Nellie Cline Steenson 

By S.M.

 

Nellie Cline Steenson passed away in 1984 in Pocatello, Idaho. She was born in Larned in 1886 to G. Polk Cline and Maggie Ward Cline. G. Polk was a respected trial lawyer in Western Kansas.

 

Nellie took an interest in law at an early age, and began studying law after graduating from Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas. She was admitted to the state bar and was the first women who pleaded criminal cases orally in the state Supreme Court. She was elected as county attorney. 

 

With the passage in 1920 of the national Suffrage Amendment, Mrs. Steenson was elected one of the first four women ever to serve in the House of Representatives in Kansas.She introduced and succeeded in passing the first law in Kansas which gave protection to farm labor (Threshermen's Lien Law). 

 

After the passing of her husband and father, Mrs. Steenson would later move to Idaho, and become the first woman to serve on the Idaho Senate. Her story continued with many other notable moments in history. 

 

The Santa Fe Trail Center is working to compile the stories of notable figures whose paths have crossed through Pawnee County. Athletes, artists, entertainers, scholars, and scoundrels. We welcome your recommendations as we compile that list.