Marilla Ricker

By Shelley R.

Marilla was born in 1840. She was born in New Durham. Her full name is Marilla Marks Ricker.

She went to New Durham School when she was a child. She went to Colby Academy to be trained as a teacher at the age 16. Her father taught her politics and philosophy.

Her father, Jonathan Young, was her role model. He believed in her and said she was better than a boy.

In 1909 she wrote a letter that said, "...And in conclusion I will say that so long as women are hanged under the laws they should have a voice in making them." That means they should have a right to vote. The states Attorney General declared that because she was not a man her name could not be included on a voting ballot.

In 1910 She demanded to be put on a voting ballot. She wanted to be Secretary of the State. She was the first women admitted to the New Hampshire Bar and the first woman to file for governor for the state of New Hampshire. In 1883 she was admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia. That means she got to practice law. She was in a club named The National Women Suffrage Association. This group fought for women's rights. She was one of the first women admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the land.

Marilla Ricker was a teacher, a lawyer that brought the more important case to court, she also fought for women's rights, and was a writer. She wrote, lectured, and published several books and many articles. One article was called, "Marriage A failure?" It challenged the loss of legal rights when a woman got married. She was the leader of fighting for women's rights. She specialized in criminal law. That means she tried to get people out of jail. She was named prisoners friend because she tried to get people out of jail.

The 19th amendment to the U.S. constitution allowed Marilla to vote in the elections of 1920. She was the first woman to vote but he vote was not counted.

She got married in 1863 to John Ricker, who lived only 5 years after their marriage. John Ricker was 56, a wealthy farmer, who shared Marilla's beliefs in equality. He left her a fortune of 50,000 dollars. Her husband died in 1868.

Marilla didn't believe in God or Christian people and she helped the poor.

Marilla died from a stroke in Dover on November 12, 1920.

The 1997 it was decided that Suffragist, Marilla Ricker's portrait would be displayed in an historical area.

I had lots of fun researching Marilla Ricker. Most of my research came from newspaper articles.