Women -- Employment -- United States; Women -- Social and moral questions
She afterward reviewed the chief justice’s decision in the _Chicago
Legal News_ and unquestionably had the better of him in argument. She
also prepared a bill and sent it to the State Legislature, providing
that no person should be refused admission to the bar on account of sex.
A petition asking for its passage was signed by the circuit judge and
every member of the bar in the county. In such high esteem was Miss
Goodell’s practice held, that her best paying clients were women. She
was admitted to the supreme court in 1875.
She did much work for temperance and woman suffrage, two subjects which
were very near her heart. Her life was devoted to good deeds, which only
ended here when she was called up higher. She died in 1880, in
Milwaukee, where she had gone for medical treatment.
M. Fredrika Perry, of Chicago, died in 1883. She graduated from the Law
School of Michigan University in March, 1875, was immediately admitted
to the Michigan bar, and in the fall to the Illinois bar. Soon
afterward, on motion of Miss Hulett, she was admitted to the United
States circuit and district courts for the Northern District of
Illinois, Miss Hulett being the first woman admitted to these courts and
to any United States court. She continued in practice in partnership
with Miss Martin, under the name of Perry & Martin, until her death (the
result of pneumonia). Speaking of her, Miss Martin says: “Miss Perry was
a successful lawyer and her success was substantial. She combined in an
eminent degree the qualities which distinguish able barristers and
jurists; her mind was broad and catholic, clear, quick, logical, and
profound; her information both on legal and general matters was
extensive. She had a clear, strong, and pleasant voice, and was an
excellent advocate, both in presenting the law to the court and the
merits of a case to the jury. She was a skillful examiner of witnesses,
and understood as few attorneys do, save practitioners who have grown
old in experience, the nice discriminations of Common Law Pleadings and
the Rules of Evidence, the practical methods by which rights are secured
in courts. All her work was done with the greatest care. She was
engrossed in the study and practice of law, appreciating its spirit and
intent, and gained steadily in efficiency and practical power, year by
year. She had the genius and ability for the highest attainment in all
departments of civil practice, and joined with these the power of close
application and hard work. She belonged to the Strong family, which has
furnished a great deal of the legal talent of the United States.” Judge
Tuley, before whom she often appeared, said of her at the bar meeting
called to take action upon her death, “I was surprised at the extent of
her legal knowledge and the great legal acumen she displayed.” Tabitha
A. Holton, of Dobson, North Carolina, died in 1886. She was admitted to
the Supreme Court of the State in January, 1878, having passed a highly
creditable examination.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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