Phoebe Couzins
| Phoebe Wilson Couzins | |
|---|---|
 Phoebe W. Couzins, ca. 1904 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 8, 1842 St. Louis, Missouri |
| Died |
December 6, 1913 (aged 71) St. Louis, Missouri |
| Resting place | Bellefontaine Cemetery |
| Residence | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Alma mater | Washington University in St. Louis |
Phoebe Wilson Couzins (September 8, 1842 – December 6, 1913)[1] was one of the first female lawyers in the United States. She was the second licensed attorney in Missouri and the third or fourth licensed attorney in the United States, and was admitted to the Missouri, Kansas, and the Dakota Territory bars.[2] She was the first female appointed to the U.S. Marshal service.[3]
In spring 1869, prior to beginning her studies in the fall, she was the Missouri delegate to the American Equal Rights Association meeting in New York. In 1871, after two years of study, Couzins graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, becoming the first [4] woman in the United States to graduate from a law school. Establishing a practice in St. Louis, she wrote articles for Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B Anthony's publication, "The Revolution." Then, instead of practicing law, she rose to prominence as a suffragist. Like Stanton and Anthony, she opposed the Fifteenth Amendment. Couzins was described as a riveting orator and lectured across the United States. In 1884, she testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on the legal status of women.[5] In 1887, Couzins became the first female U.S. Marshal in the country. Her father had made her deputy marshal during his time as a U.S. Marshal; upon his death in 1887, President Grover Cleveland appointed Phoebe interim marshal.[2][6]
Couzins died in St. Louis on December 6, 1913 and was buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery.
In 2000 Susan Frelich Appleton, J.D., was installed as the inaugural Lemma Barkeloo and Phoebe Couzins Professor of Law at the Washington University school of law.[7][8]
References
- ↑ "Phoebe Couzins". Missouri Women's Council. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
- 1 2 Tokarz, Karen (2001). "Lemma Barkeloo and Phoebe Couzins: Among the Nation's First Women Lawyers and Law School Graduates". Washington University Journal of Law & Policy 6. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ↑ New York Times PHOEBE COUZINS DIES AT 72; First Woman Lawyer in United States Succumbs in Poverty.
- ↑ "June 15 Events in History". Brainyhistory.com. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
- ↑ "Phoebe Couzins (1839?-1913)". Picture History. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
- ↑ "Phoebe Wilson Couzins". American National Biography Online. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ Nicholson, Ann. "Appleton first Barkeloo-Couzins professor; New chair honors two pioneering women lawyers". Washington University in St. Louis. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
- ↑