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We know we could never tell the stories of every single woman in Northern Utah, we would love your help on adding to the history. Fill out this form and tell us about the women who know who have strengthened, shaped and served their communities.
1880-1920

Rachel was the granddaughter of Captain James Brown. In 1890. she moved to Ogden. She married and after her spouse passed, she worked as a nurse during the 1917 flu epidemic and home births. In 1928, she opened the first permanent open market, the California Free Market.

Rachel Child Browning was the wife of famed gun inventor John M. Browning. She was widely known for her charitable activities. Much of her work was done privately but she was said to have aided hundreds of families in Ogden.

Dr. Burns worked as an osteopath in Ogden. She was instrumental in the medical care at the Crittenton home for young women. She was a founding member of the Ogden Business and Professional Women's Club.

Helena taught all grades at the Utah State Industrial School. She began teaching in 1917 and taught 34 years without a single absent day. She taught physical education and organized the first pep club for girls in 1920. In 1940, she was responsible for the largest class in Red Cross training to ever graduate in the United States.

Lucy Clark was born in Farmington and became active in the Suffrage movement. She was the only woman who had a seat on the floor of the Republication convention in 1908 as a regular delegate. She was the only woman who voted in the convention.

In 1902, Mary was elected to the House of Representatives of the Utah Legislature and was the only woman member in the fifth general assembly. She was the first woman to have served as a chairman of the judiciary committee of a state legislature body in the United States.

Dr. Davidson was born in Indiana. She moved to Los Angeles and studied medicine. There she met Dr. Margaret Burns and moved to Ogden to practice medicine. She was an osteopath until she passed away in 1915.

Dica moved to North Ogden in 1915. She worked as a practical nurse and midwife, helping out wherever needed. She was active in positions in the LDS Church as well.

Annie Taylor Dee was the matriarch of the Dee Family. She lost both her husband and son to untimely deaths. After the death of her husband, Annie decided to open the Thomas D. Dee Memorial Hospital for the Ogden community. During the first few years, the hospital was open she didn’t charge women for giving birth at the facility.

Elizabeth DeLong became deaf after a bout with scarlet fever at the age of 5. She attended the Utah School for the Deaf in Ogden. After graduating from Gallaudet College, she became the first deaf teacher at the Ogden school with a teaching degree. She was the first deaf woman state association president in the entire nation.

Bertha Eccles was the wife of entrepreneur David Eccles. After his death in 1912, she was responsible for raising their twelve children and continuing his legacy of giving back to Ogden. She was heavily involved in the Martha Society and Child Culture Club. She was one of the women responsible for bringing the Girl Scouts organization to Ogden.

Lila was elected president for the Utah chapter of the National Council of Women Voters. She represented Weber County at the national convention in Wyoming in 1916.

Gene Browning Ellis was philanthropist who supported many charitable organizations in northern Utah. During World War I, she sold liberty bonds at an auto booth on Ogden’s streets to raise money for the war effort.

Emma attended the Utah School for the Deaf in Ogden. In 1907, she graduated and became the second deaf student to enter the University of Utah. She received her teaching degree in 1917. She was a suffragette.

Eliza emigrated from England to Utah in 1873. After the death of her second husband in 1891, she established a grocery store in her home and operated it for 26 years.

Annie was born in North Ogden and studied nursing at St. Mark's Hospital. She was the director of nurses at the Dee Hospital from 1912-1914 and St. Marks from 196-17. During WWI, she enlisted in the Nurses Corps.

Kate was a leader in the Socialist party in Northern Utah. She was active in women’s clubs and the suffragette movement. In 1902, she ran for the State House of Representatives as part of the Socialist party.

Capitola moved to Ogden in 1888 with her husband. She was one of the first music teachers in Ogden. Many prominent musicians in Utah were among her students. She was a charter member of the Children's Aid Society and Historical Society.

Born in Port Gibson, New York, in 1852, Linda Irwin came to Ogden in 1891 and became one of the city's early teachers. First hired to teach in a one-room schoolhouse for $40 a month, Linda would go on teach thousands of Ogden's children in her 38 year career. She died in Ogden in 1941.

