Maud McClure Kelly (July 10, 1887 – April 2, 1973)
was an American lawyer, suffragist and historian. She was the first woman to practice law in the state of
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
and worked for the
Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the official repository of archival records for the U.S. state of Alabama. Under the direction of Thomas M. Owen its founder, the agency received state funding by an act of the Alabama Legisla ...
after her retirement from law.
Biography
Maud McClure Kelly was born in 1887 in
Oxford, Alabama
Oxford is a city in Calhoun, Talladega, and Cleburne counties in the State of Alabama. The population was 22,069 at the 2020 census,. Oxford is one of two principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area ...
, to Richard Bussey Kelly and Leona Bledsoe Kelly. Her father was a lawyer and both of her parents were strong supporters of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
and the
Confederacy. She graduated from the Noble Institute, a girls' school in
Anniston, Alabama
Anniston is the county seat of Calhoun County in Alabama and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 23,106. Acc ...
, in 1904, and moved with her family to
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
in 1905.
[ In Birmingham, she began working as a stenographer in her father's office and, realizing her own interest in the legal profession, started to study law. She wrote the entrance exam for the ]University of Alabama School of Law
The University of Alabama School of Law, (formerly known as the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at The University of Alabama) located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is a nationally ranked top-tier law school and the only public law school in the st ...
in 1907 and was admitted as the school's second-ever female student. She graduated a year later as the third in her class and was admitted to the Alabama bar in October 1908,[ making her the first woman to practice law in the state.][
Kelly established a practice in Birmingham in 1908 and worked on both civil and criminal cases. In 1914, having been nominated by ]William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...
,[ she became the first Southern woman admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.] She relocated to Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, in 1919 to work as a federal attorney for the Department of the Interior, and returned to her practice in Birmingham in 1924. She closed the practice and ended her legal work in 1931.[
Kelly was also involved in the women's suffrage movement, serving as chairman on the legislative committees of both the Birmingham and Alabama Equal Suffrage Associations. She was a devoted ]Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
and member of the Democratic Party;[ she worked for Democrat Al Smith's presidential campaign in 1928 and hosted the Alabama delegation of the ]1932 Democratic National Convention
The 1932 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois June 27 – July 2, 1932. The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York for president and Speaker of the House John N. Garner from Te ...
. After retiring from law, she worked as an archivist and historian. She was hired by the Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the official repository of archival records for the U.S. state of Alabama. Under the direction of Thomas M. Owen its founder, the agency received state funding by an act of the Alabama Legisla ...
in 1943 as an acquisitions agent, inspector of county records, and editor of the ''Alabama Historical Quarterly'' journal. She retired in 1956 and worked in genealogy
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...
until her death in 1973.[
]
Legacy
Kelly was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Alabama Lawyers' Hall of Fame in 2014.[ An award given by the ]Alabama State Bar
The Alabama State Bar is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Alabama.
The Alabama State Bar was established in 1923 and is governed by th1975 Alabama Code, Title 34, Chapter 3
It is the "licensing and regulatory a ...
to influential women attorneys is named in Kelly's honor.
See also
*List of first women lawyers and judges in Alabama
This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Alabama. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their st ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Maud McLure
1887 births
1973 deaths
20th-century American historians
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century American women writers
20th-century Baptists
Activists from Alabama
Alabama Democrats
Alabama lawyers
American genealogists
American suffragists
American women historians
Baptists from Alabama
People from Oxford, Alabama
University of Alabama School of Law alumni
Writers from Alabama
20th-century American women lawyers