The Women’s Biographies page is an extension of the Jean Ford Research Center. It is under development indefinitely. Please Email us for more research information or to a make a Nevada Women’s biographical contribution. For additional research on Nevada Women, you may wish to contact the Jean Ford Research Center directly at 775-786-2335 or 770 Smithridge Drive, Suite 300, Reno, Nevada 89502.

Currently, biographical information is available by Alphabetical List and Geographical Area.

Eva Bertrand Adams (1908-1991)

Washoe Co.
Government Official

Mary Lydia Adams-Williams (1867-1928)

Douglas Co.
Education, lecturing, writing, politics

Alice Merriam Baltzelle Addenbrooke (1881-1972)

Washoe Co.
Civic activist, historian

Marlene Joan Adrian (1933-2022)

Clark Co.
Professor Emerita, Author, athlete, co-founder and president emerita, Women of Diversity Productions, Inc.

Lois Thompson Allen (1904-1999)

Humboldt Co. (Winnemucca), Eureka Co. (Beowawe), Washoe County (Sparks, Sun Valley)
Teacher, School Principal, Business Owner

Verna Elizabeth Bullis Anderson (1916-2008)

Reno, Washoe County, and Winnemucca, Humboldt County
Teacher, writer, newspaper reporter/editor, rancher

Myrtle Beatrice Talcott Anker (1894-1973)

Pershing Co.
Ranch Owner/Manager, Farm Bureau Leader

Charlotte Hunter Arley (1912-2006)

Washoe Co.
Attorney

Caroline Elizabeth Aufdermaur (1910-1991)

Pershing Co.
Caregiver, Mother, Farm Partner

Elizabeth Cilicia Babcock (1835-1899)

Carson City, Ormsby County; Reno, Washoe County
Educator

Dessie Lola Bailey (1918-1999)

Clark Co.
Volunteer for Children with Special Needs

Mary Wright Bain (1879-1969)

Washoe Co.
Ranching, Aviation

Edna Nevada Catlin Baker (1875-1957)

Washoe Co.
Educator, Government Official

Martha Gruss Barlow (1920-1993)

Mineral Co.
Government Official

Jessie Parker Beck (1879-1961)

Washoe Co.
Education

Barbara Jean Peters Bennett (1923-1993)

Wahoe Co.
Mayor of the City of Reno, political and community activist

Esther Louise Laiola Bennett (1917-2007)

Washoe Co.
Educator

Kathleen “Kay” Margaret Cleary Bennett (1936-2022)

Carson City
Surgical Nurse, Carson City Supervisor, aviation, TRPA, mother

Helen Delich Bentley (1923-2016)

Tonopah Canyon, Nevada, Baltimore, MD and Washington, D.C.
Journalist, Congresswoman, Chair of the Federal Maritime Commission

Edith Naomi Bernard (1914-2005)

Carson City
Wife, Mother, Civic Activist

Minnie Nichols Blair (1886-1972)

Churchill Co.
Business Owner, Rancher

Kittie Wells Bonner (1901-1985)

Lander Co.
Community Activist, Deputy Sheriff

Libbie Conover Booth (1856-1948)

Washoe Co.
Educator, Principal

Grace A. Bordewich (1910-1999)

Carson City
Educator

Lucy Anna Winston Bouldin (1937-2021)

Storey Co.
Teacher, librarian, musician

Katherine Louise Eager Bowdle (1883-1940)

White Pine Co.
Physician, Hospital Administrator, Registered Nurse

Carolyn Nancy Bordewich Bowers (1916-2005)

Carson City
Artist, librarian, museum illustrator, Sierra Club chapter co-founder, member

Eilley Oram Bowers (1826-1903)

Washoe/Storey Co.
Boarding House Owner, Seeress, Wife

Alida Cynthia Bowler (1887-1968)

Carson City
Social work, Federal government administration (Children’s Bureau and Indian Service)

Emma Lou Montgomery Brandt (1917-2006)

Clark Co.
Educator, Business Owner

Mildred Bray (1892-1975)

Washoe Co.
Government Official

Mildred Matthews Breedlove (1904-1994)

Clark Co.
Author, Poet

Verna Bradbury Broili (1919-2011)

Washoe Co.
Author, Historian

Kathleen “Kay” Jane Flaherty Brown (1927-2020)

Washoe Co.
Educator, teacher, principal, public relations

Marjorie Ann Moore Brown (1885-1987)

Nye Co.
Nevada Equal Franchise Society founding member, Nevada Federation of Women’s Clubs, National Woman’s Suffrage Association, National League for Women’s Service, National Red Cross Association, Century Club and the Browning Society

Erma Irene Bruce (1903-1987)

Washoe Co., Storey Co., Lyon Co., Carson City
Poetry

Carrie Choate Bullis (1878-1964)

Humboldt Co.
Educator, Wife, Mother

Carol Lu Ella Bullis-Echeverria (1909-1988)

Humboldt/Washoe Co.
Educator, Realtor, Wife

Florence Sanford Burge (1912-1986)

Washoe Co.
Journalist

Isabella McCormick Butler (186?-1922)

Esmeralda Co.
Prospector, Rancher, Wife

Thelma Davis Calhoun (1913-1998)

Carson City
Civic Leader, Painter, Distinguished Nevadan

Rita Agnes Cannan (1893-1981)

Reno
Teacher, School Principal

Carolyn Jean Adams Talcott Carlon (1925-2014)

Washoe Co.
Law Enforcement Officer, Wife, Mother

Virginia Carothers (1875-1966)

White Pine Co.
Educator, Bookkeeper

Florence Humphrey Church (1869-1922)

Washoe Co.
Suffragist, Volunteer/leader in many women’s clubs

Hannah Keziah Clapp (1824-1908)

Carson City, Washoe Co.
Business Owner, Educator

Marguerite H. Gosse Stoddard Clark (1890-1972)

Washoe Co.
Legislator, Businesswoman, Community Activist

Felice Cohn (1878-1961)

Carson City
Attorney, Political Activist

Dr. Eliza Cook (1856-1947)

Douglas Co.
Physician, Political Activist

Martha Patricia Cooke (1923-2012)

Washoe Co.
Mother, Wife, Artist

Beda Brennecke Cornwall (1907-1994)

Clark Co.
Library Founder, Educator, Wife

Hilda M. Covey (1909-1982)

Clark Co.
Restaurateur, Journalist

Martha James Cragun Cox (1852-1932)

Clark Co.
Educator, Mormon Counselor, Author

Clara Dunham Crowell (1876-1944)

Lander/Nye Co.
Sheriff, Nurse, Wife

Jennie Adele Curieux (1881-1961)

Nye Co.
Teacher, Nye County Auditor and Recorder

Carrie Dann (1933-2021)

Eureka Co.
Native American and environmental activist

Dat-So-La-Lee (184?-1925)

Carson City
Folk Artist (Washo Basketmaker)

Nellie Mighels Davis (1844-1945)

Washoe Co.
Journalist, Newspaper Publisher

Marcia De Braga (1937-2010)

Carson City, Churchhill Co.
Rancher, Government Official, Author

Sonia Cecilia Barndt Cochran DeHart (1906-2003)

Carson City and Genoa, Douglas Co.
Theodore Kosloff Russian Ballet performer, dance instructor, antique store owner, community activist, Episcopal Church thrift store manager, League of Women Voters, National Cattlemen’s Association, Women’s Press Club, Associate Director at the Nevada state park in Genoa

Joanne De Longchamps (1923-1983)

Washoe Co.
Author

Hazel Baker Denton (1887-1962)

Lincoln Co.
Author, Educator, Government Official

Dorothy Dinsmore (1876-1963)

Washoe Co.
Citizen Activist, Artist, UNR Faculty Wife

Mary Stoddard Doten (1845-1914)

Carson City, Lander/Storey/Washoe Co.
Journalist, Suffragist

Geneva Smith Douglas (1932-1993)

Clark Co.
Physicist, Wife

Alice Gottschalk Downer (1913-2008)

Carson City, Douglas/Washoe Co.
Educator, Community Volunteer, Mother

Anna Neddenriep Dressler (1898-1987)

