Mary Leonard
Encyclopedia
Mary Leonard was an American
attorney and accused murderer in the state of Oregon
. A native of France
, she was acquitted for the murder of her husband that many believed she had committed. After her trial, she studied law and became the first female lawyer admitted to the bar in the Washington Territory
and in the state of Oregon
.
, France
. Her parents, Johannes Gysin and Elisabeth Grieder, were Swiss immigrants to France and worked in a silk mill. Marie was their second oldest child. Several years later the family returned to Switzerland
and the canton of Basel
. Marie immigrated about 1870 to the United States and became Mary Gisan. Some stories say she moved in order to provide income for her poor family, others recount that she was attempting to make it on her own.
She moved to Portland, Oregon
, by the 1870 census and was likely working as a maid for the R. R. Riley family. In 1873, her younger sister Rosa immigrated to America and moved to Portland in 1874. Mary would then begin working as a seamstress until she married Daniel Leonard in late May 1875.
along the Oregon Trail
. The hotel was east of Wasco, Oregon
, at the point where the Oregon Trail crossed the John Day River
. Daniel was 57, but he claimed 50 at the time of marriage while Mary claimed to be 30 when they were married at the St. Charles Hotel in Portland with the Reverend John Gantenbein presiding on May 18, 1875. In the Fall of 1877, Daniel filed for divorce, claiming Mary was having an affair with one of the boarders at the hotel, Nathaniel Lindsay.
In December 1877, the divorce went to trial. Daniel was represented by Colonel N. H. Gates who was also the mayor of The Dalles, Oregon
. In the divorce, Mary claimed Daniel physically abused her, that she worked all the time at the hotel until she became ill, and that Daniel had promised her lots of money after they were married. Daniel said Mary was the abuser, denied him sexual relations, that she stole money and the deeds to his property, and the affair with Lindsay among other charges. At the end of the month, the court ordered Daniel to provide for Mary’s maintenance, but he refused.
In late December Mary wrote a scathing letter to Daniel warning him to follow the court’s instructions to provide maintenance and threatened to get even with him. On January 4, 1878, Daniel Leonard was shot in the head with a small-caliber gun, but there were no witnesses. Daniel lived until January 16, 1878, but did not identify who shot him, though his lawyer N. H. Gates blamed Mary. Meanwhile, Mary was arrested on assault and attempted murder charges for the shooting on January 5.
Mary remained in jail, but was taken out for walks accompanied by the sheriff. On June 26, 1878, Mary and Lindsay were indicted by a grand jury for the murder of Daniel Leonard. Lindsay was charged with counseling, inciting, and abetting murder, and spent 11 months in jail. In July, the trial was postponed on request of district attorney L. B. Ison. While the trial was pending, women’s right activist Abigail Scott Duniway
used her newspaper, The New Northwest
, to support Mary’s defense.
On November 18, 1878, Mary Leonard went to trial represented by William Lair Hill
. He was able to get separate trials for Mary and Lindsay, and after a three-day trial won an acquittal for Mary on November 20. With the acquittal, the state dropped the charges against Lindsay. At the time, many believed that she was in fact guilty of killing Daniel, but as he was disliked, people felt sympathy for her. Later that year Mary collected Daniel’s estate as the sole heir and moved to Portland where she went into business as the owner of boardinghouses.
passed a law to establish women’s suffrage. Leonard moved that year to Seattle where she began reading law
under the guidance of J. C. Haines at the offices of Struve, Haines, and McMicken. In October 1884, she passed the bar
and was then admitted to practice in the Washington courts on March 11, 1885. Leonard thus became the first woman lawyer in the history of Washington, though she returned to Portland before practicing law in that then territory.
On March 18 the Oregon Supreme Court
refused to admit her to Oregon’s bar, though the court previously admitted lawyers who had passed the bars of other states. The court ruled in its decision that Oregon’s law only allowed for men to be admitted to the bar, and that the legislature needed to change the law. On March 27, federal judge Matthew Deady
of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
admitted Leonard to the federal bar in Oregon.
In November, the Oregon Legislative Assembly
passed a law supported by Leonard and sponsored by J. M. Siglin that altered existing law to allow for women to be admitted to the bar. Governor Zenas Ferry Moody
signed the bill into law on November 20. On April 13, 1886, the Oregon Supreme Court admitted her to the state bar as Oregon's first female lawyer, though they attempted to keep her out via a one-year residency requirement. She successfully argued that the requirement had never been enforced, and the court relented.
