For More Information:
Lynn Brockmeyer, WPT publicist, (608) 263-3364, brockmeyer@wpt.org
Carol Larson, WPT executive producer, (608) 263-6370, larson@wpt.org

WISCONSIN HOMETOWN STORIES: JANESVILLE TO FEATURE STATE'S FIRST WOMAN LAWYER

Wisconsin Hometown Stories: Telling Wisconsin's History, One Town at a Time

The story of Rhoda (Lavinia) Goodell (1839-1880), the first woman admitted to the bar in Wisconsin, will be featured in a new documentary produced by Wisconsin Public Television (WPT).

Wisconsin Hometown Stories: Janesville will air on all public television stations across the state at 8 p.m. Monday, May 8.

Goodell, daughter of abolitionist William Goodell, grew up in Utica, New York. The area, known as the "burned-over district," was the home of many religious reform efforts, including an early women's rights movement. In 1871, Goodell moved to Janesville and began the study of law. In 1875, she was finally admitted to the Wisconsin State Bar after initially being refused by Chief Justice Edward Ryan, who claimed that it was against "women's nature" to practice law.

Wisconsin Hometown Stories is produced as a partnership of WPT and the Wisconsin Historical Society.
WPT is a service of the Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
Wisconsin Public Television is a place to grow through learning on WHA-TV/Madison, WPNE-TV/Green Bay, WHLA-TV/La Crosse, WHRM-TV/Wausau, WLEF-TV/Park Falls and WHWC-TV/Menomonie-Eau Claire.

Find out more about Goodell and other women pioneers in Wisconsin.