Ann B. Earle was first

Mr. Southwick has some Worcester--in fact, some state--history for us in his column today:

It is ironic that two Worcester women won political office even before they could vote. Ann B. Earle and Frances Baker were elected to the Worcester School Committee in 1868, the first Massachusetts women to be elected to anything. 

Go read how they got in: a coup in the caucus!
While Mrs. Baker did not serve, Mrs. Earle did, and she won re-election two years later, too. That makes her the first woman to serve in elected office, not only in Worcester, but, as Mr. Southwick says, in Massachusetts.
We should remember her more than we do.