Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Mabel Lee Baker, 1880-?
By Tristen Hust, student, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
Mabel Ruth Baker was believed to have been born on December 6, 1880, to Stephen Franklin and Irene Willard. Although she was noted as Mrs. Mabel Ruth Baker in The Woman Citizen of February 1920, her husband remains unknown. The Legislature Record for Colorado lists her as a housewife, though her husband and number of children remain unknown. Her date and place of death are also unknown.
In 1919, Baker was elected with one other female, Dr. May F. Bigelow, as representatives in the Colorado Assembly. From 1919 to 1924 Baker served in the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican. While serving, she was a member of several committees including Temperance, State Institutions, Medical Affairs and Public Health (Chair), Denver City Affairs, Education (Chair), Enrollment, Insurance, and Revision and Engrossment. She is listed as serving in the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th General Assembly House. Her most active year appears to be 1921, when she served as Chair of the Education Committee. The House Journal shows that several bills were introduced by Baker, mostly concerning education. One bill, regarding a minimum wage for teachers, was listed in the March 27, 1921 issue of the Herald Democrat. During her terms, she resided in Denver, Colorado.
Sources:
Ida Husted Harper, et al., eds., History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 6 (1922) [LINK]
"Mabel Ruth Baker." Her Hat Was in the Ring! U.S. Women Who Ran for Political Office Before 1920. Accessed April 10, 2017. http://www.herhatwasinthering.org/biography.php?id=7483.
House Journal of the General Assembly if the State of Colorado. Denver: General Assembly House of Representatives, 1921, p. 215, 239, 975.
Blackwell, Alice Stone. "Women Legislatures and Ratification." The Woman Citizen, no.4, 2010, p. 898.
Pope, Charles Henry, Joseph Willard and Charles Wilkes Walker. Willard Genealogy. Boston: Willard Family Association, p. 469.
"Pollock's Bill Slid Smoothly Thru House on Final Reading—Minimum School Wage Is Fixed at Seventy-Five Dollars." Herald Democrat. March 27, 1921, p. 1.