Adella M. Parker

Adella M. Parker (variously spelled as Adele Parker, Adele Parker-Bennett, or Adela Parker)[2] (1870 – April 8, 1956) was an American suffragist, politician, lawyer, journalist, and teacher who lived in Seattle, Washington. She was a state representative for District 37 in Washington from 1935 to 1937. In 1909, she was the president of the Washington College League.[3]

Adella M. Parker
Official Portrait of Rep. Adela Parker
Member of the Washington House of Representatives
from the District 37 district
In office
1935–1937
Personal details
Born(1870-02-01)February 1, 1870
Whitehall, Michigan
DiedApril 8, 1956(1956-04-08) (aged 86)
Seattle, Washington
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Charles Enoch Allen Bennett
(m. 1921; died 1929)
[1]
Alma materUniversity of Washington School of Law

Early life and education

Parker was born in Whitehall, Michigan[1] in 1870. She moved with her parents to Seattle.[1] Parker went to law school at the University of Washington, from which she graduated in 1903 as the only woman in the class.[1] She completed graduate work at the West Virginia University and the University of Wisconsin.[1]

Career

In addition to practicing law, Parker taught political economics and government at Broadway High School.[1][4] She was the executive secretary of the Seattle High School Teachers' League from 1931 to 1934.[1]

Parker was an advocate for municipal good government and for women's suffrage.[5] She was a member of the Women's Good Government League in Seattle[4] and president of the Women's Suffrage League.[1] She drafted a recall law and led a campaign for it to be adopted by Seattle city council as a charter amendment, eventually leading to the recall of Mayor Hiram Gill, who was accused of condoning gambling.[5][6] It was noted by the media that Parker drafted the law and had it adopted before women acquired the right to vote.[5]

Parker married Charles Enoch Allen Bennett in 1921; the couple honeymooned in Siberia. From 1922 to 1923, Parker served as a Moscow correspondent for the International News Service.[1] Bennett died in 1929.[1]

From 1935 to 1937, Parker represented District 37, comprising King County, in the Washington State House of Representatives.[2] She was a member of the Democratic Party.[2]

Death

Parker died on April 8, 1956, after a short illness.[1]

References

  1. "Miss Adele Parker, Writer, Dies". Seattle Daily Times. April 9, 1956. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  2. "Women in the Legislature | Adela Parker" (PDF). Washington State Legislature. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  3. "Adella Parker to Speak Here". The Tacoma Times. February 5, 1916. p. 8. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  4. Baily, C.H. (1911). "How Washington Women Regained the Ballot" (PDF). Pacific Monthly. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  5. "Studying suffrage results in Oregon". The Oregon Daily Journal. August 17, 1913. p. 25. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
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