Martha Ware (October 6, 1917 – August 4, 2009)Kimberly Swick Slover

Retrieved on August 8, 2009. was an American district court judge in

Plymouth County, Massachusetts Plymouth County is a county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, south of Boston. As of the 2020 census, the population was 530,819. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton. In 1685, the county was created by the Plymouth General Court, ...

Early life

Judge Ware was born in

Weymouth, Massachusetts ("To Work Is to Conquer") , image_map = Norfolk County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Weymouth highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in Norfolk County in Massa ...

and raised in Abington. An only child, she graduated from Abington High School in 1935 and attended

Colby–Sawyer College Colby–Sawyer College is a private baccalaureate college in New London, New Hampshire. It was founded as a coeducational academy in 1837 and sits on a campus. History New London Academy A legislative charter was granted by the State of ...

, where she graduated in 1937 with an

associate's degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The f ...

in secretarial science. In 1941 she went on to study at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...

and Portia Law School (now the

New England School of Law New England Law , Boston (formerly New England School of Law) is a private law school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded as Portia School of Law in 1908 and is located in downtown Boston near the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Fin ...

), where she graduated with an LL.B cum laude in 1941.

Career

After passing the state bar in 1942, Ware became the first female selectman in Abington, the first in Plymouth County. In 1950 she was elected to the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

and served three terms in the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

until 1956. During her campaign for the Legislature in 1950 she was stricken with

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

and was bedridden for three months but she won the seat by 13 votes after a recount. Sitting in a wheelchair, she was sworn into office in January 1951.OUR OPINION: Abington native was our judicial trailblazer
''

The Patriot Ledger ''The Patriot Ledger'' is a daily newspaper in Quincy, Massachusetts, that serves the South Shore. It publishes Monday through Saturday. Known for its thorough news coverage of the 26 communities south of Boston, ''The Patriot Ledger'' has won ...

''. Retrieved on August 10, 2009. In 1956 Ware, then 38, was appointed by Governor

Christian Herter Christian Archibald Herter (March 28, 1895December 30, 1966) was an American diplomat and Republican politician who was the 59th Governor of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1957 and United States Secretary of State from 1959 to 1961. His moderate ...

as the first female judge in Plymouth County, serving primarily in the state's

juvenile court A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal s ...

s until her retirement in 1979.

Affiliations

Martha Ware was named a trustee for

Stonehill College Stonehill College is a private Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Easton, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1948 by the Congregation of Holy Cross and is located on the original estate of Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr., with 29 buildings that co ...

, the

New England College of Law New England Law , Boston (formerly New England School of Law) is a Private university, private law school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded as Portia School of Law in 1908 and is located in downtown Boston near the Massachusetts Supreme ...

, and the Whitman Mutual Federal Savings Bank (now known as Mutual Bank). Ware received honorary doctorate degrees from Stonehill in 1979, the New England College of Law in 1988, and Colby–Sawyer in 1994. She was president of Plymouth County's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and later served as chairman of two area

March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to comb ...

chapters.Judge Martha Ware of Abington remembered as 'awesome woman'
''

''. Retrieved on August 7, 2009.

Legacy

In 1983 she founded the Samuel L. and May Davis Ware Memorial Scholarship fund, named after her parents, to assist students in receiving a college education. On September 4, 1990, Colby–Sawyer College dedicated its Library-Commons building and Fernald Library as the Ware Campus Center, in honor of Judge Ware and her parents.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ware, Martha 1917 births 2009 deaths Boston University alumni Colby–Sawyer College alumni Massachusetts District Court judges Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives People from Abington, Massachusetts People from Weymouth, Massachusetts Women state legislators in Massachusetts 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American women American lawyers with disabilities American politicians with disabilities 20th-century Massachusetts politicians

Early life

Career

Affiliations

Legacy

See also

References