Mary Tiera Farrow
Mary Tiera Farrow | |
|---|---|
 Farrow, from a 1917 newspaper | |
| Born | May 27, 1880 Columbus, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | November 9, 1971 (aged 91) Lenexa, Kansas, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Mary Tiera Farrow (May 27, 1880 – November 9, 1971) was an American lawyer who co-founded the Women's Bar Association of Kansas City in 1917, was elected treasurer of Kansas City in 1907, and was the first woman to argue a case before the Kansas Supreme Court.
Early life
[edit]Farrow was born in Columbus, Indiana, on May 27, 1880, the daughter of Alva Curtis Farrow and Martha Haislup Farrow. Her father owned a general store. In 1855, she moved to Delphos, Kansas, and later attended business school in Kansas City, Missouri. After working as a stenographer,[1] she enrolled at the Kansas City School of Law in 1901, graduating in 1903 as the only woman in her class of 75. Later in life, she earned a degree in sociology at the University of Illinois, and a master's degree from Columbia University.[2][3] She also studied abroad in Paris, Munich, Petrograd, and Riga.[4]
Career
[edit]Farrow was secretary of the stenographers' union in Kansas City as a young woman.[1] She and Anna L. Donahue opened the first woman-owned law firm in Kansas City.[2] She was the first woman lawyer to argue a case before the Kansas Supreme Court. In 1907 she was elected Kansas City treasurer, and she won re-election in 1909.[1] In 1915, she defended her client Clara Theresa Schweiger, who killed her husband at the courthouse after their divorce; Farrow was the first woman lawyer to defend a woman charged with murder.[5][6] Soon after, she was appointed a "divorce proctor", evaluating divorce suits for the court.[7][8]
In 1917, Farrow was one of the founding members of the Women's Bar Association of Kansas City. She was also a charter member and president of the Women's State Bar Association of Missouri.[9] During World War I she joined the National League for Women's Service as an ambulance driver in New York City.[2][4]
In the 1920s Farrow taught introductory legal classes for women. In the 1930s she was national director of Epsilon Sigma Alpha, a professional sorority for journalists, edited the Sorority News, and had a weekly radio program about legal issues.[4] She was the first woman to be seated as a judge on the Kansas City Municipal Court, as a substitute. During World War II she worked with the American Red Cross to provide legal services to the families of servicemen.[3] She retired in 1957, when she was a legal aid counselor at a city welfare office. She wrote a memoir, Lawyer in Petticoats (1953).[2][10]
Personal life and legacy
[edit]At least one younger woman was named "Tiera Farrow" after the noted lawyer.[11] Before and after retirement, Farrow traveled internationally with a friend, accountant Perle Stinson, including a 1911 camping trip together in the Sahara.[9] Farrow died in 1971, at the age of 91, at a nursing home in Lenexa, Kansas.[2] She was inducted into the Starr Women Hall of Fame in 2019.[12][13] In 2020 she was featured in a coloring book about women's suffrage in Missouri, published by the Kansas City Public Library.[14]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Marot, Helen (October 1912). "Organizing Stenographers". Life & Labor. 2 (10): 292–293.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Ford, Susan Jezak (1999). "Biography of Mary T. Farrow (1880-1971), Attorney". KC History. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
- 1 2 Roe, Jason. "Tiera Farrow". The Pendergast Years. Retrieved 2026-03-02.
- 1 2 3 Jenner, Nadine Newell (June 1932). "Tiera Farrow: Journalist, Attorney, and Globe Trotter". The Matrix. 17 (5): 9.
- ↑ Hemness, Taylor (2021-03-19). "Celebrating the legal legacy of Tiera Farrow in Kansas City". KSHB 41 Kansas City News. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
- ↑ "Woman Defends a Slayer". The Kansas City Star. 1916-02-28. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-07-10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Woman a Divorce Proctor; Judge Thomas Will Appoint Miss Tiera Farrow". The Kansas City Star. 1916-11-03. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-07-10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Farrow, Tiera (1917-02-04). "Impossible Ideals of Courtship Wreck Happiness of Marriage". The Kansas City Post. p. 12. Retrieved 2026-07-10 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 Hogue, Betty Carr (1957). "Lawyer in Petticoats off on World Tour". The Adelphean of Alpha Delta Pi: 17, 27.
- ↑ Farrow, Tiera (1953-01-01). Lawyer in Petticoats. Internet Archive. Vantage Press.
- ↑ "Law Career in a Name; Duplication in List of Women's Bar Officers Explained". The Kansas City Star. 1939-01-18. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-07-10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Starr Women's Hall of Fame Reveals 2019 Class of Inductees". Women's Employment Network. 2019. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
- ↑ "Tenacious Lawyer Paved the Way for Women in Kansas City". University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). March 12, 2019. Archived from the original on 2026-03-12. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
- ↑ "Women Who Made History - A Colorful Past". Kansas City Public Library. 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
External links
[edit]- Clara Theresa Schweiger Trial Records, at the State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center