The information below has been compiled from a variety of sources. If the reader has access to information that can be documented and that will correct or add to this woman’s biographical information, please contact the Nevada Women’s History Project.
Chicago Tribune
At A Glance:
Born: February 21, 1877, Racine, Wisconsin
Died: May 25, 1972, Los Angeles, California
Maiden Name: Edna Howard Covert
Race/Nationality/Ethnic Background: Caucasian
Married: Thomas Francis Plummer, October 27, 1912, Racine, Wisconsin
Children: none
Primary City and County of Residence and Work:
Eureka County, Nevada; Los Angeles, California
Major field of Work: Law
First woman district attorney in Nevada, nation
Edna Covert Plummer was a pioneer for women in the legal community in both Nevada and nationally. She also had beautiful feet.
Edna was born in Racine, Wisconsin, on February 21, 1877, to George Hamilton and Harriot Blanchard Hunnewell Covert. She attended schools in Racine and graduated from Racine High School.
Class of 1907
Chicago-Kent College of Law
In 1898, Edna, then 18 years old, said she wanted to go to the Philippines to serve as a nurse during the Spanish American War, but her offer was refused as no female nurses were to be sent there, according to the Racine (Wisconsin) Journal of June 2, 1898. Her desire to go stemmed from her brother Richard being injured in the Philippines’ Battle of Manila.
Edna then attended a business college and worked for a manufacturing firm for two years before beginning her law studies in the law office of George Stone, the Racine Journal reported on Oct. 26, 1904.
In 1907. She was the first woman to graduate from the Kent College of Law in Chicago, the Los Angeles Times noted in her obituary on May 29, 1972.
he has been hunting for many years. It
belongs to Miss Edna Covert, a woman
lawyer. It answers every requirement the
sculptor has placed on the ideal foot.”
Chicago Tribune, 27 Jan 1912, p.5.
In an odd occurrence in Edna’s life, in January 1912, a Chicago sculptor named Taft, who said he had been searching for the perfect woman’s foot for years, said Edna’s foot fit every requirement for the perfect foot. A picture of Edna’s foot even appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Jan. 27, that year.
In 1912, Edna moved to Nevada after being hired by a Nevada woman to look after some of her properties, the Racine newspaper noted.
She was admitted to the Nevada Bar Association on Sept. 4, 1912, opening a law practice in Eureka. She met Thomas Plummer, a mine, ranch, and stage line owner and former Nevada state legislator in Eureka and the couple married in October 1912, making their first home in Mineral Hill, Nevada.
In April 1913, Edna was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, one of the few women allowed that privilege at that time, the Sacramento Bee reported.
In the May 1916 issue of Story Teller magazine. Edna had a short story titled “Why the Mulberry’s Berry is Purple.” The Eureka Sentinel of June 10 that year suggested the publication was an honor and it should encourage her to write more.
Edna became the first woman district attorney in Nevada and the first appointed woman district attorney in the United States, serving in Eureka County from 1917 to 1918. She later ran for the district attorney’s office, but was not elected, according to former Nevada State Archivist Guy Rocha.
In March 1918, during World War I, the Eureka Sentinel reported, Edna was appointed recruiting agent for the Women’s National Army for Eureka and Elko counties. Edna was one of the principal organizers of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Eureka in 1920.
The Plummers moved to Los Angeles in 1922 where Edna continued to practice law, specializing in probate and trust law. She closed her law office in 1970. She was a trustee of the California Institution for Women from 1943 to 1950 and was the first woman to serve on the board of trustees of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. She also was the co-founder of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.
Edna died in Los Angeles, California at age 95 on May 25, 1972. Her husband Thomas died in 1965, in Los Angeles. Edna is buried at Hillside Memorial Park, Redlands, California, with her sister Sioux.
Researched by Patti Bernard, written by Susan Skorupa Mullen 2026. Posted July 2026.