Douglas Co.
Rancher, Wife, Mother

Luella Kirkbride Drumm (1872-1962)

Churchill Co.
Civic Activist, Government Official

Edna Crauch Trunnell Eddy (1876-1962)

Humboldt, Pershing Co.
Mortuary Owner, Elected Public Administrator

Bessie R. Lucas Eichelberger (1863-1952)

Washoe Co.
women’s suffrage, many women’s groups and causes

Mary Eldridge

White Pine Co.
Educator, Rancher

Charlotte Rowberry Ellsworth (1912-1998)

Clark/Washoe Co.
Reservation and Assistant Hotel Manager

Mary Aileen Norton Evans (1899-1993)

Eureka/Humboldt Co.
Telegrapher for the Western Pacific Railroad Company

Janice W. Evans (1937-2000)

Washoe/Carson City
State Assemblywoman; Development officer, University of Nevada School of Medicine

Anna Mariska Shultz Fitch (1840-1904)

Washoe City, Virginia City
Author, Anti-suffrage, Congressional wife

Margaret Flick (1884-1968)

Washoe County
Ranch owner; Nevada Humane Society trustee; Nevada White Hats member; Washoe Horsemen’s Association

Donna Belle ‘Bonnie’ Pampel Foard (1925-2020)

Washoe County
Musician, Teacher

Lilly Hing Fong (1925-2002)

Washoe Co.
Educator, Public Servant

Imogene (Jean) Evelyn Young Ford (1929-1998)

Carson City, Clark/Washoe Co.
Citizen Activist, Founder of the Nevada Women’s History Project

Katie Christy Frazier (1890-1991)

Washoe Co.
Folk Artist (Paiute Storyteller)

Maude Frazier (1881-1963)

Clark Co.
Educator, Government Official

Frances Gertrude Friedhoff (1895-1958)

Lyon Co.
Government Official

Dr. Mary Hill Fulstone (1892-1987)

Washoe Co.
Physician

Doris Barbara “Dodie” Post Gann (1922-2012)

Washoe Co.
U.S. Olympic Skier and Team Captain, Women’s U.S Olympic Ski Team Manager, International Ski Federation (World Ski Cup) competitor and team captain, 1984 Air Race Classic winning team, numerous awards and recognitions.

Margaret “Maggie” Gee (1923-2013)

Douglas Co.
Pilot, Physicist, Political Activist, WASP

Wuzzie Dick George (1879?-1984)

Churchill Co.
Folk Artist (Paiute Crafts)

Viola Annie West Goldsworthy (1896-1975)

Lyon/Washoe Co.
Wife, Mother, Education Organizer

Nancy Sullivan Gomes (1926-1979)

Washoe County
Wife, Mother, Sister, Daughter, Concerned Citizen, Cancer Survivor

Gertrude Riordan Gottschalk (1916-2019)

Carson City
Democratic National Committeewoman, Carson City Democratic Women’s Club, Nevada Women’s History Project, Chapter X, PEO, Mark Twain Garden Club, Philanthropic Education Organization, and several bridge clubs.

Martha Letcher Gottschalk (1881-1973)

Pershing/Washoe Co.
Nurses Aid, Caregiver

Mary Louise Grantz (1879-1970)

Washoe Co.
Prospector

Marvel Ranson Guisti (1912-1979)

Washoe Co.
Educator, Counselor

Mary Hall (187?-194?)

Eureka/Lander Co.
Folk Artist (Shoshone Basketmaker)

Fannie Gore Hazlett (1838-1933)

Lyon Co.
Political Activist

Eunice Esther Hobbs Hood (1861-1941)

Washoe Co.
Civic Activist, University Regent, Leader of Nevada Suffrage Organizations

Delora Elmira Craw Hulse (1868-1944)

Lincoln Co.
Wife, mother, daughter

Frances Marguerite Humphrey (1904-2001)

Washoe Co.
Educator

Janet Holcomb Hunter (1918-2001)

Washoe Co.
Education

Sadie Dotson Hurst (1857-1952)

Washoe Co.
Government Official, Political Activist

No Entries

Theresa Smokey Jackson (1916-1999)

Douglas Co.
Educator, Folk Artist (Basket weaver)

Agnes Hume Scott Train Janssen 1905-1991)

Genoa, Douglas County; Carson City
Nevada State Museum curator, naturalist, author, artist

Lubertha Miller Johnson (1906-1989)

Clark Co.
Educator, Civil Rights and Social Welfare Activist

Maggie Johnson (unknown-1924)

Eureka Co.
Mining, Boardinghouse Owner

Velma Bronn Johnston (1912-1977)

Washoe Co.
Secretary, Rancher, Wild Horse Advocate

Caroline Frances Best Kelley (1919-2014)

Carson City, Churchill/Washoe Co.
Wife, Mother, Community Leader

Dr. Olga Constatina Lord Kipanidze (1897-1976)

Washoe Co.
Physician

Bertha Knemeyer (1885-1963)

Elko Co.
Educator, Government Official

Teresa D’Alosio Knight (1891-1987)

Eureka/Lincoln/White Pine Co.
Cowgirl, Housewife

Molly Flagg Knudtsen (1915-2001)

Lander/Washoe Co.
Board of Regents Member, Environmentalist

Mattie “Ma Kiley” Brite Kuhn (1880-1971)

Washoe Co.
Telegraph Operator

Therése Alpetche Laxalt (1891-1978)

Carson City
Boarding House/Restaurant Owner, Wife

Katherine Lewers (1868-1945)

Washoe Co.
Educator, Artist

Alice Allegra Dove List (1910-1997)

Carson City, Washoe Co.
Bookkeeper, Artist, Community Leader

Jennie Kelly Logan (1862 or 1865-1940)

Reno/Washoe County, Gold Hill/Storey County
Teaching, working for women’s suffrage

Effie Mona Mack (1888-1969)

Washoe Co.
Nevada history, education

Sarah Emeline (Emma) Mack (1866–1947)

Washoe Co.
Club Organization, Women’s Suffrage Leader

Jessie Callahan Mahoney (1877-1956)

Eureka Co.
Rancher, Educator, Government Official

Lillian Malcolm (1868-19??)

Nye/Esmeralda Co.
Prospector

Anne Henrietta Martin (1875-1951)

Washoe Co.
Author, Educator

Anne Hudnall Martin (1857-1928)

Carson City
Teacher, Newspaper owner and editor, Superintendent of U.S. Assay Office (formerly the U.S. Mint in Carson City)

Mila Tupper Maynard (1864-1926)

Washoe Co.
Minister, Political Activist

Sister Margaret Patricia McCarran (1904-1998)

Washoe Co.
Nun, Teacher, Community Assistance, Writer

Mary Ludmilla McCarran (1906-1966)

Religion, teaching, art, music, writing

Marian Alice McClellan (1941-2019)

Lovelock, Pershing Co.
County commissioner, activist, assayer

Jean Sybil McElrath (1917-1967)

Elko Co.
Author, Journalist

Margaret Evangeline (Marge) Means

Washoe Co.
Artist, Cultural Arts Founder, Volunteer

Katharine Norrid Mergen (1910-1997)

Lyon/Washoe Co.
Journalist, Educator

Maya Paine Miller (1915-2006)

Carson City, Washoe Co., Clark Co.
Activist

Laura Mills (1893-1973)

Churchill Co.
Educator

Ida Browder Mountford (1889-1961)

Clark Co.
Business Owner, Government Official

Virginia Moreira Moura (1910-1994)

Pershing Co.
Deputy County Recorder, Secretary/Bookkeeper

Leona Addie Daoust Munk (1911-2003)

Pershing Co.
Owner/Partner Kay-Lee’s Drive-In, Bookkeeper

Colanthe “Florence” Jones Murphy (1911-2006)

Clark Co.
Aviation, Politics, Real Estate

Kathleen Murray (Sister M. Seraphine (1891-1987)

Washoe Co.
Hospital Administration

Myrtle Tate Myles (1886-1980)

Washoe Co.
Author, Journalist, Historian

Ellen Clifford Nay (1879-1947)

Esmeralda/Nye Co.
Propector, Road House Owner, Blacksmith

Emma Wixom Nevada (1859-1940)

