Volume 167, No. 124, covering the 1st Session of the 117th Congress (2021 – 2022), was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“REMEMBERING POLLY BEMIS” mentioning James E. Risch was published in the Senate section on page S4923 on July 15.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Senators’ salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
REMEMBERING POLLY BEMIS
Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, the State of Idaho has had a long history with Chinese immigration to both our cities and the wilderness areas of Idaho. Today, I am pleased to honor Polly Bemis, the United States’ most famous Chinese pioneer woman.
There have been many articles, books and even a full-length feature movie about Polly and her pioneering life in the mountains of Idaho. Born in China in 1853, she was sold by her parents and smuggled into the United States. In 1872, Polly was brought to recently settled Warren, ID, as a slave. There, she met Charlie Bemis, a saloon owner and deputy sheriff, whom she wed in 1894 despite a State law prohibiting marriage between a White and non-White person.
Soon after Polly and Charlie wed, they moved to their homestead, the Bemis Ranch on the Salmon River, where they resided for many years. Polly was famed for her vast knowledge of medical treatments and her hospitality to friends and travelers alike venturing down the Salmon
“River of No Return.” Charlie died in 1922; however, Polly continued to live on her 27-acre ranch until shortly before her death in 1933 at the age of 80. Fifty-five years after her passing, Polly’s cabin on Bemis Ranch was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
As an early settler of the Idaho Territory and an enterprising Chinese immigrant, Polly Bemis left an exceptional legacy and an indelible mark on Idaho’s history. While she did not receive U.S. citizenship during her lifetime, we honor her strength, industriousness, and pioneering spirit in our Congressional Record.
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