Hattie Noble
Harriet "Hattie" Fitch Noble (December 1848 – August 21, 1930) was an American educator and politician. She represented Boise County in the Idaho House of Representatives from 1898 to 1899.[1] She was an advocate for women's suffrage and education.
Early life
[edit]She was born Harriet Fitch Luckett in December 1848 in Columbus City, Iowa, to Maria and Joseph A. Luckett who ran a saloon.[2][3] She is sometimes referred to as Harriet "Hattie" Luckett Noble,[4] as Luckett was her maiden-name.[2]
She moved with her family at the age of two to join the California Gold Rush and her father opened a saloon and bowling alley in Bestville, California.[2] She was sent with her grandmother to attended school at St. Helen’s Hall in Portland, Oregon.[5][1] Her family moved in 1865 to Idaho City and she joined them in 1867 and became a schoolteacher at the age of nineteen.[2] Her father, who died in 1872, was one of the founding members of the Idaho City Mason Lodge.[2]
She married the gold prospector William B. Noble in 1875, he had moved to Idaho in 1861 and was originally from Kentucky.[2] Being born in 1823 he was around 25 years older than her.[2] He suffered a head injury causing brain damage and became disabled and died in 1898 just before she held office.[2] They had four children: Gertrude (born 1876), William (born 1877), May (born 1880), and Harry (born 1883).[2]
After his death she continued to run his businesses and she started to become involved with the Democratic Party, temperance movement, and suffrage.[2]
Politics
[edit]Her first political position was when she was elected as the Engrossment Clerk for the 1875 legislative session.[2]
After Idaho gave voting rights to women in 1896 she was elected as a Democrat in 1898 to the Idaho House of Representatives with two other women Mary A. Wright, a Populist of Kootenai County and Clara Campbell, a Republican of Ada County, Idaho.[6] She represented Boise County along with representative E. T. Morgan and Senator Gilbert F. Smith, both Democrats.[7] She served on the Committee for Enrolment and Public Health.[2]
During her term she helped, along with Burton L. French, defeat a concerted effort to close the University of Idaho.[1]
She did not seek re-election.[4]
Death
[edit]Noble died August 21, 1930, at her home 920 Hays Street, Boise, Idaho; she had been ill for two weeks.[1] She was survived by her two daughters May and Gertrude, both teachers, and two sons William and Harry.[1] She is buried in Boise at the Morris Hill Cemetery.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Obituary for Hattie F Noble - Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Biographical Sketch of Harriet Fitch Noble | Alexander Street Documents". Alexander Street. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ Idaho Yesterdays. Idaho Historical Society. 1994. p. 2.
- ^ a b Weatherford, Doris (20 January 2012). Women in American Politics: History and Milestones. ISBN 9781608710072.
- ^ Biennial Report of the Board of Trustees of the State Historical Society of Idaho. The Society. 1922.
- ^ "Three women elected". Elmore Bulletin. 1 December 1898. p. 2. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ "Returns on Legislature". The Idaho Statesman. 11 November 1898. p. 4. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ "Hattie F. Noble". The Idaho Statesman. 23 August 1930. p. 4. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- 19th-century American women educators
- Politicians from Boise, Idaho
- 1848 births
- 1930 deaths
- Democratic Party members of the Idaho House of Representatives
- People from Louisa County, Iowa
- Schoolteachers from Idaho
- 19th-century American educators
- 19th-century American legislators
- Women state legislators in Idaho
- 19th-century American women politicians
- Oregon Episcopal School alumni
- 19th-century Idaho politicians