Sources of Information
Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. [Thomas F Plummer, 29 May 1965]
Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. [Edna Plummer]
Ancestry.com. Wisconsin, U.S., Marriage Records, 1820-2015 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022. [Edna H Covert to Thomas F Plummer, 27 Oct 1912]
Ancestry.com. Year: 1880; Census Place: Racine, Racine, Wisconsin; Roll: 1443; Page: 478a; Enumeration District: 167. [Edna H Covert]
Ancestry.com. Year: 1900; Census Place: Racine Ward 3, Racine, Wisconsin; Roll: 1813; Page: 5; Enumeration District: 0035. [Edna H Covert]
Ancestry.com. Year: 1910; Census Place: Chicago Ward 31, Cook, Illinois; Roll: T624_277; Page: 12b; Enumeration District: 1349; FHL microfilm: 1374290. [Edna H Convert]
Ancestry.com. Year: 1920; Census Place: Eureka, Eureka, Nevada; Roll: T625_1004; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 20. [Edna C Plummer]
Ancestry.com. Year: 1930; Census Place: Glendale, Los Angeles, California; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 0966; FHL microfilm: 2339862. [Edna C Plummer]
Ancestry.com. Year: 1940; Census Place: Monrovia, Los Angeles, California; Roll: m-t0627-00237; Page: 61B; Enumeration District: 19-358. [Edna C Plummer]
Ancestry.com. Year: 1950; Census Place: Arcadia, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 4089; Page: 77; Enumeration District: 19-1194. [Edna C Plummer]
“Council of Defense Notes.” Eureka Sentinel, (Eureka, Nevada), 11 May 1918, p.3.
“Eureka’s New Bank. The Farmers and Merchants National Bank will open Monday, July 5.” Eureka Sentinel (Eureka, Nevada), 3 July 1920, p.1.
“Foot, Sculptor’s Ideal: Woman Possessor.” Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), 27 Jan 1912, p.5. [photo]
Hicks, Connie Noland. “First Woman D.A.: Edna Covert Plummer, 1877-1972.” Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly, Elko, Nevada. Spring 1984.
“Local Brevities. Edna Covert Plummer appointed agent of Women’s National army for Eureka and Elko Counties.” Eureka Sentinel (Eureka, Nevada), 16 March 1918, p.3.
“Making Good Girls Out of Bad Ones.” Los Angeles Mirror (Los Angeles, California), 26 April 1956, p.3. [photos]
McClatchy, C.K. Jr. “Woman, on honeymoon Admitted to Practice Before Supreme Court.” Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 21 April 1913, p.9.
Moody, Eric. “New Resource Materials: Edna Covert Plummer Papers.” Nevada Historical Society Quarterly, Reno, Nevada. Fall 1984, p. 234, 236.
“Mrs. Edna Covert Plummer.” In Binheim, Max. Women of the West: California, 1928 ed. Los Angeles, California: Publishers Press, 1928, p.64.
“Mrs. Edna Plummer is Named District Attorney in Nevada. She will be remembered by many of the older residents of Racine as Miss Covert, daughter of the late George Covert.” The Journal Times (Racine, Wisconsin), 14 May 1918, p.1.
“Notice of Sale Under Degree of Foreclosure.” Eureka Sentinel (Eureka, Nevada), 15 Nov 1913, p.4.
“Plummer (Edna C.) papers, 1918-1984.” Online Archive of California, Collection Number LSC.0361.
“Plummer (Edna Covert) Papers.” Nevada Historical Society, Catalog Number MSNC00420.
“Racine Girl Honored. First young lady to hold office in Chicago’s leading law school.” The Journal Times (Racine, Wisconsin), 26 Oct 1904, p.7.
“Racine Girl’s Grit. Miss Edna Covert desires to go to the Philippines as a nurse of soldiers.” Racine Journal (Racine, Wisconsin), 2 June 1898, p.5.
“Romance of the West to Result in Wedding.” The Journal Times (Racine, Wisconsin), 26 Oct 1912, p.1.
“Rites Set for Attorney Edna Covert Plummer.” The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California), 29 May 1972, p.37.
Rocha, Guy. “Myth No. 72: Stepping Up to the Bar: Female Attorneys in Nevada.” Sierra Sage (Carson City/Carson Valley, Nevada), Jan 2002. [original version]
“Story By Edna Covert Plummer.” Eureka Sentinel (Eureka, Nevada), 10 June 1916, p.2.
“Takes Law Degree in Chicago School.” Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), 8 June 1907, p.3. [photo]
“Women will Convene for Law Session. Sierra Madre Clubhouse will be scene of biennial meeting tomorrow.” The Pasadena Post (Pasadena, California), 18 Oct 1929, p.5.