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Lucy Somerville Howorth (July 1, 1895 – August 23, 1997) was an American lawyer, feminist and politician. On August 18, 1917, in the State Capitol gallery in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...
, she witnessed the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution being ratified, giving white women the right to vote. This inspired her lifelong fight for the civil rights of minorities and women. She is also known for her
New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...
legislative efforts.


Early life

Lucy Somerville was born on July 1, 1895 in
Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta. ...
. The daughter of Nellie Nugent Somerville, nationally known as a temperance and woman suffrage leader and the first woman to serve in the Mississippi Legislature, she was raised in an atmosphere of female equality, a rarity at that time. She attended Randolph-Macon Women's College, now
Randolph College Randolph College is a private liberal arts and sciences college in Lynchburg, Virginia. Founded in 1891 as Randolph-Macon Woman's College, it was renamed on July 1, 2007, when it became coeducational. The college offers 32 majors; 42 minors; ...
, in
Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch, the city's population was 79,009 at the 2020 census. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mount ...
, (1912–16) where she was a member of
Alpha Omicron Pi Alpha Omicron Pi (, AOII, Alpha O) is an international women's fraternity founded on January 2, 1897, at Barnard College on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage "A ...
fraternity,
Pi Gamma Mu Pi Gamma Mu or (from Πολιτικές Γνώσεως Μάθεται) is the oldest and preeminent honor society in the social sciences. It is also the only interdisciplinary social science honor society. It serves the various social science dis ...
international honor society and the
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
society. After completing her A.B. she continued her education at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...
as a graduate student in psychology and economics. While living in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, she would attend political rallies and meetings; she also regularly visited
settlement houses The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and s ...
and
sweatshops A sweatshop or sweat factory is a crowded workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. Some illegal working conditions include poor ventilation, little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting, o ...
where she first saw how bosses mistreated working women and minorities. These experiences sparked her lifelong interest in civil rights. From 1920-22, she returned to the South and enrolled in the
University of Mississippi Law School The University of Mississippi School of Law, also known as Ole Miss Law, is an ABA-accredited law school located on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The School of Law offers the only dedicated aerospace law cu ...
(in
Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, Lafayette County. Founded i ...
), and graduated
summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...
with a LL.B., being one of only two women in her class. While a law student, she started a female basketball team, a writers group and a book review column.


Political life

Howorth moved to
Cleveland, Mississippi Cleveland is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,199 as of the 2020 United States Census. Cleveland has a large commercial economy, with numerous restaurants, stores, and services along U.S. 61. Cleveland ...
, to begin practicing law. She then moved her law practice to her hometown, Greenville, Mississippi, where she married Joseph M. Howorth, a local lawyer. After five years of practicing law, she was appointed as a judge. She was admitted to Mississippi state and
federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
courts, the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...
, and all of the courts in the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
. As a Democrat, she served Mississippians as a
Hinds County Hinds County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. With its county seats (Raymond and the state's capital, Jackson), Hinds is the most populous county in Mississippi with a 2020 census population of 227,742 residents. Hinds Co ...
Representative and as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1932-1936. She led the National Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW). She was program coordinator during the 1937-1939 national BPW presidency of her Mississippi friend, Earlene White, and she represented the BPW at a meeting of the International Federation in Norway in 1939. Appointed by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, Howorth served on the
Board of Veterans Appeals The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) is an administrative tribunal within the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), located in Washington, D.C. Established by Executive Order on July 28, 1933, it determines whether U.S. military ve ...
from July 1934 to April 1943. Howorth served on the War Claims Commission, 1949-1954, as associate general counsel, deputy general counsel, and general counsel. After leaving government work in 1954, she moved back to
Cleveland, Mississippi Cleveland is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,199 as of the 2020 United States Census. Cleveland has a large commercial economy, with numerous restaurants, stores, and services along U.S. 61. Cleveland ...
, where she practiced law with her husband. In 1961,
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
appointed her to his
Commission on the Status of Women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the main UN organs within the United Nations. CSW has been described as the UN organ promoting gend ...
. She regularly traveled the US and internationally to give speeches and serve on boards that protected and furthered civil rights. She retired from her law practice in 1980 at 85 years old.


Activism and community involvement

In her lifetime Howorth was a member of many organizations including the
National Association of Women Lawyers The National Association of Women Lawyers is a voluntary organization founded in 1899 and based in the United States. Its aim is to promote women lawyers and women's legal rights.
,
Phi Delta Delta Phi Delta Delta () was a women's professional law fraternity founded in 1911. It merged with Phi Alpha Delta in 1972.Phi Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International ( or P.A.D.) is the largest professional law fraternity in the United States. Founded in 1902, P.A.D. has since grown to 717 established pre-law, law, and alumni chapters and over 330,000 initiated m ...
in 1972), the Professional Women's Club, and the
Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promot ...
. She served as vice president of the
American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide network of 170,00 ...
, and played a role in ending their segregationist practices in the 1940s. She was member and chairman of the United Nations League of Lawyers, and she served as the chairman of the
Cleveland Public Library Cleveland Public Library, located in Cleveland, Ohio, operates the Main Library on Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland, 27 branches throughout the city, a mobile library, a Public Administration Library in City Hall, and the Ohio Library for the ...
Commission for ten years.


Later life and legacy

Howorth co-edited her grandfather's
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...
letters, which were published under the title, ''My Dear Nellie'' (1978). Her husband died in 1982 after 54 years of marriage. She died from heart failure in Cleveland, Mississippi, on August 23, 1997, at the age of 102. The Lucy Somerville Howorth Collection is held at
Delta State University Delta State University (DSU) is a public university in Cleveland, Mississippi, a city in the Mississippi Delta. History The school was established in 1924 by the State of Mississippi, using the facilities of the former Bolivar County Agricultu ...
and consists of some of her professional and non-professional works, personal correspondences, certificates, awards and other items of memorabilia, photos and artwork, and newspaper clippings, and a scrapbook she and her husband owned. The first biography of Howorth, published in 2006, is titled ''Lucy Somerville Howorth: New Deal Lawyer, Politician, and Feminist from the South'' and is by Dorothy S. Shawhan and Martha H. Swain. The Lucy Somerville Howorth Lecture Series is held at the University of Mississippi, and brings speakers on women's studies to the campus. Howorth's portrait is part of the Mississippi Hall of Fame located in the
Old Capitol Museum The Old Mississippi State Capitol, also known as Old Capitol Museum or Old State Capitol, served as the Mississippi statehouse from 1839 until 1903. The old state capitol was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. In 1986, ...
to honor her significant contributions to the state of Mississippi.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howorth, Lucy Somerville 1895 births 1997 deaths People from Cleveland, Mississippi Politicians from Greenville, Mississippi American centenarians Randolph College alumni Columbia University alumni University of Mississippi School of Law alumni Mississippi lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Women state legislators in Mississippi Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women politicians Women centenarians 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American women judges