Ida Sammis
Encyclopedia
Ida Sammis Woodruff Satchwell (née Bunce) (October 8, 1865–June 3, 1943) was a prominent early female Republican party
suffragist and politician from Suffolk County, New York
. After women gained the right to vote in New York in 1917, she ran for elected office in the November 1918 election, and was one of two females elected to serve in the 1919 session of the New York State Assembly
.
She married a merchant, Edgar A. Sammis, who died in a car accident in 1917. Ida and Edgar had one son together.
she was the first female to serve in the New York State Assembly. Sammis continued to be active in community organizations following her one term as an assemblywoman.
assigned to her, polish it to a brilliant shine, and place it on her desk as a vase filled with flowers.
Sammis primarily concerned herself with legislation affecting her Assembly district. During Sammis' first year in the Assembly, ten of fourteen bills that she introduced were passed.
Sammis introduced a bill "prohibiting the employment of women under 21 as elevator conductors; and forbidding adult women to be employed as elevator conductors more than 54 hours a week, or before 7 A. M., or after 10 P. M. The bill also rules that seats must be provided for all women conductors in elevators."
Ida Satchwell died June 3, 1943.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
suffragist and politician from Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...
. After women gained the right to vote in New York in 1917, she ran for elected office in the November 1918 election, and was one of two females elected to serve in the 1919 session of the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
.
Family and early life
Ida Sammis was born to Eliphalet and Margaret (Rogers) Bunce on October 8, 1865 in Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York.She married a merchant, Edgar A. Sammis, who died in a car accident in 1917. Ida and Edgar had one son together.
Political career
After women gained the right to vote in New York in 1917, Sammis ran for elected office, and along with Mary LillyMary Lilly
Mary Lilly was a Progressive era activist who had a prominent role in New York City's social reform movements during the last decades of the 19th Century and early decades of the 20th Century...
she was the first female to serve in the New York State Assembly. Sammis continued to be active in community organizations following her one term as an assemblywoman.
New York State Assemblywoman
According to legend, Sammis' first act as a legislator was to remove the brass spittoonSpittoon
A spittoon is a receptacle made for spitting into, especially by users of chewing and dipping tobacco. It is also known as a cuspidor , although that term is also used for a type of spitting sink used in dentistry."Spittoon" can also be slang American English...
assigned to her, polish it to a brilliant shine, and place it on her desk as a vase filled with flowers.
Sammis primarily concerned herself with legislation affecting her Assembly district. During Sammis' first year in the Assembly, ten of fourteen bills that she introduced were passed.
Sammis introduced a bill "prohibiting the employment of women under 21 as elevator conductors; and forbidding adult women to be employed as elevator conductors more than 54 hours a week, or before 7 A. M., or after 10 P. M. The bill also rules that seats must be provided for all women conductors in elevators."
Later life and death
Her second husband was Alden J. Woodruff, a retired doctor from Babylon NY whom she married in January 1923. After the death of Woodruff she married a third time, to George E. Satchwell.Ida Satchwell died June 3, 1943.