Cora Agnes Benneson facts for kids
Cora Agnes Benneson (born June 10, 1851 – died June 8, 1919) was an American lawyer, speaker, and writer. She was one of the first women to practice law in New England. Cora grew up in Quincy, Illinois. Her parents were active in local politics, religious groups, and helping others. They often invited famous guests to their home, like writers Amos Bronson Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Cora started college in 1875 at the University of Michigan. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1878, a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1880, and a Master of Arts degree in 1883. After getting her master's degree, she was allowed to practice law in Illinois and Michigan.
From 1883 to 1885, Cora traveled the world to learn about different legal systems. She was especially interested in how these laws affected women. However, her views on some cultures were sometimes unfair or based on stereotypes. When she returned to the United States, Cora gave many talks across the country about her travels. In 1886, she worked briefly as an editor for law reports. Later, she joined Bryn Mawr College for a history fellowship, studying under Woodrow Wilson, who later became president.
In 1888, Cora moved to Boston and opened her own law office. She also continued to write and give lectures. She got her license to practice law in Massachusetts in 1894. In 1895, the Massachusetts Governor, Frederic T. Greenhalge, appointed her as a special commissioner to the Council Chamber. Cora was a member of many groups. She became a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1899. In 1900, she was chosen as secretary for its Social and Economic Science Section. In 1918, she focused on opening a school to help immigrants learn about American culture. She died on June 8, 1919, just before her diploma to open the school arrived.
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Cora's Early Life
Cora Agnes Benneson was born on June 10, 1851, in Quincy, Illinois. Her parents were Electa Ann (née Park) and Robert Smith Benneson. Robert was born in Newark, Delaware. He moved to Quincy and became a successful businessman and politician. He served as an alderman (a local council member) and was mayor during the American Civil War. He even paid the city's debts from his own money to keep it from going broke. He was also president of the city's school board for 14 years.
Cora's mother, Electa, was a teacher and a philanthropist (someone who helps others). Electa and Robert were both religious and helped start the Unitarian Church in Illinois.
Cora was the youngest of four sisters. Her biographer, Mary Esther Trueblood, said Cora grew up in a "large mansion" with a great view of the Mississippi River. Cora was a strong child who was organized, accurate, self-reliant, ambitious, and never gave up. By age 8, she was writing and editing a magazine called The Experiment with her sisters and cousin. At 12, she could read Latin well. She was also good at understanding arguments and holding her own in conversations.
When Cora was a teenager, her parents hosted famous people like writers Amos Bronson Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson inspired Cora to study philosophy and law even more. Cora finished high school studies at the Quincy Academy at age 15. That same year, she joined the Friends in Council, a reading group for women interested in philosophy. When she was 18, Cora graduated as the top student from the Quincy Female Seminary. She then taught English at the school from 1869 to 1872.
Cora's College Years
In 1875, Cora Benneson started studying at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. This university had only started accepting women students in 1870. As a college student, Cora was part of a group of women who would later have very successful careers, including her friend Alice Freeman Palmer.
Cora was a skilled public speaker. In her first year, she argued that Homer wrote the Iliad. She also became the first female editor for The Chronicle, the university's main newspaper at the time. Cora finished her degree in just three years, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1878.
After graduating, Cora applied to Harvard Law School. She had strong recommendations from five former Harvard students. However, Harvard turned her down, saying they didn't have enough facilities to properly teach women. In 1880, she went back to the University of Michigan's law school. She was one of only two women in her class. There, she studied under important judges like Thomas M. Cooley and James V. Campbell. She was chosen as class secretary and was an officer of the debate club. She also served as a judge for the Illinois Moot Court (a practice court). She earned her Bachelor of Laws degree in 1880 and a Master of Arts degree in 1883. After getting her master's, she was allowed to practice law in Illinois and Michigan.
