Florence E.S. Knapp

Florence Elizabeth Smith Knapp (b. Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York) was an American politician who was the first woman elected to a state cabinet office in New York.

Life

She married Philip Schuyler Knapp (d. 1913).

In 1920, Syracuse University awarded her the honorary degree of Bachelor of Science in Education. She was a delegate to the 1920 Republican National Convention, and an alternate delegate to the 1924 Republican National Convention.

She was Secretary of State of New York from 1925 to 1926. After leaving office, she was accused of maladministration, and resigned her post as Dean of the College of Home Economics at Syracuse University. In June 1928, she was convicted of grand larceny in office. During the taking of New York's 1925 census, Mrs. Knapp had put her stepdaughter's name on the payroll, then received the stepdaughter's checks herself, forged the endorsements, and spent the money on clothes.

She was the last Secretary of State of New York elected to the office. After the reorganisation of the state administration during the governorship of Al Smith, the office became appointive, and has remained so to date.

ources

* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,731471,00.html] Accusations in TIME Magazine on February 6, 1928
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/knapp.html] Political Graveyard
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,731829,00.html] Her conviction in TIME Magazine on June 4, 1928
* [http://archives.syr.edu/archives/awards/honorary_3.html] Honoray Degrees, at Syracuse University
* [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C01E3D7103BEE32A2575BC0A9659C946195D6CF] List of delegates to RNC, in NYT on March 8, 1920