True Life Tuesday: Belva Ann Lockwood

Belva Ann Bennett was born on October 24, 1830 in Royalton, New York. Her parents were Lewis Johnson Bennett, a farmer, and his wife Hannah nee Green. By the age of 14 she was teaching in the local elementary school. In 1848 she married a local farmer, Uriah McNall. The couple had a daughter, Lura, in 1850. Uriah ended up passing away from tuberculosis in 1853. 

After her husband died Belva realized that she needed a better education to support her and her daughter. She attended Genesee Wesleyan Seminary in Auburn, New York. She faced a lot of backlash because it was rare for a widow to pursue higher education at the time. While there she became interested in the law even though the school did not have a law department. A local law professor was offering private classes which she ended up attending. She graduated with honors in 1857 and became the headmistress of the Lockport Union School. She quickly realized that no matter what position she held she earned half of what her male colleagues. Her educational philosophy changed over the years, especially after she met Susan B. Anthony. She added subjects at her school that were usually reserved for men including public speaking and botany.

In February 1866 Belva and her daughter moved to Washington, DC. She opened a co-ed school which was very unusual for the time. in 1860 she married Reverend Ezekiel Lockwood, a Civil War veteran, dentists and Baptist minister. The couple had a daughter, Jessie, but she died before she turned 2 years old. Her husband was very supportive of her education and encouraged her to pursue whatever she was interested in. Around 1870 she applied to Columbian Law School. She was refused admission because they feared that she would distract the male students. Eventually she and a few other female students we admitted to the National University School of Law (now the George Washington Law School). She completed her coursework in 1873 but the school refused to grant her diploma. Without the diploma she was unable to be accepted to the Washington, DC bar. She ended up writing a letter to President Ulysses S. Grant asking for his help in obtaining her diploma. A week after this, in September 1873, she was finally granted her diploma.

Although Belva was finally admitted to the Washington, DC bar she was denied entrance the the Maryland bar, Court of Claims and the United State Supreme Court bar. Despite the difficulties she faced she was able to build a practice and win some cases. In 1879 a law she helped draft was passed allowing women qualified as an attorney to practice in federal court. On March 3, 1879 she was sworn in as the first woman to the United States Supreme Court bar. In 1880 she became the first woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court. She represented the Cherokee nation winning them $5 million for land ceded to the government. She also represented hundreds of Civil War veterans and their families in their pension claims. She sponsored Samuel R. Lowery to the Supreme Court, one of the first black lawyers to be admitted. Finally, she ended up running for President in 1884 and 1888. Belva wrote many articles for many publications on women's suffrage. She also participated in many organizations dedicated to women's rights. She was also a peace activist and spoke on this issue right up to her death. She died on May 19, 1917 and was buried in Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC.

Belva was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws by Syracuse University. The towns of Belva, West Virginia; Lockwood, California; Lockwood, West Virginia; and Lockwood, New York are names after her. A portrait of Belva, painted by Nellis Mathes Harne after she receive her honorary degree in 1908, hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1983. Finally, she was honored with a postage stamp in the Great Americans series in 1986