Vertical File Biographies

This is an individual biography from the vertical file of biographical information, primarily newspaper clippings, created by the Kansas State Histocial Society Library and Archives division. This is a concise version--there may be more information in this or other sources.

Tiera Farrow

Her 1953 autobiography was entitled “Lawyer in Petticoats” and in it Tiera Farrow tells of the personal pride she had when she became the first woman to pass the bar examination and practice law in Missouri. In June 1903, she graduated from the Kansas City School of Law as the only female in a class of seventy-five. But as her book details, it was to be the easiest aspect of becoming a practicing attorney. None of 800 men lawyers in Kansas City at that time would accept her into their offices as an associate. She eventually joined with another woman attorney and opened an office in downtown Kansas City.

There were initially no clients for the new law office so Ms. Farrow resorted to being a court reporter to pay the bills. Eventually they did develop a prosperous practice, but with almost exclusively women clients.

In 1916, Ms. Farrow was the first woman attorney in the country to defend a woman accused of murder. She had been attorney to Clara Schweiger who was divorcing her husband. In the courthouse elevator, Ms. Schweiger shot and killed her husband. She was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, but was paroled after serving two years.
Tiera Farrow grew up in Delphos, Kansas, in the late nineteenth century. While in public school she read about a new machine that was being used by businesses in the east called a “typewriter.” She convinced her parents to let her go to a business school in Kansas City to learn how to use the typewriter and also to learn shorthand. The schooling led to a job as stenographer in a law office and a desire to become a lawyer.

However, the law was not to be her only vocation. In 1906 she was elected city treasurer of Kansas City, Kansas, a position she would hold until 1912. After completing her term of office, Ms. Farrow went to Europe for a year to study the conditions of working women aboard. Upon returning she became active in the Women’s Trade Union League and worked with women in the Kansas City packing plants.

Later in her career, Ms. Farrow was the legal aid counselor for the Kansas City Welfare Department. She was also the first municipal court judge in Kansas City, first woman divorce proctor in the city and the first woman to appear before the Kansas Supreme Court on an appealed cased.

Sources:
“Career of Woman Lawyer Here Began With Triumph Over Flood,” Kansas City Star, 28 April 1953.
“From A Job As Typist She Became First Lawyer in “Petticoats,” Kansas City Star, 23 August 1953.
“Lawyer 50 Years, Lady Judge Cites Business Woman’s Advance,” Independence Reporter, 31 January 1954.

The vertical file is on forty-three microfilm reels arranged alphabetically by name. These reels are available through interlibrary loan, or you may contact the reference staff . Please note that many of the clippings had yellowed and it may be impossible to produce a readable photocopy.

Completion of this biography was made possible by volunteer Frank Sotrines.