In 1897, she was arrested for threatening to kill the landlord of her boardinghouse. After a trial described as a circus, she was acquitted of the charges, but did admit on the witness stand that she carried a small gun and a hammer. The next year, she became involved in a lawsuit as counsel for Annie Branson. During the ongoing case, Leonard was arrested for assault, suborning perjury, and embezzlement. She was convicted for the embezzlement of $1.40 relating to refusing to pay a witness in the Branson case, but did not pay the $18 fine and was sent to jail. She was released after a short time on a writ of habeas corpus drawn up by other attorneys, as the minimum fine for the charge was $25.
Leonard continued to practice law in Portland until June 1912. However, her reputation as an attorney declined. Mary Leonard died at the Multnomah County Hospital on October 24, 1912, of heart disease. Her remains were donated to the University of Oregon Medical School (now part of Oregon Health & Science University
), but records of where the body was buried were destroyed in a fire. The Oregon Women Lawyers’ chapter in Marion County
is named in her honor.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney and accused murderer in the state of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. A native of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, she was acquitted for the murder of her husband that many believed she had committed. After her trial, she studied law and became the first female lawyer admitted to the bar in the Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
and in the state of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.
Early years
Marie Gysin was born around 1845 in AlsaceAlsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Her parents, Johannes Gysin and Elisabeth Grieder, were Swiss immigrants to France and worked in a silk mill. Marie was their second oldest child. Several years later the family returned to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and the canton of Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
. Marie immigrated about 1870 to the United States and became Mary Gisan. Some stories say she moved in order to provide income for her poor family, others recount that she was attempting to make it on her own.
She moved to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, by the 1870 census and was likely working as a maid for the R. R. Riley family. In 1873, her younger sister Rosa immigrated to America and moved to Portland in 1874. Mary would then begin working as a seamstress until she married Daniel Leonard in late May 1875.
Marriage, divorce, murder
Daniel Leonard owned a hotel and ferry in the Columbia River GorgeColumbia River Gorge
The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range forming the boundary between the State of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south...
along the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
. The hotel was east of Wasco, Oregon
Wasco, Oregon
Wasco is a city in Sherman County, Oregon, United States. The population was 381 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.-Demographics:...
, at the point where the Oregon Trail crossed the John Day River
John Day River
The John Day River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northeastern Oregon in the United States. Undammed along its entire length, the river is the third longest free-flowing river in the conterminous United States. There is extensive use of its waters for irrigation. Its...
. Daniel was 57, but he claimed 50 at the time of marriage while Mary claimed to be 30 when they were married at the St. Charles Hotel in Portland with the Reverend John Gantenbein presiding on May 18, 1875. In the Fall of 1877, Daniel filed for divorce, claiming Mary was having an affair with one of the boarders at the hotel, Nathaniel Lindsay.
In December 1877, the divorce went to trial. Daniel was represented by Colonel N. H. Gates who was also the mayor of The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is...
. In the divorce, Mary claimed Daniel physically abused her, that she worked all the time at the hotel until she became ill, and that Daniel had promised her lots of money after they were married. Daniel said Mary was the abuser, denied him sexual relations, that she stole money and the deeds to his property, and the affair with Lindsay among other charges. At the end of the month, the court ordered Daniel to provide for Mary’s maintenance, but he refused.
In late December Mary wrote a scathing letter to Daniel warning him to follow the court’s instructions to provide maintenance and threatened to get even with him. On January 4, 1878, Daniel Leonard was shot in the head with a small-caliber gun, but there were no witnesses. Daniel lived until January 16, 1878, but did not identify who shot him, though his lawyer N. H. Gates blamed Mary. Meanwhile, Mary was arrested on assault and attempted murder charges for the shooting on January 5.
Mary remained in jail, but was taken out for walks accompanied by the sheriff. On June 26, 1878, Mary and Lindsay were indicted by a grand jury for the murder of Daniel Leonard. Lindsay was charged with counseling, inciting, and abetting murder, and spent 11 months in jail. In July, the trial was postponed on request of district attorney L. B. Ison. While the trial was pending, women’s right activist Abigail Scott Duniway
Abigail Scott Duniway
Abigail Scott Duniway was an American women's rights advocate, newspaper editor and writer, whose efforts were instrumental in gaining voting rights for women.-Biography:...
used her newspaper, The New Northwest
The New Northwest
The New Northwest was an American weekly newspaper published in Portland, Oregon from 1871 to 1887 by Abigail Scott Duniway, an active voice of reform and suffrage on the West Coast of the United States. Its motto was Free Speech, Free Press, Free People.The paper included news reports, essays,...
, to support Mary’s defense.
