Mother of the famous actor Orson Welles.
The lead story of the 15 April 1914 issue of the Kenosha Evening News opens:
"Mrs. Beatrice Ives Welles took her seat as a member of the Kenosha Board of Education on Tuesday evening with the organization of the board and the night was made a memorable one on account of the attendance of a large number of women at the session of the board and men and women alike cheered the first woman official of the city as she assumed her duties. Mrs. Welles shared the honors of the evening with a 'mere' man as the members of the new board paid an especial tribute to the work of John B. Maloney as president of the board of education during the year just closed and he was re-elected to his place at the head of the board by the unanimous vote of the members."
The first woman to be elected to any position in Kenosha was Beatrice Ives Welles. A native of Springfield, IL, Beatrice was a renowned pianist who studied under Leopold Godowsky (probably at the Chicago Conservatory) and elocutionist. She married Richard Welles, the scion of many of Kenosha's old-money families, in a private wedding in Chicago on 21 November 1903.
In Kenosha, Beatrice immediately became a society leader. Nearly any significant visitor would be feted with Beatrice providing music. She became a leader in the Woman's Club and agitated for equal suffrage. She either sat on or chaired the committees for virtually every significant civic activity.
In 1914, with Kenosha's schools in deep need of work, she ran for the school board to represent the city's Second Ward (at the time the area south of 60th St and east of the C&NWRy) and won, 293 to 189 over her opponent John I. Chester, the superintendent (later VP) of the Allen Tannery, and also a leader in society circles.
Women were allowed to vote on school items by 1914 with separate ballots with only school matters counted separately from men's votes and added at the bottom.
The population of Kenosha was doubling every decade and doubled again in the next decade, and schools were far behind in growing with the population. On that ballot was a referendum to build a new high school. The 1890 Kenosha High School was already inadequate and the school board asked for permission to take out a $300,000 bond. It was defeated by an overwhelming margin, and Kenosha wouldn't build a new high school until the mid-1920s. (Also in the referendum column was a new $125,000 6th Avenue Bridge, which failed, and a $100,000 water-filtration plant, which also lost, likely because Kenosha was still shy about funding large projects after building the Kenosha and Rockford Railway.
Beatrice Ives Welles would serve two terms on the school board.
Mother of the famous actor Orson Welles.
The lead story of the 15 April 1914 issue of the Kenosha Evening News opens:
"Mrs. Beatrice Ives Welles took her seat as a member of the Kenosha Board of Education on Tuesday evening with the organization of the board and the night was made a memorable one on account of the attendance of a large number of women at the session of the board and men and women alike cheered the first woman official of the city as she assumed her duties. Mrs. Welles shared the honors of the evening with a 'mere' man as the members of the new board paid an especial tribute to the work of John B. Maloney as president of the board of education during the year just closed and he was re-elected to his place at the head of the board by the unanimous vote of the members."
The first woman to be elected to any position in Kenosha was Beatrice Ives Welles. A native of Springfield, IL, Beatrice was a renowned pianist who studied under Leopold Godowsky (probably at the Chicago Conservatory) and elocutionist. She married Richard Welles, the scion of many of Kenosha's old-money families, in a private wedding in Chicago on 21 November 1903.
In Kenosha, Beatrice immediately became a society leader. Nearly any significant visitor would be feted with Beatrice providing music. She became a leader in the Woman's Club and agitated for equal suffrage. She either sat on or chaired the committees for virtually every significant civic activity.
In 1914, with Kenosha's schools in deep need of work, she ran for the school board to represent the city's Second Ward (at the time the area south of 60th St and east of the C&NWRy) and won, 293 to 189 over her opponent John I. Chester, the superintendent (later VP) of the Allen Tannery, and also a leader in society circles.
Women were allowed to vote on school items by 1914 with separate ballots with only school matters counted separately from men's votes and added at the bottom.
The population of Kenosha was doubling every decade and doubled again in the next decade, and schools were far behind in growing with the population. On that ballot was a referendum to build a new high school. The 1890 Kenosha High School was already inadequate and the school board asked for permission to take out a $300,000 bond. It was defeated by an overwhelming margin, and Kenosha wouldn't build a new high school until the mid-1920s. (Also in the referendum column was a new $125,000 6th Avenue Bridge, which failed, and a $100,000 water-filtration plant, which also lost, likely because Kenosha was still shy about funding large projects after building the Kenosha and Rockford Railway.
Beatrice Ives Welles would serve two terms on the school board.
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