Florence Ellinwood Allen Papers, 1920-1966
General International Standard for Archival Description
Sophia Smith Collection Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA
Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Brook Hopkins. 2003-07-01
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Florence Ellinwood Allen Papers
Creation of Florence Ellinwood Allen Papers
Time of Creation of Florence Ellinwood Allen Papers
Allen, Florence Ellinwood, 1884-1966
Biographical History for: Florence Ellinwood Allen Papers
Biographical Note Florence Ellinwood Allen was born on March 23, 1884 in Salt Lake City. Her mother, Corinne Tuckerman, was a member of the first class admitted to Smith College. Her father, Clarence Emir Allen, was a professor of Latin and Greek at Western Reserve University and placed a strong emphasis on education. Florence took an interest in books from a young age, and her father once said, "If Florence were a boy, I'd make a lawyer out of her." A gifted pianist, Allen moved to Berlin after high school to study music and work as a music critic. She returned to the United States and attended the University of Chicago. In 1913, she received an L.L.B. from New York University Law School. Florence Ellinwood Allen, Judge United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 1940 Allen started her own legal practice in Cleveland, Ohio and was active in the women's suffrage movement. She was the attorney for the Cleveland Woman Suffrage Party and became the first woman to argue before a supreme court, winning a municipal suffrage case in Ohio. She was also active in the Peace Movement in the 1920s. In 1920, the first year women were constitutionally guaranteed the right to vote, she was elected as judge of the Court of Common Pleas, becoming the first woman in history to be elected to a judicial office. In 1922, she was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court, making her the first woman to serve as a judge of the highest court of a state. She served as an Ohio Supreme Court Judge for almost twelve years and in 1934, President Roosevelt appointed her to the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. No woman had previously been appointed to the United States Court of Appeals. Judge Allen was a popular lecturer and published several books, including Patris, The Treaty as an Instrument of Legislation, and This Constitution of Ours. She was an outspoken opponent of war and wrote extensively on the topic. She was also interested in international law and was a strong advocate for the International Court. She received numerous honors and awards in her lifetime, including honorary degrees from twenty-five colleges and universities, the National Achievement Award in 1938, the Order of the Coif in 1955 by George Washington University, and a citation for advancing the status of women in the legal profession from the National Association of Women Lawyers. In 1959, a portrait of Judge Allen was given to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in honor of her contribution to the law. Judge Allen died at the age of eighty-two in her home in Cleveland, Ohio on September 12, 1966.
Florence Ellinwood Allen donated this material to the Sophia Smith Collection from 1962 to 1966.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The Florence Ellinwood Allen papers consist of .75 linear feet of biographical material, awards, articles, addresses, correspondence, and photographs. The collection also includes writings of her mother Corinne Tuckerman Allen, one of the first students admitted to Smith College (1874) and organizer of the Congress of Mothers (1916), about her work for sexual morality, monogamy, family relationships in Utah, and the Congress of Mothers. Additionally, there are several speeches and articles written by Florence Allen on topics ranging from the status of women in the legal profession to international law and human rights. There are two books written by Allen: Patris and The Treaty as an Instrument of Legislation.
The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection.
The copyright owner of this collection is unknown. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.
Related Material A larger collection of Florence Allen's Papers are located at Western Reserve Historical Society Library, Ohio. Additional papers of Corinne Tuckerman Allen are housed at the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University and in the Smith College Archives.
Finding aid revised in 2002 by Brook Hopkins, intern.
Women judges--United States
lcsh
Women lawyers--United States
Women--Suffrage--United States--History--Sources
lcnaf
Allen, Corinne Tuckerman, 1865-1931
National Congress of Mothers--History--Sources
Contents
Allen, Corinne Tuckerman (mother of F.E. Allen): writings and correspondence 1856-1931
Biography
Articles about F.E. Allen
Obituary 1966
Clippings about F.E. Allen
Correspondence: Janet Wilson (to and from) 1956
Honors
Photographs (12)
Retirement: clippings
Speeches and articles 1925-1960
Books
Allen, Florence Ellinwood. Patris (Cleveland, 1908) 1908
Allen, Florence Ellinwood. The Treaty as an Instrument of Legislation (New York, 1952) 1952
Oversize Materials
Framed photographic portrait of Florence Ellinwood Allen