Edna Beard

Edna Beard
From the November 9, 1922 edition of The Bethel Courier newspaper (Bethel, VT)
Member of the Vermont Senate from Orange County
In office 1923–1925
Preceded by	John C. Sherburne
Succeeded by	Frederick H. Bickford
Chairwoman of the Vermont Senate Committee on the Library
In office 1923–1925
Preceded by	Harlow A. Bottum
Succeeded by	Daniel Johnson
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from the Town of Orange
In office 1921–1923
Preceded by	Sherman Chamberlain
Succeeded by	Charles Colby
Town Treasurer of Orange, Vermont
In office 1912–1928
Preceded by	Royal Edson Beard
Succeeded by	Earl D. Emerson
Personal details
Born	(1877-07-25)July 25, 1877 Chenoa, Illinois, U.S.
Died	September 18, 1928(1928-09-18) (aged 51) Orange, Vermont, U.S.
Resting place	Orange Center Cemetery Orange, Vermont, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Other political affiliations	Citizen's Party (September–November 1920)
Parent(s)	Royal Edson Beard (1845-1912) Flora (Curtiss) Beard (1849-1920)
Education	Spaulding High School, Barre, Vermont
Occupation	Farmer School teacher and administrator Town treasurer

Edna Louisa Beard (July 25, 1877 – September 18, 1928) was the first woman legislator in Vermont; she was the first woman elected to the Vermont House of Representatives, and the first woman elected to the Vermont Senate.^[1][2]

A native of Illinois, her parents were from Orange, Vermont, and returned there in the early 1880s. Beard was raised and educated in Orange, graduated from Spaulding High School in Barre, and became a school teacher and administrator. She also served in local offices including town treasurer, and operated a dairy farm in partnership with one of her brothers.

In 1920, the Constitution's Nineteenth Amendment made it possible for women to vote in statewide and national elections. Beard ran for the Republican nomination to represent Orange in the Vermont House of Representatives. She lost, and subsequently filed to run as a third party candidate. 40 women in Orange registered to vote between the primary and general elections, and enough supported her to tip the scales for Beard, who won the seat and became Vermont's first woman state legislator. She served one term, 1921 to 1923, and in 1922 was a successful candidate for the State Senate, becoming the first woman to serve in that body. She left politics in 1924 because of ill health, but remained active on her farm and in her church.

Beard never married or had children. She died in Orange, and was buried at Orange Center Cemetery.