Lilith Martin Wilson

Lilith Martin Wilson (September 13, 1886 – July 8, 1937) was an American socialist who served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1930 to 1936.[1] She was the first woman in Pennsylvania to run for governor, receiving just over two percent of the vote in the 1922 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election.[2]

Lilith Martin Wilson
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
In office
1930 (1930)–1936 (1936)
Personal details
Born(1886-09-13)September 13, 1886
Dublin, Indiana
DiedJuly 8, 1937(1937-07-08) (aged 50)
Reading, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Political partySocialist Party of Pennsylvania
Spouse
Birch Wilson
​
(m. 1921)​
OccupationPolitician

Biography

Wilson was born on September 13, 1886, in Dublin, Indiana, to Lida and Morris Browne. She attended high school in Kokomo, Indiana, and the Rand School of Social Science in New York.[3]

Wilson was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1930, winning by a margin of 85 votes.[4] She was subsequently reelected in the 1932 and 1934 elections, but did not run for reelection in 1936 due to failing health.[5][6] As a member of the legislature, she campaigned for old age pensions, unemployment and maternity insurance, and child labor laws.[7] She was a member of the League for Industrial Democracy, the Old Age Security League, and the Birth Control League of Berks County.[8]

She died on July 8, 1937, at the age of 50.[9]

References
  1. Adams, Heather (April 24, 2019). "Lilith Martin Wilson: Berks County's First Female State Politician". BCTV. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  2. "Politics in County, State and Nation". Lebanon Daily News. February 25, 1958. p. 4. Retrieved December 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Obituary for Lilith M. Wilson". The Reading Times. July 9, 1937. p. 1. Retrieved December 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Six Policemen Complete "Sentences" Of 30 Days". Intelligencer Journal. December 10, 1930. p. 3. Retrieved December 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Hoopes and Wilson Reelected". The Reading Times. November 7, 1934. p. 11. Retrieved December 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Mrs. Lilith Wilson, in Hospital, Out of Assembly Race". The Reading Times. February 15, 1936. p. 1. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  7. "There's Reward But No Sensation In Her Election, Says Mrs. Wilson". The Reading Times. November 6, 1930. p. 15. Retrieved December 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Reed, Irene (2005). Berks County Women in History. Profiles Volume 1. Tudor Gate Press. pp. 314–315. ISBN 9780974094960.
  9. "Obituary for LILITH M. WILSON". Republican Herald. July 9, 1937. p. 4. Retrieved December 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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