Background
Katherine (Kate) Stoneman was born on her family"s farm in Busti, Chautauqua County, New New York Her father was also a justice of the peace for several years.
Katherine (Kate) Stoneman was born on her family"s farm in Busti, Chautauqua County, New New York Her father was also a justice of the peace for several years.
Albany Law School.
She was the fifth of eight children in the Stoneman family. Her family was in the lumber business. Her brother Edward became a Judge on the Supreme Court of Illinois.
Education and Teaching While at the Normal School, she worked for the New York Court of Appeals as a copyist.
She graduated in 1866 and began teaching at the Glen Falls Seminary. She later taught at her alma mater, the Albany Normal School.
She was the first female president of their alumni association, and served as Vice Principal. Legal Kate Stoneman was the first woman to pass the New York Bar Exam in 1885.
However, her application to the New York Bar was rejected in Spring of 1886 on the basis of her gender.
With the help of local suffragettes, Stoneman urged for the introduction and passage of a bill to allow for the admission of all qualified applicants, regardless of race or gender. The bill was introduced, passed, and signed by Governor David Hill nine days after her initial rejection. 12 years after her admission to the bar, Kate Stoneman went on to study law formally at Albany Law School.
While studying law, she continued to teach at the State University of Albany and also clerked for a lawyer in the area.
She was the first woman to graduate from Albany Law School in 1898. She maintained a law office in Albany from 1889-1922.
Honors and Stoneman was inducted into the National Women"s Hall of Fame in October 2009.