Jesusita Perrault

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Jesusita Perrault was born in Chihuahua in 1888. When she was young, her family moved to Silver City, New Mexico. After attending the Silver City Normal School and becoming a teacher, she also became involved in Grant County politics. Between 1921 and 1923 she served as county assessor. In 1926 she was elected as New Mexico Secretary of State. Following her term, she relocated to Albuquerque and administered the first U.S. Employment Service in the state–an important element of the relief effort to offset the effects of the Great Depression. In the later 1930s, she began translating New Mexico’s Spanish Archives into English. She also published two books. Between 1939 and her death in 1962, she lived in Taos where she remained active in local politics.