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Elizabeth (Shoemaker) Sheldon

Born: Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois, on March 15, 1851. Married: Joseph Lemi Sheldon, in Leavenworth, Kansas, on June 21, 1871; they had five children. Died: Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas, on March 23, 1942.

Born in Springfield, Illinois, to Thomas C. and Tennessee (Pierce) Shoemaker, on March 15, 1851, Elizabeth was inspired to follow her family’s legal background. Her father studied law in Abraham Lincoln’s law offices in Illinois. President Franklin Pierce appointed him to be a receiver in a land office in Leavenworth, Kansas Territory, in 1855, and he and his family moved west. A free-state advocate, Shoemaker was murdered by a proslavery mob in 1859.

Lizzie attended public school in Leavenworth. She attended the Episcopal Female Seminary in Topeka, graduating valedictorian in class in 1870. Shoemaker married Joseph Lemi Sheldon, a Civil War veteran and piano tuner, in Leavenworth, on June 21, 1871; they had five children. She enrolled in law school at the University of Kansas, at the same time her daughter was a student there. As a senior, she attended a meeting of the state bar association in 1900, “I have come to the conclusion that a woman who studies law is in exceptionally hard lines,” she said. She earned her law degree that spring, and that summer admitted to practice law in the Kansas Supreme Court.

When she became a member of the Kansas Bar Association in 1902, she was the only woman. As the first woman delegate for the state Democratic Party, she attended the Wichita convention in 1902. An active suffragist, Sheldon lobbied for women’s rights before the Kansas Legislature. Without consulting the Kansas Equal Suffrage Association, she wrote the concurrent suffrage resolution. “The rights of citizens of the state of Kansas to vote and hold offices shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex. Both male and female citizens of this state shall equally enjoy all civil, political and religious rights and privileges.” Senator George H. Hodges, Democrat, introduced the resolution on January 13, 1911. The Kansas Legislature passed Sheldon’s resolution for a constitutional amendment, which Governor Walter R. Stubbs, Republican, signed on February 15, 1911. As a result of her efforts, Kansas women won full suffrage when male voters approved this amendment on November 5, 1912.

Two years later, Lizzie Sheldon became the first woman to run for a seat on the Kansas Supreme Court. Although she lost this election by only 13 votes, she continued to apply her legal expertise in Lawrence as the city’s “most zealous reformer.” She continued to be involved in advocacy, pushing for improvements Lawrence utilities, like roads and water, and representing citizens who challenged subpar services.

Sheldon died in Lawrence, Kansas, at the age of 91 on March 23, 1942. Her grave site at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence has no stone marker.

Entry: Elizabeth (Shoemaker) Sheldon

Author: Kansas Historical Society

Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.

Date Created: November 2024

Date Modified: November 2024

The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.