“I am studying law.”Lavinia Goodell, March 7, 1872After moving to Janesville in the fall of 1871 to take care of her aging parents, Lavinia Goodell spent the first few months organizing the household and settling into her new home, but by the start of the new year, she was ready for new challenges. In early
Latest from Lavinia Goodell: Wisconsin's First Woman Lawyer
‘I run for City Atty. on Temperance ticket today’
“I run for City Atty. on Temperance ticket today.”Lavinia Goodell, April 6, 1875In April of 1875, 45 years before women won the right to vote, Lavinia Goodell ran for Janesville City Attorney on the Temperance, or Anti-License, ticket. It is unknown when she made the decision to run. Her diary entry for election day reported,
‘Petition denied.’
“Petition denied.”One hundred fifty years ago, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued one of its most famous – and infamous – decisions. The afternoon edition of the Tuesday, February 15, 1876 Wisconsin State Journal contained a list of the opinions the court had handed down earlier that day. Two of those opinions were written by Chief
Where is the line to be drawn between “you may do this” and “you must not do that”?
Where is the line to be drawn between “you may do this” and “you must not do that”?Henry Ward Beecher, March 1876One hundred fifty years ago, Henry Ward Beecher was one of the most famous men in the United States. The Brooklyn, New York Congregationalist preacher was a lifelong proponent of equal rights for women.
“Whoever heard of a woman so rich as to be possessor of both a mind and heart?”
“Whoever heard of a woman so rich as to be possessor of both a mind and heart?”
Lavinia Goodell, 1870s
The William Goodell family papers housed in the Special Collections and Archives of Berea College in Berea, Kentucky contain a draft of a short story written by Lavinia Goodell titled “A Partner With Capital.”
“First principles were never more important.”
“First principles were never more important.”
William Goodell, January 1866
During Black History Month, it is worthwhile examining some of the writings of Lavinia Goodell’s father, Reverend William Goodell, a lifelong abolitionist.
During the Civil War years, William Goodell was the publisher of The Principia, an anti-slavery newspaper. Lavinia assisted in all
I felt ‘set up’ by my success
Lavinia Goodell, December 1874
In December 1874, six months after her admission to practice law, Lavinia Goodell kept busy not only running her law office but also speaking to temperance groups. Several days before Christmas, Lavinia wrote to her sister saying that the previous week she had accepted an invitation to lecture at Whitewater, Wisconsin.
‘Married women today are not the abject slaves they were fifty years ago’
Lavinia Goodell, October 1879
In the fall of 1879, Lavinia Goodell wrote an article for the Woman’s Journal titled “How it Looked to a Lawyer Half a Century Ago.” In it, she lauded the progress women had made during her lifetime (Lavinia was born in 1839) in gaining more rights.
Lavinia noted that in 1837,
Governor Proclaims June 17, 2024 Wisconsin Women Lawyers Day
Governor Proclaims June 17, 2024 Wisconsin Women Lawyers Day
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Lavinia Goodell becoming Wisconsin’s first woman lawyer, Governor Tony Evers has proclaimed June 17, 2024 Wisconsin Women Lawyers Day.
The proclamation praises Lavinia Goodell for pioneering a path for women in the legal profession across the state and for facing
‘Little by little, but all the time, we are gaining essential rights.’
“Little by little, but all the time, we are gaining essential rights.”
Woman’s Journal, March 1877
March 8 is Women’s History Day. By happy coincidence, March 8 is also the anniversary of the day that Wisconsin’s governor signed into law legislation drafted by Lavinia Goodell allowing women to practice law in the state.
After Lavinia’s