Florence Fifer Bohrer was born January 24, 1877, into a political family in Bloomington, Illinois. She was the youngest child of Gertrude and Joseph Fifer.
She attended school in Wisconsin and graduated in 1895. After graduation, she returned to Bloomington and met Jacob Bohrer. They married in 1898.
Florence spent the next two decades raising her family, hosting social functions and was very active in many organizations. She was instrumental in getting a TB sanitarium built in McLean County. Florence gained valuable lobbying experience and made many political allies.
In 1924, she was approached by a group of friends who thought she should run for the Illinois Senate. Women had only received the right to vote a few years earlier. Joseph Fifer, the former governor, was not particularly supportive, but she decided to run after receiving the support of her husband and her mother.
She campaigned throughout her district running against an incumbent Republican and defeated her opponent by a two to one margin to become the first woman in the Illinois State Senate.
In 1928, she won a second term to the Senate.
Florence Fifer Bohrer was born January 24, 1877, into a political family in Bloomington, Illinois. She was the youngest child of Gertrude and Joseph Fifer.
She attended school in Wisconsin and graduated in 1895. After graduation, she returned to Bloomington and met Jacob Bohrer. They married in 1898.
Florence spent the next two decades raising her family, hosting social functions and was very active in many organizations. She was instrumental in getting a TB sanitarium built in McLean County. Florence gained valuable lobbying experience and made many political allies.
In 1924, she was approached by a group of friends who thought she should run for the Illinois Senate. Women had only received the right to vote a few years earlier. Joseph Fifer, the former governor, was not particularly supportive, but she decided to run after receiving the support of her husband and her mother.
She campaigned throughout her district running against an incumbent Republican and defeated her opponent by a two to one margin to become the first woman in the Illinois State Senate.
In 1928, she won a second term to the Senate.
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