admin, Author at Lavinia Goodell

Apr

2020

Cholera: NYC’s 19th Century COVID-19

As the United States struggles to deal with COVID-19, it may be useful to remember that pandemics are nothing new, nor is the way local governments deal with them. In 1866, while Lavinia Goodell was living in Brooklyn, teaching at a wealthy merchant’s home – (Learn more about her teaching experiences here and here) – cholera claimed the lives of 1137 people in New York City.

Cholera is caused by bacteria that produces severe diarrhea which can lead to dehydration. As New York’s population grew, sites around the city were littered with cesspools, rotting food and dead carcasses from butcheries. The Board of Health issued orders to clean up sites and urged citizens to engage in better sanitary practices.

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Apr

2020

“The one element lacking in our government is women.”

–Lavinia Goodell, October 1878

Lavinia Goodell was a lifelong proponent of women’s suffrage. She said she could not remember a time when she did not believe women should have the right to vote.

Lavinia frequently wrote and spoke on the suffrage question. Some of her writings may be found here. In October of 1878, she gave a one hour speech at a gathering of the Rhode Island Woman Suffrage Association in Providence, Rhode Island. Although we have not found a manuscript of Lavinia’s full remarks, the Providence Journal ran a lengthy article praising the speech:

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Apr

2020

No Peace for Courts and Legislatures!

In February 1875, Chief Justice Edward Ryan ruled that Lavinia Goodell could not argue cases to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The legal profession was no place for pure and delicate women, he reasoned. Lavinia wrote a lengthy rebuttal, which was published around the country. Ryan’s decision was so sexist that even 145 years ago, the press poked fun at him. One commentator called him more tyrannical than Russia’s Czar!

Chief Justice Edward Ryan and Czar Alexander II

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Mar

2020

The death of Wisconsin’s 1st woman lawyer

Rhoda Lavinia Goodell (May 2, 1839-March 31, 1880)

In the early morning hours of March 31, 1880, Lavinia Goodell died in Milwaukee. She was just a month shy of her 41st birthday. Lavinia had left Janesville in November of 1879 and moved to Madison, setting up her law practice there. She went to Milwaukee in January 1880 to seek treatment for her rapidly declining health at a Turkish bath establishment. When that treatment failed, she was taken to a private residence where she spent her final days. Her cousin Sarah Thomas was with her when she died of ovarian cancer. Her attending physician, Dr. Eugene F. Storke, listed the cause of death as “cystilies from paralysis of detrusor muscle.” (To see the death certificate, click here.) The Janesville Gazette wrote:

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Mar

2020

“Old Ryan’s opinion is a disgrace to the Bench”real smutty!”

The caption to Chief Justice Ryan's opinion denying Lavinia Goodell admission to the bar of the Wisconsin Supreme Court

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Mar

2020

This website is a wonderful tribute to Lavinia Goodell

Former Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Shirley Abrahamson

“In the 1870’s Lavinia Goodell became the first woman admitted to the Wisconsin state bar and then fought an epic battle for the right to practice before that state’s highest court. One century later I was sworn in as Wisconsin’s first woman Supreme Court Justice. Throughout my career in the law I worked hard to open doors for others, just as Lavinia opened the doors to the courtroom where I proudly sat for more than four decades, and presided as Chief Justice for more than 18 years. Lavinia resides in the pantheon of Wisconsin heroes. This website is a wonderful and loving tribute to this remarkable person. I urge everyone to scroll through these pages and find inspiration. Forward!” – Former Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson, March 2, 2020

Mar

2020

The Chief Justice “was mad as a bull when he sees a red rag”

Tyler v. Burrington, where a male jury defied a statute to find for a pretty young plaintiff, is the case that made Lavinia Goodell famous. After that painful loss, she vowed to appeal to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. But first she had to gain admission to that court’s bar. Lavinia’s petition to argue before the Wisconsin Supreme Court led to a showdown with the fiery chauvinist, Chief Justice Edward G. Ryan.

Chief Justice Edward G. Ryan, Lavinia Goodell, Wisconsin's first woman lawyer — Chief Chauvinist Edward Ryan v. Wisconsin’s 1st woman lawyer.

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Mar

2020

“Finished Leavenworth case and lost it. Am too mad to say anymore.”

Lavinia Goodell, January 29, 1876

Closing arguments in the Leavenworth divorce were heard on January 25, 1876. Lavinia had spent a great deal of time preparing and was satisfied with her efforts. Her diary entry for that day noted:

At Court House all day arguing Leavenworth case. I “spouted” about two hours in morning and Bennett all afternoon…. Am immensely relieved that it is over. Quite an audience out.