LADIES' GALLERY

Ruth Lloyd Wilkins was an attorney in Portsmouth when she sought public office in the Ohio House election of 1934. She had returned to her hometown to practice law after attending The Ohio State University for both her undergraduate and legal education. She followed Emma Cramer in her representation of Scioto County in the Ohio House of Representatives.

As a legislator, Wilkins earned the respect of her peers and served on the Taxation Committee of the Ohio House. She left the legislature in 1938 and married Ralph Wilkins, a Columbus attorney. They opened their own practice, and Wilkins taught business law at The Ohio State University and at the Business College of Ohio State until her death in 1970. She had a distinguished career as a lawyer and teacher and was selected as a special counsel to the attorney general of Ohio from 1949 to 1951.

Ruth Lloyd Wilkins was involved in many civic organizations and was recognized for her service by Mortar Board National Senior Class Honorary with a named scholarship in 1970. Her other activities included: the Ohio and Columbus bar associations, the National Order of Women Legislators, the Mortar Board National Senior Class Honorary, Delta Zeta, Order of the Eastern Star, and the Altrusa Club.

Biography courtesy of the Ohio Women's Policy and Research Commission