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Consuelo Northrup Bailey (1889-1976)

Consuelo Northrup Bailey blazed trails for women: She was the first woman admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court; one of the first women in the nation to be elected a prosecutor; the first and only woman to serve as speaker of the Vermont House; and the first woman in the nation to be elected lieutenant governor.

Outspoken and very conservative, Bailey never considered herself a feminist. One of her favorite epitaphs was "Born a woman; died a person." But she was conscious of being first. In her acceptance speech after being elected speaker in 1953, Bailey told of when Calvin Coolidge "said he was going to appoint a woman to the United States Customs Court of New York City he was told that no woman had ever held the post and he replied, 'No one will ever say that again."'

Bailey decided in 1955 that Vermont was not ready to elect a woman governor so she decided not to seek re-election as lieutenant governor. Lola Aiken, wife of U.S. Sen. George Aiken, said she feels Bailey was right. "If she had run for governor, I think she would have been slaughtered," she said.