It might seem hard to remember when women were not permitted to occupy the same spaces as our male counterparts, but it was not until 1902 that women were allowed to sit for the bar exam in Maryland. The first woman to pass the bar, with distinctions, and become the first licensed female lawyer in Maryland was none other than Henrietta “Etta” Haynie Maddox, who decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and pursue law school at the University of Baltimore’s Law School, becoming its first female graduate in 1901. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1860, Etta would later become the first woman to practice law in Maryland while simultaneously being an active member of the Women’s Suffrage Movement.
Etta co-founded the Maryland Suffrage Association in 1894 and wrote the first piece of legislation, the Maryland suffrage bill, which was presented to the state legislature in 1910. While the state of Maryland ultimately tabled the bill and did not amend the state constitution to allow women to vote until the Constitution of the United States was amended in 1920, Etta is still highly viewed as a pioneer for Maryland’s women’s suffrage movement. Etta and her sister Emma Maddox Funck were both devoted to the cause and organized meetings in Baltimore to garner participation and spread their message in support of women’s rights.
After women were granted the right to vote in 1920, Etta continued her work and was a dedicated member of the Women’s Democratic Club of Baltimore, formerly the Maryland Suffrage Association. After a lifetime devoted to women’s rights and the law, Etta passed away in Baltimore on February 19, 1933, and she was buried in Greenmount Cemetery.
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