Dates

• Existence: -1943

Biography

Jennifer Riggs was born in Lamoni, Iowa. She attended Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa and graduated in 1899 with a bachelor's degree in education. Riggs taught school in Indianola until December 1904, when she married George Cosson and moved to Audubon, Iowa where he established a legal practice. In 1909 George Cosson was elected to the Iowa Senate, and from 1911 to 1917 he held the office of Attorney General of the State of Iowa. Jennifer Cosson became very active in politics and the community, serving on the Des Moines Parks Board, the Simpson College Board, the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) committee, P.E.O., and the Ladies Legislative League. In 1925 Cosson was inducted into Epsilon Sigma Sorority as an alumna and faculty member of Simpson College. Cosson was a talented and sought-after speaker who was known to infuse humor and her knowledge of many subjects into her speeches. She also wrote many speeches for her husband in his various political endeavors. Cosson was a vocal suffragist, writing and delivering speeches on the value of women's rights, and participating in debates. Traveling to California to visit her new granddaughter in February 1943, Cosson contracted pneumonia on the train trip and died a week after arriving at her son's home.

Found in 1 Collection or Record: