Emelia Christine Schaub (1891–1995) was a lawyer who was

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

's first elected woman

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

, the first woman in the United States to successfully defend a murder trial.

Early life and education

She was born in a

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

in Centerville Township,

Leelanau County, Michigan Leelanau County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 22,301. Since 2008, the county seat has been located within Suttons Bay Townshi ...

, in 1891. Schaub was the daughter of Provemont pioneers Simon and Freida Schaub and attended St. Mary School.

Career

She became the first Leelanau County woman to practice law upon her graduation from

Detroit College of Law The Michigan State University College of Law (Michigan State Law or MSU Law) is the law school of Michigan State University, a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. Established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, it was the f ...

in 1924. Later earning a masters of Law degree from the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catho ...

. In 1926, news accounts cited her as the first woman attorney in the nation's history to successfully defend a murder case. When asked if the client was guilty, she said, " Of course, but technicalities you know." The client was convicted of Bank Robbery as the get away driver but not murder for shooting the guard. Schaub was elected to the first of six terms as Leelanau county prosecutor in 1936 to the first of five two-year terms, followed by a sixth term from 1952 to 1954. She was Michigan’s first woman to be elected and to serve as county prosecutor. While in that office she arranged for the return of Ottawa and Chippewa lands from the state to Leelanau County, creating a de facto reservation. For her efforts, she was made an honorary member of the tribe in 1942. Possession of this land base helped the

Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians () is a federally recognized Native American tribe located in northwest Michigan on the Leelanau Peninsula. Sandra Witherspoon is the current tribal chairperson, elected in May 2024 to a f ...

(

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

) achieve federal recognition in 1980. Long active in her profession and community, she served as secretary and treasurer of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan and helped found both the Leelanau Foundation and the Leelanau Historic Society. She died in April 1995.

Honors

Emelia Schaub was elected to the

Michigan Women's Hall of Fame The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (MWHOF) honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan. The hall of fame was founded in 1983 by Gladys Beckwith and is sponsored by the Michi ...

in 1990 and was named a champion of justice of the state bar of Michigan the following year. A park and lake access point, Emelia's Landing or Emelia's Dock, bears her name. A six-ton granite boulder outside the county building in Leland also bears her name. The Emelia C. Schaub Pioneer Award was established in 2021 in her honor.

References

External links

UpNorthLive: ''Now You Know: Emilia Schaub''
(video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Schaub, Emelia Christine 1891 births Michigan lawyers University of Detroit Mercy alumni 1995 deaths People from Leelanau County, Michigan 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers

Early life and education

Career

Honors

See also

References

External links