History is a story with many voices that we tell together.

The Wisconsin Historical Society was founded in 1846, two years before Wisconsin became a state. Lavinia Goodell, who in 1874 would go on to become Wisconsin’s first woman lawyer,  was then a seven year old girl living in New York state.

In 2021, the Wisconsin Historical Society is celebrating its 175^th anniversary of collecting, preserving, and sharing the state’s rich history. The Society is recognizing Wisconsin visionaries, changemakers, and storytellers. We are deeply honored that Lavinia Goodell is among the outstanding Wisconsinites singled out for recognition. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/175.

In the words of the Wisconsin Historical Society, we look to the past to inspire the future, and we study the stories of those who came before us to define who we are today. Congratulations to the WHS on its 175^th anniversary. Long may it continue to share stories of our state’s past and inspire new generations to build a better tomorrow.

Wisconsin State Journal: Legal Eagle Rose Above Bias

Thank you so much to Barry Adams and the Wisconsin State Journal for publishing a wonderful article about Lavinia Goodell and the efforts that went into creating her digital biography. The article notes:

Lavinia Goodell was feisty and would have fit right in 100 years ago, when women were fighting for the right to vote.
The Janesville woman also would have been at home in the 1970s, during the rise of feminism and more recently as the Me Too movement helped push for social change.
But Goodell found her own way to enact change and did so in the 1870s by taking on the all-male establishment to solidify her place in Wisconsin history. In 1874, she became the first female lawyer in the state of Wisconsin when she was admitted to the Rock County Bar. She made further waves when, because she was a woman, she was denied the right to practice before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1876. But Goodell persevered and in 1879 was granted the right to practice before the state’s highest court.

Read the full article here.