Staff Contributor: Mary B., Public Services Librarian
Hedberg Public Library's America 250 - Rock County continues on Tuesday, March 31 at 6 p.m. with Lavinia Goodell: Wisconsin’s First Female Lawyer and Her Fight for Justice.
Janesville’s Lavinia Goodell began practicing law in 1874, specializing in female clients and divorce cases. When she was denied the right to argue a case in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court because of her sex, she fought back. In this presentation, Jennifer Motszko, Head of Archives and Associate Director of the Library at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, will share how Lavinia used the courts to fight for women’s rights, and how those efforts led to changes in Wisconsin state law.
The America 250 - Rock County series acknowledges and celebrates Rock County's history as our nation marks its Semiquincentennial. Our history is America's history!
Jennifer Motszko has eighteen years of experience in the archival field and, in her current role, manages University records, genealogical resources, and manuscript collections documenting the history of southeastern Wisconsin. She started as a museum technician with the Harley-Davidson Motor Company and later spent more than ten years as Manuscript Archivist at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In 2018, she returned to Wisconsin to lead the Archives and Area Research Center at UW–Whitewater. She holds a BA in History from UW–Madison and master's degrees in History and Library and Information Science from UW–Milwaukee.
Learn More:
- “Lavinia Goodell, First Woman Lawyer in Wisconsin,” Wisconsin Magazine of History
- Lavinia Goodell: The Private Life and Public Trials of Wisconsin’s First Woman Lawyer
- Thoughts that burned: William Goodell, human rights, and the abolition of American slavery
- Strong-minded woman: the story of Lavinia Goodell, Wisconsin's first female lawyer
- Honoring Janesville’s Lavinia Goodell (Janesville Area Stories #32)