Massachusetts politician
Emma Elizabeth Brigham (née Neal; June 10, 1872 – July 17, 1973) was an American politician.
Personal life
Brigham was born on June 10, 1872, in Hartford, Vermont.[1] She was a descendant of colonial Massachusetts Governors John Winthrop and Thomas Dudley.[1]
She married Fred C. Brigham in 1900 and they had a daughter, Mrs. J. Kendall Joy.[1] She died on July 17, 1973, in Hackettstown, New Jersey, and was survived by two sisters, Alleda T. Neal and Mrs. A.C. Pasini.[1] Her funeral was held at Springfield's Hope Congregational Church and was buried in the city's Oak Grove Cemetery.[1]
Career
After passing the state exam to receive a teacher's certificate at the age of 13, Brigham taught in a rural Vermont school for two years.[1] She then attended the Randolph Normal School before earning a nursing diploma from the Massachusetts General Hospital.[1]
Brigham was the first woman on Springfield, Massachusetts' Common Council and the first woman to serve on its Board of Aldermen.[1] She was inaugurated to the city council on January 1, 1923.[2]
From 1928 to 1936, Brigham represented Springfield's Ward 4 in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a Republican.[1][2][3]
References
