Lemma Barkeloo (1840–1870) was one of the first women in America to attend law school, alongside

Phoebe Couzins Phoebe Wilson Couzins (September 8, 1842 – December 6, 1913) was one of the first female lawyers in the United States. She was the second woman to serve as a licensed attorney in Missouri and the third or fourth to be a licensed attorney in t ...

. She was the first woman admitted to the Missouri bar and the first woman to try a case in an American court. She was born on March 26, 1840, to Teunis Suydam Barkeloo and Lammetje G. Barkeloo (nee Bergen). Her uncle was Teunis G. Bergen, a Congressman from New York. Barkeloo lived in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and graduated with honors from

Moravian College Moravian University is a private university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The institution traces its founding to 1742 by Moravians, descendants of followers of the Bohemian Reformation under John Amos Comenius. Founded in 1742, Moravian University ...

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

. She began attending

Washington University School of Law Washington University in St. Louis School of Law (WashULaw) is the law school of Washington University in St. Louis, a private university in St. Louis, Missouri. WashULaw has consistently ranked among the top law schools in the country; it is c ...

in 1869. However, she never finished her course work or graduated. Prior to completing her first year, she petitioned to take the Missouri bar without her law degree. On March 25, 1870, she passed the bar exam. The next day, she was the first woman admitted to the

Missouri bar The Missouri Bar is the official bar association for all Missouri lawyers and judges. Every licensed Missouri lawyer is automatically a member of The Missouri Bar. Every applicant for admission to the bar must meet a list of requirements set by t ...

. She began to practice law in the offices of Lucien Eaton and became the first woman to try a case in an American court. Only a couple months after she was admitted to the bar, she died from typhoid fever on September 11, 1870. 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barkaloo, Lemma 1840 births 1870 deaths Washington University School of Law alumni Deaths from typhoid fever 19th-century American women lawyers 19th-century American lawyers Infectious disease deaths in Missouri Moravian University alumni

See also

References