On November 18, 1878, Mary Leonard went to trial represented by William Lair Hill
William Lair Hill
- External links :* from the History of the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and Washington, 1889* from the History of Seattle, Washington: with illustrations and biographical sketches...
. He was able to get separate trials for Mary and Lindsay, and after a three-day trial won an acquittal for Mary on November 20. With the acquittal, the state dropped the charges against Lindsay. At the time, many believed that she was in fact guilty of killing Daniel, but as he was disliked, people felt sympathy for her. Later that year Mary collected Daniel’s estate as the sole heir and moved to Portland where she went into business as the owner of boardinghouses.
Lawyer
Some records indicate Leonard began studying law in Portland in the early 1880s. In 1883, Washington TerritoryWashington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
passed a law to establish women’s suffrage. Leonard moved that year to Seattle where she began reading law
Reading law
Reading law is the method by which persons in common law countries, particularly the United States, entered the legal profession before the advent of law schools. This usage specifically refers to a means of entering the profession . A small number of U.S...
under the guidance of J. C. Haines at the offices of Struve, Haines, and McMicken. In October 1884, she passed the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
and was then admitted to practice in the Washington courts on March 11, 1885. Leonard thus became the first woman lawyer in the history of Washington, though she returned to Portland before practicing law in that then territory.
On March 18 the Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...
refused to admit her to Oregon’s bar, though the court previously admitted lawyers who had passed the bars of other states. The court ruled in its decision that Oregon’s law only allowed for men to be admitted to the bar, and that the legislature needed to change the law. On March 27, federal judge Matthew Deady
Matthew Deady
Matthew Paul Deady was a politician and jurist in the Oregon Territory and the state of Oregon of the United States. He served on the Oregon Supreme Court from 1853 to 1859, at which time he was appointed to the newly created federal court of the state...
of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
United States District Court for the District of Oregon
The United States District Court for the District of Oregon is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union...
admitted Leonard to the federal bar in Oregon.
In November, the Oregon Legislative Assembly
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
passed a law supported by Leonard and sponsored by J. M. Siglin that altered existing law to allow for women to be admitted to the bar. Governor Zenas Ferry Moody
Zenas Ferry Moody
Zenas Ferry Moody was the seventh Governor of Oregon from 1882 to 1887.-Early life:Zenas Ferry Moody was born on May 27, 1832, in Granby, Massachusetts, to Thomas Hovey and Hannah Ferry. The family immigrated to Oregon Territory in 1851, traveling the Isthmus of Panama route...
signed the bill into law on November 20. On April 13, 1886, the Oregon Supreme Court admitted her to the state bar as Oregon's first female lawyer, though they attempted to keep her out via a one-year residency requirement. She successfully argued that the requirement had never been enforced, and the court relented.
Later years
Mary Leonard then developed a law practice in Portland with a reputation for poor writing but good courtroom skills. She worked mainly with clients that were charged in the police courts and demanded others to call her Judge Mary A. Leonard. She was not very successful financially as an attorney and opened a boardinghouse to supplement her legal income. She also developed a reputation for fighting and for drinking with male attorneys.In 1897, she was arrested for threatening to kill the landlord of her boardinghouse. After a trial described as a circus, she was acquitted of the charges, but did admit on the witness stand that she carried a small gun and a hammer. The next year, she became involved in a lawsuit as counsel for Annie Branson. During the ongoing case, Leonard was arrested for assault, suborning perjury, and embezzlement. She was convicted for the embezzlement of $1.40 relating to refusing to pay a witness in the Branson case, but did not pay the $18 fine and was sent to jail. She was released after a short time on a writ of habeas corpus drawn up by other attorneys, as the minimum fine for the charge was $25.
Leonard continued to practice law in Portland until June 1912. However, her reputation as an attorney declined. Mary Leonard died at the Multnomah County Hospital on October 24, 1912, of heart disease. Her remains were donated to the University of Oregon Medical School (now part of Oregon Health & Science University
Oregon Health & Science University
Oregon Health & Science University is a public university in Oregon with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland and a smaller campus in Hillsboro...
), but records of where the body was buried were destroyed in a fire. The Oregon Women Lawyers’ chapter in Marion County
Marion County, Oregon
Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was originally named the Champooick District, after Champoeg, a meeting place on the Willamette River. On September 3, 1849, the territorial legislature renamed it in honor of Francis Marion, a Continental Army general of the...
is named in her honor.
Further reading
- Drachman, Virginia G. Sisters in Law: Women Lawyers in Modern American History. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1998.
- Shirley, Gayle Corbett. More Than Petticoats. Remarkable Oregon Women. Helena, MT: TwoDot, 1998.