Clara Holmes Hapgood Nash (January 15, 1839 – March 18, 1921) was an American lawyer who was the first woman admitted to the bar in New England ( Maine).

Family and education

Born Clara Holmes Hapgood in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she was the fifth of eight children of John and Mary Ann Hosmer Hapgood. On her mother's side she was related to the sculptor

Harriet Hosmer Harriet Goodhue Hosmer (October 9, 1830 – February 21, 1908) was a neoclassical sculptor, considered the most distinguished female sculptor in America during the 19th century. She is known as the first female professional sculptor. Among other ...

, while on her father's side she was related to Henry Durant, the founding president of the University of California. In 1846 the family moved to

Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...

, the hometown of both of Clara's parents. Due to ill health, her early schooling was frequently interrupted, but she eventually graduated from the

State Normal School A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

in Framingham, after which she became a teacher in the towns of Acton, Marlborough, and Danvers. She also edited a pro-temperance publication, ''The Crystal Font''. In 1869, she married Frederick Cushing Nash, a Maine lawyer who taught for a time in the nearby South Acton school district. They had a son, Frederick Hapgood Nash.

Career

Not long after her marriage, Nash began to study the law in her husband's office (a normal form of legal apprenticeship at the time). In 1871, she became a justice of the peace, and in October 1872, she was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, thereby becoming the first woman admitted to the bar in New England as well as one of the earliest women lawyers anywhere in the United States. Her achievement was widely reported in newspapers throughout the country. Nash formed a partnership with her husband, and they practiced together in Maine. In 1873, she appeared in court for the first time and made the opening remarks in a jury trial. That same year, she led a petition drive in favor of women's suffrage. Nash and her husband later moved back to Massachusetts, where Nash could no longer practice law because Massachusetts did not yet admit women to the bar. Instead, she served as the first librarian of the Citizens’ Library in West Acton and continued to be very active in the temperance movement. She served as president of the local affiliate of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union for over two decades. Nash also wrote poetry, especially poems about family and occasional verse for birthdays and anniversaries. In 1909, she published a volume of poetry with Cambridge University Press entitled ''Verses''. One of her poems, "Mother", was set to the music of

Elmer Samuel Hosmer Elmer Samuel Hosmer (1862 – 1945) was an American composer. A native of Massachusetts, he studied with J. C. D. Parker and Percy Goetschius, and wrote a good deal of church music. He also composed a number of cantatas, including one about Chr ...

. Around 1915, Nash and her husband moved from Acton to Newton. Frederick died in February 1921 and Clara followed him in March. They are buried together in Mount Hope Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, Clara Holmes Hapgood Maine lawyers People from Fitchburg, Massachusetts 19th-century American women lawyers 1839 births 1921 deaths 19th-century American lawyers

Family and education

Career

See also

References