Helen Tunnicliff Catterall (March 3, 1870 – November 10, 1933) was an American lawyer, writer, and historian, based in Chicago. She is best known for her five-volume ''Judicial Cases Concerning American Slavery and the Negro'', published between 1926 and 1937.

Early life

Helen Honor Tunnicliff was born in Macomb, Illinois, the daughter of judge

Damon G. Tunnicliff Damon George Tunnicliff (August 20, 1829 – December 20, 1901) was an American jurist. He briefly served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois, Illinois Supreme Court in 1885. Biography Damon G. Tunnicliff was born in Herkimer Count ...

and his second wife, Sarah Alice Bacon Tunnicliff. She graduated from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

in 1889, and gave an address at commencement on "The New Astronomy." After Vassar, Tunnicliff earned a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

and pursued further studies in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. Her younger sisters also graduated from Vassar. Sarah Bacon Tunnicliff (1872–1957) was a director of the Woman's City Club of Chicago and a social reformer, and

Ruth May Tunnicliff Ruth May Tunnicliff (May 1, 1876 – September 22, 1946) was an American physician, medical researcher, bacteriologist, and pathologist, based in Chicago. She developed a serum against measles, and did laboratory research for the United States A ...

(1876–1946) became a medical researcher and president of the Chicago Society of Pathologists.

Career

Tunnicliff practiced law in Massachusetts and Illinois, and taught at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. She was also director of a children's home in

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

. She is best known as main author of the five-volume ''Judicial Cases Concerning American Slavery and the Negro'' (1926–1937), written with support from the Carnegie Foundation. Her work remains a useful source on the legal history of slavery in the United States, and is still referenced in controversies on the subject, almost a century after its publication.

Personal life

In 1896, Helen Tunnicliff married English-born historian Ralph Charles Henry Catterall (1866–1914). They had a son, Ralph Tunnicliff Catterall (1897–1978), who followed his mother into a law career. Helen Tunnicliff Catterall died in 1933, aged 63 years, in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, where her son lived. Her papers are archived at the University of Chicago Library.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catterall, Helen Tunnicliff 1870 births 1933 deaths People from Macomb, Illinois Vassar College alumni University of Chicago alumni American lawyers Historians from Illinois