Belle London was the madam name for Dora Topham. She first appeared in Ogden in 1889 when she was arrested for prostitution. She quickly moved up in the underworld and became a madam. She was known to have complete control over Ogden including running the police and politics. Rev. Elderkin called her the Queen of the Underworld in 1909. She declared herself the greatest woman reformer in the world and was a philanthropist by doing more for the poor degrade womanhood than anyone.

She was a milliner. She owned and operated a millinery business at 3456 Washington for more than 30 years. She was a member of the the Business and Professional Women's Club. Sold hats, coats, jewelry and dresses. in 1927, asked Ogden City Police to board up empty houses and buildings in an effort to curtail crime. There was a rash of burglaries and attacks.

Joined the Women's Christian Temperance Union when she moved to Utah. She took on prison work. Her first visit to the jail she remarked on how untidy and unkempt the men were. Most didn't know how to act with a woman present. She said she was not a preacher and the men said they needed a mother so she became known as "Mother Montgomery." She, along with James Eads Hows, the Millionaire Hobo, tried to start a homeless shelter in Ogden but only lasted 2 months through the winter.

She was the daughter of Chauncey and Martha West. Jennie served on the Woman's Executive Committee for the Ogden Dry Campaign in 1911. She was president of the Woman's Suffrage association in Ogden. She served as president of the Weber county women's Republican club.

She was trained in homeopathic medicine and surgery at the University of Michigan. Following graduation, she came directly to Ogden where she practiced up to her death. In 1919, she was elected as a delegate to the supreme review of the Women's Benefit association of the Maccabees. She lived with Miss Ida Pearl Woodworth (a nurse) for 25 years. She was a member of the Neighbors of Woodcraft and Maccabees.

During the 25 years Dr. Jane was a member of the LDS Hospital Staff, she was instructor and examining physician for the nurses' classes; established a more thorough physical examination for training school entrance, thereby raising the standard of both the training school and the hospital; established a nurses' loan fund and developed a merit system of awards for greater efficiency among them. In 1912, she was nominated to the lower house in the Utah legislature after failing to get the senate.

Margaret graduated with a CPA. She moved to Ogden and established the "Merchant's Credit Bureau" becoming the first woman in the United States to own an adjustment bureau. She took care of her clients and taught them how to take care of their money. Her office hired women workers and she trained them well. She started the Business and Professional Women club in Ogden and became the national chairman of public relations.

Agnes was the second female admitted to the Utah State Bar in 1912. She was a partner with her husband in a law firm. In 1908, she was elected secretary of the Democratic primary. She was chief clerk in the claim attorney's office of Oregon Short Line before passing the bar. She was the first woman in Utah allowed to practice before the US Supreme Court. She focused on trusts, estates and probate issues.

Margaret was a teacher in North Ogden and taught for 30 years before retiring in 1947. She spent her career teaching 5-7th grades starting in 1918.

Olive was the daughter of Jonathan and Ann Browning. She married Joseph Wallace on Dec. 27, 1883. She was a member of the DUP and owned Wallace Drug. In 1899, she sued Charles Layne. Sheriff Layne took possession of the drug store by virtue of an execution on a judgment again J.H. Wallace. Olive claimed it was her property and brought the suit for $2,000: $1,000 for the stock of goods seized and $200 in damages. She was awarded the possession of the store.

She was the president of the Utah federation of Women's Clubs in 1921-1924. She was active in Child Culture Club and Martha Society and helped to form the junior societies of both clubs. She aided in the purchase of the Martha Society home, where many children were cared for. She helped pay for the building of the First Church of Christ Scientist of Ogden. She was active during WWI in Red Cross and community chest drives.

In 1879, she became the first president of the primary association in Weber County. She held that position for 17 years. In 1912, she organized the Daughters of Utah Pioneers of Ogden and served as president. She cared for her sick mother for 7 years and took a retirement from public activities. She died in 1933 after a month long illness. She was appointed second counselor in the primary associations of the LDS Church in 1897.

During the influenza outbreak, Elza was one of many Ogden school teachers who volunteers as nurses and helpers in the homes of the ill. The women served as nurse, housekeeper, laundress and cook. Some cared for children as the mother was ill with the flu. She was a kindergarten teacher at Mound Fort and Grant schools. She went with Miss Evelyn McCune during the summer of 1918 to San Francisco to work in the YWCA hostess houses.