Cora's World Travels
In 1883, Cora Benneson began a two-year and four-month trip around the world. She was very interested in foreign legal systems and how women were treated in different countries. She traveled with another young woman from Massachusetts. Starting from San Francisco, she went west, visiting Hawaii, Japan, China, Burma, India, Arabia, Abyssinia, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, and many countries in Europe.
Her biographer, Trueblood, said Cora's trip was a "study of the customs, manners, and laws of many nations." She found that "doors" to homes and hearts "opened easily" to her. To learn about legal systems, Cora visited courts and government meetings in many countries.
Cora's journey also included exciting adventures, such as:
- A camping trip in Yosemite
- Horseback rides over lava fields to the Burning Lakes in Hawaii
- A tour of Canton (now Guangzhou) during the Tonquin War
- Elephant and dromedary rides in India and Egypt
- Seeing the famous Black Watch regiment marching to battle
- A journey with pilgrims returning from Jerusalem to Damascus
- An adventure with robbers in Greece
- Discovering the newly found Hermes of Praxiteles statue
- Mountain climbing in Switzerland
- Exploring the Norwegian fjords
Cora wrote about her travels in letters, notes, and diary entries. These were published in The Unitarian magazine in 1890. However, some of Cora's descriptions of people from different races showed views that were not fair or kind. For example, when she arrived in Greece, she wrote how happy she was to leave "the half-civilized races behind and enter Europe." Like some other women who traveled at that time, she sometimes used stereotypes about Bedouins, even though she had good experiences with some of them. She also saw the Catholic and Muslim-Arab people of Palestine as one group and imagined them as Bible characters.
Cora's Career
After her world tour, Cora returned in 1885 and gave many lectures about her travels across the United States. She started in Quincy, where she gave 17 talks. Her biographer wrote that her lectures were well-attended and helpful, even for people who had traveled themselves. This was because Cora, with her trained mind, could explain things deeply, not just tell stories.
In 1886, Cora briefly worked as an editor for West Publishing, which publishes law reports. In 1887, she moved to Bryn Mawr College for a history fellowship. She studied under Woodrow Wilson, who later became president. Wilson described her as "a pleasant small person of mind which it will be very hard, but I trust not impossible, to impress."
In 1888, Cora moved to Boston. She lived in a house near many historic and literary places, close to Radcliffe College and in sight of Harvard. Cora opened her own law practice, becoming one of the first women to do so in New England. She was allowed to practice law in Massachusetts in 1894. In 1895, Governor Frederic T. Greenhalge appointed her as a special commissioner to the Council Chamber. From 1897 to 1902, Cora studied at Radcliffe College and earned her second master's degree. Her appointment as a special commissioner was renewed in 1905, and she held the job until she died.
In Boston, Cora became friends with Lucy Stone, who fought for the end of slavery and for women's right to vote. Although Cora didn't call herself a suffragist, she often went to gatherings at Stone's home. Cora helped start the Unity Clubs in Ann Arbor and Quincy. She was also a member of the College Club and helped set up the Woman's Club House Corporation of Boston. In 1899, she was chosen as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1900, she was elected secretary of the Association's Social and Economic Science Section. Cora was also a member of the League for Progressive Democracy and the Authors' League of America. She was made an honorary member of the Illinois State Historical Society.
Cora lectured and published throughout her life. She wrote papers and gave talks on topics like constitutional law, education, government, and culture. She focused especially on issues important to women. She believed that women should work to make humanity better through volunteering. However, she also thought women should continue to raise children at home as moral educators. Cora was a reformer, but she believed that change should come from individuals improving themselves, rather than from society forcing rules.
Cora's Final Years
Cora Benneson closed her law practice in 1918. She then focused on opening a school to help immigrants learn about American culture. She died on June 8, 1919, at the age of 67. This was the day before she received permission to open the school. Reports say her death was caused by overworking. Cora never married and had no children. She was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery.
See also
- Almeda Eliza Hitchcock – the first female lawyer in the Hawaiian Kingdom, whom Cora encouraged to study law
- List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
- Women in law