Lander Co.
Opera Singer, Wife

Helena Suzanne (Lena) Bidwell Norton (1863-1953)

Washoe County
Artist, Suffrage Activist, Club Woman

Mary O’Neill O’Connell (1908-1984)

Tonopah, NV; Carson City, NV; Eureka, NV; Ely, NV
Education (Teaching)

Ting Soo Hoo Ong (1907-1925)

White Pine Co.
Cook, Restaurant Owner, Wife

Elda Ann Williams Orr (1846-1916)

Washoe Co.
Suffrage, Volunteerism

Mary Leicht Oxborrow (1852-1935)

White Pine Co.
Midwife, Wife

Ethel May Parker (1891-1970)

Washoe Co.
Civic Clubs, Music, History, Journalism

Maria Garifalou Pavlakis (1912-1982)

White Pine Co.
Baker, Pastry Shop Owner, Hotel Manager

Josephine Reed Pearl (1873-1962)

Humboldt/White Pine Co.
Prospector, Wife

Lucille Elizabeth Emmert Petty (1913-2006)

Carson City
Civic Leader, Wife, Mother

Lillie Simson Van Voorhis Pinger

Churchill Co.
Civil service, State Assemblywoman

Mimosa June Gates Pittman (1872-1952)

Nye Co.
U.S. Senator’s wife, founder of Senate Wives club, prominent hostess

Carrie Elizabeth Miller Townley Porter (1935-2014)

Nye/Washoe Co.
Records management consultant, archivist, researcher, writer

No Entries

Bertha Eaton Raffetto (1885-1952)

Washoe Co.
Composer, Author, Wife

Anna Frances Elleser Rechel (1884-1967)

Mineral Co.
Prospector

Olga A. Wuertz Reifschneider (1900-1978)

Washoe Co.
Scientist

Jennie O’Hare Riordan (1874-1965)

Carson City, White Pine Co.
Educator, Rancher, Wife

Jeanette Edith “Nettie” Farlinger Bremenkampf Rogers (1885-1964)

Eureka/Washoe Co.
Homemaker, poll worker and official, Diamond Rebekah Lodge

Bertha Bishop Ronzone (1885-1969)

Nye/Clark Co.
Business Owner, Wife

Mary Grace O’Donnell Rose (1875-1935)

Humboldt Co.
Government Official

Ruth C. Ruddell (1893-1970)

Pershing Co.
Rancher

Mary Kiehl Rusco (1927-2005)

Washoe Co.
Archaeologist and Anthropologist

Ferminia Sarras (1840-1915)

Esmeralda/Mineral Co.
Prospector, Wife

Jesusa Saval (1890-1982)

Lander Co.
Ranch Owner/Operator

Byrd Fanita Wall Sawyer (1895-1981)

Churchill Co.
Education, Historical Writing, Medical Assistance

Emma Grace Gibbs Schadler (1860-1935)

Washoe County
Millinery shop

Helen Rulison Shipley (1870-1955)

Nye/Washoe Co.
Dentist, Wife

Alice Lucretia Smith (1902-1990)

Washoe Co.
Political Activist

Debbie Smith (1956-2016)

Washoe Co.
Nevada State Senator and Assemblywoman; Benefits information representative, Operating Engineers; board member on numerous school and community organizations.

Louise Aloys Smith (1917-1999)

Pershing Co.
Military Service, Operatic Soprano, Government Official

Mildred Sebbas Smith (1910-1999)

Pershing Co.
Hospital Administrator, Wife

Wilhelmine Heidtman Springmeyer (1847-1928)

Douglas Co.
Ranch Owner, Wife

Sallie Maria Ruperti Springmeyer (1903-2007)

Douglas/Washoe Co.
Attorney, Public Service Activist

Delphine Squires (1868-1961)

Clark Co.
Journalist, Political Activist, Wife

Inez Maria Casale (Booth) Stempeck (1927-2020)

Washoe Co.
Restaurant Owner – Casale’s Halfway Club, Daughter, Wife, Mother, Family Matriarch, Local Celebrity

Helen J. Stewart (1854-1926)

