“I am greatly interested in Roy and like him.”Lavinia Goodell, January 1876Lavinia Goodell had a reformer’s nature and throughout her life strove to help those in need, whether it desperate to extricate themselves from abusive marriages or young men who
“I am studying law.”Lavinia Goodell, March 7, 1872After moving to Janesville in the fall of 1871 to take care of her aging parents, Lavinia Goodell spent the first few months organizing the household and settling into her new home, but
“I run for City Atty. on Temperance ticket today.”Lavinia Goodell, April 6, 1875In April of 1875, 45 years before women won the right to vote, Lavinia Goodell ran for Janesville City Attorney on the Temperance, or Anti-License, ticket. It is
“Petition denied.”One hundred fifty years ago, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued one of its most famous – and infamous – decisions. The afternoon edition of the Tuesday, February 15, 1876 Wisconsin State Journal contained a list of the opinions the
Where is the line to be drawn between “you may do this” and “you must not do that”?Henry Ward Beecher, March 1876One hundred fifty years ago, Henry Ward Beecher was one of the most famous men in the United States.
“Whoever heard of a woman so rich as to be possessor of both a mind and heart?”Lavinia Goodell, 1870sThe William Goodell family papers housed in the Special Collections and Archives of Berea College in Berea, Kentucky contain a draft of
Lavinia Goodell, March 18, 1863Lavinia Goodell lived 150 years ago, but some topics being discussed in today’s press would be familiar to her. A case in point is a recent New York times article about a poetry anthology titled “Book
“First principles were never more important.”William Goodell, January 1866During Black History Month, it is worthwhile examining some of the writings of Lavinia Goodell’s father, Reverend William Goodell, a lifelong abolitionist.
During the Civil War years, William Goodell
Lavinia Goodell, December 1874In December 1874, six months after her admission to practice law, Lavinia Goodell kept busy not only running her law office but also speaking to temperance groups. Several days before Christmas, Lavinia wrote to her sister saying
Lavinia Goodell, October 1879In the fall of 1879, Lavinia Goodell wrote an article for the Woman’s Journal titled “How it Looked to a Lawyer Half a Century Ago.” In it, she lauded the progress women had made during her lifetime
