House 1923-24 (District 28)
Party when first elected: Nonpartisan Election-Liberal Caucus
Counties Served:
Hennepin
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth:
4/11/1894
Birth Place:
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Birth County:
Hennepin
Birth Country:
United States
Date of Death:
2/6/1980
Gender:
Female
Religion:
Catholic
Reported Minority: None Reported
Other Names:
Agnes Myrtle
City of Residence (when first elected):
Minneapolis
Occupation (when first elected):
President, Women's Trades Union of Minneapolis/Organizer for Women, American Federation of Labor
EDUCATION
Minneapolis Schools; Elementary School;
St. Anthony's Convent, Minneapolis; Secondary; Graduate
OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE
State Agency:
Minnesota State Fire Marshal (Hotel Inspector);
[Dates Unknown]
Municipal Government:
Minneapolis, Minnesota (Aide to Mayor Hubert Humphrey);
[Dates Unknown]
U.S. Legislative Staff/Council/Commission:
United States House of Representatives (Staff Member, Minneapolis Office, for United States Representative Roy Weir);
194? to 195?
U.S. Legislative Staff/Council/Commission:
United States Senate (Staff Member, Minneapolis Office, for United States Senator Eugene McCarthy);
195? to 197?
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Spouse:
Single
Children:
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
GENERAL NOTES
She was one of the first four women to serve in the Minnesota Legislature. The others were: Sue Metzger Dickey Hough, Hannah Johnson Kempfer, and Mabeth Hurd Paige. All four were elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives.
She sponsored the first antimasking law, making it a misdemeanor for members of organizations, including the Ku Klux Klan, to conceal their identity or appear in public wearing masks.
She introduced the first bill in Minnesota demanding equal rights for women in 1923 (Star Tribune, August 24, 2019).
She ran unsuccessfully for the Minnesota House of Representatives in the 1924 election. She lost by 39 votes.
She was a member of the Farmer-Labor Party (Minnesota Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women). She was also a member of the Women's Party, Minnesota branch.
During World War II, she was the labor relations director at the ammunition plant in Arden Hills (Star Tribune, August 24, 2019).
She was of Irish ancestry.
She died at home in north Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her funeral was held at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
She was a member of the League of Catholic Women.Religion provided by Who's Who Among American Women, 1924; and her obituary.