Elizabeth Eyre Pellet (née Elizabeth Eyre;[1] January 15, 1887 – April 7, 1976)[2] was an American actress, suffragist, and state legislator who served in the state of Colorado.[3] A Democrat, she represented southern Colorado counties of Dolores, Montezuma, and San Miguel in the Colorado House of Representatives, from 1948 to 1964, and as minority leader, from 1955 to 1956.[4] She was the first woman to serve as Colorado's House minority leader.

Elizabeth Eyre Pellet
Minority Leader of the Colorado House of Representatives
In office
1955–1956
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
In office
1948–1964
Personal details
Born
Elizabeth Eyre

(1887-01-15)January 15, 1887
South Norwalk, Connecticut
DiedApril 7, 1976(1976-04-07) (aged 89)
Political partyDemocratic

Biography

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Elizabeth Eyre was born in South Norwalk (now part of Norwalk), Connecticut on January 15, 1887.[2] She acted on Broadway and in a silent film, The Plunderer (1915). In New York she also marched as a suffragist. She was married in 1919 to lawyer Robert Lockwood Pellet (1872–1949).[2]

She moved to Colorado with her husband and they operated mines in Rico, Colorado, where she was elected to the school board.[1] She wrote an autobiography titled, That Pellet Woman! (1965, published by Stein and Day).[5] She worked to gain federal support to save and restore the Rio Grande Southern Railroad.[6]

She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2016.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Elizabeth Eyre Pellet". Colorado Women's Hall of Fame.
  2. ^ a b c "The Political Graveyard: Dolores County, Colo., Elizabeth E. Pellet (1887–1976)". The Political Graveyard. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  3. ^ "COLORADO LEGISLATORS PAST AND PRESENT – Elizabeth Eyre Pellet". www.leg.state.co.us. Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Women Who Served in the Colorado House of Representatives". Strong Sisters. Colorado Legislative Women's Caucus. Archived from the original on 2018-12-03.
  5. ^ Sprague, Marshall (May 16, 1965). "The Lady Went West; " THAT PELLET WOMAN!" By Betty Pellet with Alexander Klein. Illustrated. 379 pp. New York: Stein & Day. $5.95". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  6. ^ Black, Laurel (November 5, 2015). "Rico woman to be inducted into Colorado Women's Hall of Fame". Telluride Daily Planet. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12.
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