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Arizona pioneering women overcame hardships and tragedies hard to image today. Rachel Berry encountered her share of troubles during the years she spent in Arizona Territory as she struggled to raise her family against difficult odds. Her belief that education opened doors for untold possibilities led her to the steps of the State House of Representatives, where she took her seat as one of the first women in the country to be elected to a state legislature.
Born March 11, 1859, in Ogden, Utah, Rachel taught school in Kanarraville until she married William Berry in 1879. Two years later, she and William, along with 1-year-old Lavenia and 3-month-old Mary Alice, climbed aboard a covered wagon and, with 18 other members of the Mormon Church, started the long trek from Utah to Arizona.
For three months, the group followed the Mormon Trail, crossed the Colorado River at Lee's Ferry, and made their way to St. Johns in eastern Arizona near what is now the New Mexico border. When they arrived on Jan. 27, 1882, it may have been snowing as St. Johns' average snowfall in January can be well over 20 inches.
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The families initially used their wagons and pitched tents for shelter until they could construct more permanent structures. William Berry built a log cabin for his family and later erected the first brick house in St. Johns. Having herded cattle and horses on the long journey, William became a successful cattleman and rancher, eventually adding sheep to his flock. He served as Apache County sheriff.
Rachel taught school in St. Johns. William Wiley was born in 1883, followed by Rebecca "Jennie" in 1885.
In 1889, diphtheria raged through St. Johns. All of Rachel's children came down with the sickness. Pregnant with her fifth child, her own health suffered as she also contracted the disease. Infant Clarence, born later that year, was too ill to survive and died 16 days later. She had two more children (Gerald and Eulalia) after Clarence's death.
By the early 1900s, life had settled somewhat. Oldest son William Wiley was sent back to Utah to attend Brigham Young University. Home on a school break in December 1903, he and a friend helped his father herd the family sheep out to pasture. Conflicts between sheep and cattle owners had always been precarious and this time, a couple of cattlemen took their resentment out on the two young men, resulting in the killing of William and his friend. William was buried on Christmas Eve.
In 1910, when the Constitutional Convention brought out women who pushed for suffrage, Rachel took up the cause and became part of the team that was headed by Arizona suffragist Frances Munds (see Aug. 16, 2020, Western Women column on Frances Munds). In 1912, Arizona women gained the right to vote and to hold public office. Rachel saw her chance to make a difference in the new state.
Representing Apache County, she ran unopposed in the 1914 primary election for a seat in the House of Representatives and defeated another woman in the general election, becoming the first woman to hold a seat in the State House of Representatives. At the same time, Frances Munds became the first woman to win a seat in the State Senate.
Immediately, Rachel stirred up controversy by trying to ban cigar smoking and tobacco chewing from legislative halls, resulting in some bad press for the newly-elected representative.
"It's mighty tough on the press lads," wrote one journalist, "to say nothing of the members, some of whom aver their inability to think straight without the comforting presence of Our Lady Nicotine."
Rachel argued back. "If smoking were abolished it would be a benefit to mankind. It's all nonsense about tobacco quieting the nerves. If the men did not use it they would not be nervous."
Licking her wounds when the tobacco proposition failed, Rachel concentrated on bills that would improve the educational system and child welfare. She also chaired the Good Roads Committee, since to get to the state legislature from St. Johns she had to travel by wagon a far distance before catching a train into Phoenix, a long, arduous journey.
During her two-year legislative stint, Rachel was also instrumental in getting the state flag adopted in February 1917, even though Gov. Thomas E. Campbell refused to sign the bill. Designed by Charles Harris, the adjutant general of the Arizona National Guard, the first flag was sewn by Nancy Hayden, wife of Congressman Carl Hayden.
While serving in the legislature, Rachel lost three of her grandchildren (children of daughter Jennie) when the Lyman Dam breached along the Colorado River and heavy flood waters tore through St. Johns, another blow she had to overcome.
Leaving the House of Representatives in 1917, Rachel and her Senate counterpart, Frances Munds, were lauded for their "quiet dignity and excellent grasp of affairs. They have justified their selection and advanced their cause of suffrage."
Returning to St. Johns, Rachel concentrated on her hometown's needs, particularly those concerning children in her community. She was active on the Apache County Child Welfare Board, president of the Relief Society and Mutual Improvement Association, and served as trustee of the St. Johns' school.
In 1928, she bought a house in Phoenix and spent her winters there while returning to St. Johns during the summer months. Yet she had no intention of retiring to a quiet life. She never wanted to be "just an old lady with nothing to do."
Rachel had definite opinions on just about any topic and had little trouble expressing herself. On the subject of women's fashion, she was delighted to see women shortening their skirts so they no longer swept dusty, dirty streets.
"I like to keep up with the fashions but I had enough of long skirts when I was a girl," she said. "My dresses suit me fine when they're just a little below the knee, and I hope sincerely that styles never take the hemline to the ankle again."
Rachel died in her Phoenix home on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25, 1948, and is buried in the St. Johns Cemetery.
Jan Cleere is the author of several historical nonfiction books about the early people of the Southwest. Email her at [email protected]. Website: www.JanCleere.com.
Sources
Brown, Stan. "Rachel E. Berry, Arizona's First Female Legislator - Part 1." Days Past. A publication of Sharlot Hall Museum. Aug. 21, 2020. Accessed at https://shorturl.at/bPkAv.
Brown, Stan. "Rachel E. Berry, Arizona's First Female Legislator - Part 2." Days Past. A publication of Sharlot Hall Museum. Aug. 28, 2010. Accessed at https://archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1/rachel-e-berry-arizonas-first-female-legislator-part-2.
Osselaer, Heidi J. Winning Their Place: Arizona Women in Politics, 1883-1950. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2009.
"Property Damage is at Least Half Million." Arizona Daily Star. April 16, 1915.
"Rachel Emma Allen Barry." Arizona Women's Hall of Fame. Accessed at https://www.azwhf.org/copy-of-helen-thomas-bennett.
"Smoking is First Serious Issue in New Legislature." Arizona Republic. January 12, 1915.
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