1st Wyoming Territorial Legislature

Meeting of the Wyoming Legislature February 2026 December 2024 January 2025 1st Wyoming Territorial Legislature Thomas McLeland Building.png The Thomas McLeland Building where the Council met on the second floor Wyoming Legislature United States Wyoming Territory Thomas McLeland Building Arcade Building 1869–1871 2nd Wyoming Council 9 Senators Democratic President of the Council William H. Bright Majority Leader Minority Leader Wyoming House of Representatives 13 RepresentativesThe Territorial House of Representatives was given thirteen members and thirteen were elected in the 1869 elections, but Representative J. M. Freeman did not arrive in the legislature during the session.https://books.google.com/books?id=K9M4AAAAIAAJ&dq=wyoming+territorial+speaker+of+the+house+1869&pg=PA189 General Laws, Memorials and Resolutions of the Territory of Wyoming Public Printer 1874 16 Google Books Democratic Speaker of the House S. M. Curran Majority Leader Minority Leader The 1st Wyoming Territorial Legislature was a meeting of the Wyoming Legislature that lasted from October 12 to December 10, 1869. This was the first meeting of the territorial legislature following the creation of the Wyoming Territory by the United States Congress. History Creation On July 25, 1868, the United States Congress approved the Wyoming Organic Act which created the Wyoming Territory with land from the Dakota, Utah, and Idaho territories. At the time of the territory's formation there were four counties; Albany, Carbon, Carter, and Laramie counties.https://sites.google.com/a/wyo.gov/state-of-wyoming/about-wyoming/wyoming-history Wyoming History https://archive.today/20200525122931/https://sites.google.com/a/wyo.gov/state-of-wyoming/about-wyoming/wyoming-history May 25, 2020 live May 25, 2020 On September 2, 1869, the first legislature elections were held where the Democratic Party won all of the seats in the Council and House of Representatives.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52084238/northumberland-county-democrat/ Clean Democratic Sweep of the Territory of Wyoming - Democratic Member of Congress Elected September 3, 1869 Northumberland County Democrat https://archive.today/20200525133339/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52084238/northumberland-county-democrat/ May 25, 2020 live 2 Newspapers.com May 25, 2020 Formation thumb|right|The legislation passed by the Wyoming Territorial Legislature giving women the right to vote. The first session of the Wyoming territorial legislature occurred from October 12, to December 10, 1869. The upper house Council met in the Thomas McLeland Building and the House of Representatives met in the Arcade Building in Cheyenne, Wyoming. On October 12, John H. Howe, Chief Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court, inaugurated the twenty-one members of the territorial legislature.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52082193/wisconsin-state-journal/ From The West October 13, 1869 Wisconsin State Journal https://archive.today/20200525132554/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52082193/wisconsin-state-journal/ May 25, 2020 live 1 Newspapers.com May 25, 2020 William H. Bright was selected to serve as the President of the Council and S. M. Curran was selected to serve as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Council convened with two members missing, W. S. Rockwell and George Wilson Jr., who would later arrive on October 15 and October 27. The House of Representatives convened with five members missing, with four of them arriving by November 23, but Representative J. M. Freeman never arrived.https://books.google.com/books?id=9zVKYtdsUDEC&dq=speaker+of+the+wyoming+house+1869&pg=PA87 History of Wyoming University of Nebraska Press 1990 73 0803279361 Google Books Second Legislation During the legislative session legislation giving women the right to vote was introduced by William Bright in the council.https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/right-choice-wrong-reasons-wyoming-women-win-right-vote Right Choice, Wrong Reasons: Wyoming Women Win the Right to Vote November 8, 2014 https://archive.today/20200525143200/https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/right-choice-wrong-reasons-wyoming-women-win-right-vote May 25, 2020 live May 25, 2020 On December 6, 1869, Council voted seven to two in favor and the House of Representatives voted seven to four in favor. On December 10, Governor John Allen Campbell signed the legislation into law.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52081811/the-philadelphia-inquirer/ Passage of the Female Suffrage Bill December 7, 1869 The Philadelphia Inquirer https://archive.today/20200525132013/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52081811/the-philadelphia-inquirer/ May 25, 2020 live 4 Newspapers.com May 25, 2020 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52081335/harrisburg-telegraph/ The Wyoming Legislature December 9, 1869 Harrisburg Telegraph https://archive.today/20200525122112/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52081335/harrisburg-telegraph/ May 25, 2020 live 2 Newspapers.com May 25, 2020 Amalia Post, a leader in the woman suffrage movement, was largely instrumental in having the franchise granted women in Wyoming Territory by the 1st Wyoming Territorial Legislature.Prominent Woman Suffragist https://www.newspapers.com/image/570544818/?terms=Amalia%20Post&match=1 22 April 2021 St. Louis Globe-Democrat Newspapers.com 29 January 1897 6 en The legislature passed legislation renaming Carter County to Sweetwater and created Uinta County.https://books.google.com/books?id=meQyAQAAIAAJ Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming: Pages 351 to 352 Weston historical association 1904 351 Google Books Membership Council AffiliationParty (Shading indicates majority caucus)TotalDemocraticRepublicanVacantBeginning of 1st Legislature 9https://wyomingbluebook.wiki.zoho.com/Legislative-Branch.html?pid=5433797000000005017&opname=Legislative-Branch 1869 Legislature Membership https://archive.today/20200525120007/https://wyomingbluebook.wiki.zoho.com/Legislative-Branch.html?pid=5433797000000005017&opname=Legislative-Branch May 25, 2020 live May 25, 2020 0 90Latest voting share100%0% Members of the Wyoming Council Senator Party Counties represented James W. Brady Democratic Albany William H. Bright Democratic Carter Frederick Laycock Democratic Albany T. D. Murrin Democratic Laramie T. W. Poole Democratic Laramie W. S. Rockwell Democratic Carter George Wardman Democratic Carter J. R. Whitehead Democratic Laramie George Wilson Democratic Carbon House of Representatives AffiliationParty (Shading indicates majority caucus)TotalDemocraticRepublicanVacantBeginning of 1st Legislature 12 0 13The Territorial House of Representatives was given thirteen members and thirteen were elected in the 1869 elections, but Representative J. M. Freeman did not arrive in the legislature during the session.https://books.google.com/books?id=K9M4AAAAIAAJ&dq=wyoming+territorial+speaker+of+the+house+1869&pg=PA189 General Laws, Memorials and Resolutions of the Territory of Wyoming Public Printer 1874 16 Google Books1Latest voting share100%0% Members of the Wyoming House of Representatives Representative Party Counties represented J. C. Abney Democratic LaramieWyoming Digital Suite Wyoming State Library 1869 House Journal of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Wyoming, 1869 https://pluto.wyo.gov/awweb/pdfopener?md=1&did=11018985 February 9, 2022 S. M. Curran Democratic Carbon J. N. Douglas Democratic Albany J. M. Freeman Democratic Herman Haas Democratic William Herrick Democratic Albany John Holbrook Democratic James Menafee Democratic Carter Louis Miller Democratic Albany Howard Sebree Democratic Benjamin Sheeks Democratic Carter J. C. Strong Democratic Posey S. Wilson Democratic Laramie References Notes Category:Wyoming legislative sessions