The Iowa woman who in 1869 became the first female lawyer in the United States.
Belle Aurelia “Arabella” Babb was born in 1846 near Burlington, Iowa, and settled in Mount Pleasant. Though Iowa law then limited the bar to white males, she studied law and passed the exam with high marks.
In 1869 an Iowa judge admitted her to the bar — making Arabella Mansfield the first woman licensed to practice law in the United States, a year before Iowa formally opened its bar to women.
Mansfield's admission helped open the legal profession to women nationwide. She went on to a career in education, and the American Bar Association's award for advancing women in the law is named in her honor.
She stands among Iowa's most significant historical figures.
The Iowa woman who in 1869 became the first female lawyer in the United States.
Arabella Mansfield was from Mount Pleasant, Iowa.
1846–1911.
Curious about your own family's story? We trace it through the public record and write it up as a documented history.
See how it works →This profile presents only publicly reported facts, drawn from the sources above. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the family or its companies.
Portrait: Wikimedia Commons (public domain or freely licensed).