Mary Jane Coggeshall (1836 to 1911) of Des Moines, Iowa, was known as "The Mother of Woman Suffrage in Iowa." From Indiana, she moved to Des Moines in 1865 with her husband and children. In 1870, she was a charter member of both the Polk County Women Suffrage Society and the Iowa Women Suffrage Association. She was IWSA president in 1890, 1891 and 1903-1905, and honorary president 1905-1911. The first member from west of the Mississippi River, in 1895 she was elected to the National American Woman Suffrage Assn. board and spoke at National Conventions. In 1908 in Boone, Iowa she marched in the 3rd American women's suffrage parade. That year she led a lawsuit against the city of Des Moines when women were denied ballots during a city bond election for the Municipal Building. Women were to be allowed to vote per an 1894 law. The Iowa Supreme Court held the election void when women weren't given ballots. The Des Moines City Hall stands today and reminds us of her work for women.