Sytek is a native of Havervill, Massachusetts and in 1966, she got her degree from Regis College. After settling in New Hampshire, she entered a life that involved 30 years of political service.

    Outside of office she has been involved “in recruiting and training candidates for office, and has been a delegate to four Republican National Conventions.” She retired from office in 2000, having been in public service for 23 years. She has “been elected to the boards of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, and New Hampshire Public Television.”

Vesta Roy (1925-2002)
Nominated by NFWL

    Vesta Roy was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 26, 1925. Vesta attended Wayne State University in the early 1940’s but decided to leave early and volunteer for military service in order to help the war effort. The United States military turned her down because of her young age. Still determined to do her part, Vesta secured a position with the Royal Canadian Air Force as a radio operator, a position she would hold from 1943 to 1945. She was honored for her service by being named the “Leading Air Woman” by the Royal Canadian Air Force.

    In 1945, Vesta married Albert L. Roy and the couple had five children. During this time, Vesta became involved in New Hampshire politics and was elected State Representative serving from 1973 to 1975. In 1976, she served as a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention and later served as co-chair of the State Committee at the Republican National Convention. During this time, Vesta worked with state and local non-profits as well as a city selectman. In 1979, Vesta was elected to the state senate and served in this position until 1986. Beginning in 1983, Vesta also was the president of the Senate.  
When Governor Hugh Gallen died on December 29, 1983, Vesta being president of the senate, served as the interim governor until January 6, 1983, until John H. Sununu was sworn in as Governor. Vesta worked with Governor Sununu, to “help him eliminate a deficit, pay for a state construction program and carry out a highway program.”

    Despite her truncated term, she was the first woman in New Hampshire history to hold the position of Governor. Outside of her duties in the legislature she was a campaign advisor to Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush during their presidential campaigns. After her long political career, Ms. Roy died in New York on February 8, 2002 at the age of 76.