Lallie P. Carlisle
Greenville, Hunt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1866-1949) First woman in Texas to hold an elective public office. Upon death of her first husband, E. W. Briscoe, she was appointed, April 17, 1902, by the Commissioners' Court to complete his term as clerk of Hunt County. At that time women could not vote in Texas. A ruling by the Attorney General of Texas upheld the appointment. Mrs. Briscoe, mother of five, later married C. C. Carlisle.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When her husband, the county clerk, died in 1902, Lallie P. Carlisle was appointed by the Commissioners' Court to finish his term — becoming the first woman in Texas to hold an elective public office. Remarkably, she did so at a time when women in Texas could not yet vote, and the state Attorney General had to affirm that her appointment was valid.
Why it matters
Her office was a quiet milestone in American women's advance into public life, achieved nearly two decades before the Nineteenth Amendment guaranteed them the ballot.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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