Esther Hobart Morris. Wyo.History, Wyoming State Archives.

Widowed by her first husband, Esther Morris (August 8, 1814 - April. 2, 1902) moved to Peru, Illinois, to settle her husband's estate, where she learned the legal difficulties women faced.

In 1869, she moved to a gold rush camp at South Pass City, Wyoming Territory, hoping to spread the word about women's suffrage. Later that year, she held a tea party at her home where she invited twenty influential men, electors, and both candidates running for the legislature to dinner, including William Bright. She presented the women's cause to her guests and asked each candidate if "he would give his solemn pledge that, if elected, he would introduce and support a woman suffrage bill." Sources say she would not let her guests go until they pledged to vote for suffrage.

She changed frontiers when she pushed for women's rights.

Cheyenne's Historical Morris House Officially Reopens. Townsquare Media