Clark Co.
Rancher, Government Official, Wife

Betty Brang Stoddard-Muncie (1919-2010)

Washoe Co.
Radio/TV host, sales representative

Idah Meacham Strobridge (1855-1932)

Pershing Co.
Author

Ruth Davis Sullivan (1896-1991)

Pershing Co.
Nurse, Piano Teacher

Elizabeth Marie Rasmussen Sundberg (1874-1962)

White Pine Co.
Homemaker, Community Supporter

Louisa Marie Chubbuck Sweetland (1853-1938)

Carson City
Nevada pioneer, homemaker

Margaret Bartlett Thornton (1901-1981)

Washoe/Clark Co.
Poet, Editor, Aviation Enthusiast

Patricia Ann Tripple (1924-2018)

Washoe County
Home Economics Professor and Dean, University of Nevada; Washoe County Assemblywoman

Kathryn L. Marbaker Tubb (1886-1957)

Nye Co.
Rancher, Proprietor of Boarding House/Brothel

No Entries

Lucy Van DeVenter (1848-1928)

Washoe Co.
Political Activist, Wife

Emma Vanderlieth (1864-1920)

Carson City, Washoe Co.
Community Volunteer

Julia Viani

Mineral Co.
Community Volunteer

Barbara Joan Farrell Bugden Dillon Vucanovich (1921-2013)

Washoe Co.
Politics, business owner and community volunteer

Gue Gim Wah (1900-1988)

Lincoln Co.
Boarding House/Restaurant Owner, Wife

Maud Gill Hall Gassaway Waite (1876-1930)

Washoe Co.
Women’s suffrage, Women’s Christian Temperance Union and other civic organizations, Small businesswoman, millinery and dressmaking

Ada Van Sant Stoddard Wallace (1887-1978)

Carson City
Socialite, Painter

Anna B. Mudd Warren (1863-1944)

Storey/Washoe Co.
Attorney

Lois Elizabeth Hatch Deimel Washburn (1902-1959)

Carson City, Churchill/Mineral/Nye Co.
Educator, Government Official, Wife

Isabella May Gourlay Dunn Webb (1880-1948)

Reno, Washoe Co.
Golf professional and course designer; Artist

Edith West

Lyon Co.
Women’s Club Leader, Wife

Dr. Jeanne Wier (1870-1950)

See bio on the NWHP Suffrage Website

Washoe Co.
Professor, Administrator, Historian

Terry Lee Wells (1941-2002)

Washoe Co.
Volunteerism and philanthropy

Dixie Olean Karr Westergard (1935-2007)

Carson City
Educator, Historian, Author

Margaret (Peg) Marean Wheat (1908-1988)

Churchill Co.
Author, Anthropologist, Wife

Mary Daisy Allen Williams White (1873-1958)

Churchill Co.
Government Official, Business Owner, Wife

Frances Slaven Williamson (1842-1919)

Lander/Washoe Co.
Author, Educator, Journalist

Betty Whitehead Willis

Clark Co.
Graphic Design

Bird Wilson (1865-1946)

Esmeralda/Nye Co.
Court Reporter, Mine Owner, Suffragist

Carrie Ellen Willis Wilson (1868-1925)

Lyon Co.
Educator, Civic Volunteer, Wife

Laura May Tilden Wilson (1872-1928)

Storey Co.
Attorney, Notary Public, Suffragist

Hazel Bell Wines (1885-1949)

Elko/Humboldt/Washoe Co.
Educator, Politician, Wife

Sarah Winnemucca (1844-1891)

Humboldt/Pershing/Washoe Co.
Educator, Political Activist, Wife

Kathleen Marie Kelly Pozzi Winters (1920-2024)

Lyon Co., Carson City
Volunteer organization leader

Bertha Sanford Woodard (1916-1999)

Sparks/Reno/Washoe Co.
Nursing, Civil Rights Activist, Wife

Josie Alma Woods (1889-1983)

Eureka Co.
Government Official, Rancher

Alanah Jean Woody (1956-2007)

Carson City; Minden, Douglas County; Reno, Washoe County; Las Vegas, Clark County
Archeology, co-founder and executive director of Nevada Rock Art Foundation