Farrow, Mary Tiera
1880 - 1971

Details
Alias: Tiera Farrow
Born: 5/27/1880 in Columbus, Indiana
Died: 11/9/1971
Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Professional Facts
Practice Area:
Criminal Law
Family Law
Estates and Trusts
Profession:
General Practice
Family Law (divorce)
Criminal Law
Real Estate Law
Regions and States of Practice:
KS, Midwest
NY, Northeast
MT, West
Legal Education:
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, 1903
Other Education:
B.A., University of Illinios (1922)
M.A., Columbia University (1924)
Kansas City University
Certificate from the University of Paris and Oxford University
Positions During Her Career:
Stenographer for a grain firm in Kansas City (1899-1903)
Stenographer at the firm of Dail & Carter (1903-1907)
Served two terms as Kansas City Treasurer (1907-1911)
Court reporter for Judge Wade S. Stanfield in Oklahoma (1912)
Sets up a private practice with Anna L. Donahue in Kansas City (1912-1914)
Solo practitioner in Kansas City (1914-1931)
Divorce proctor for Judge W.O. Thomas (1916)
Recruiter for the National Guard (1917)
Helped form the Women's Bar Association of Kansas City and took the role of President (1917)
Ambulance driver in the Motor Corps of the National League of Women's Service (1918)
Sales position at Macy's Department Store (1922-1924)
Conducted surveys with the American Institute of Criminal Law (1924-1925)
Professional lecturer on legal issues (1924-1930)
Private practitioner with Louise Byers (1925-1931)
Instructor with Byers at the women's law school that they formed (1925-1929)
Temporary municipal judge (1927-1929)
Legal case worker for the Provident Association (1931-1943)
President of the Women's Bar Association of Missouri (1943-1944)
Legal-aid counselor in the Welfare Department of Kansas City (1944-1957)
NAWL's Representative for Missouri (1945-1949)
Member of National Association of Women Lawyers
Firsts:
Woman lawyer in Kansas City, Missouri (1903)
Woman whose name appears on the record in an appeal before the Supreme Court of Kansas (1905)
Woman to hold the Office of City Treasurer (1907)
Woman to conduct a defense in a murder case in Missouri (1916)
Woman to be asked to join the Kansas City Bar Association (1925)
Woman magistrate in Kansas City (1927)
Accomplishments:
Awarded a gold medal at the June graduation at Kansas City Law School (1917)
Wrote "Lawyer in Petticoats"
Further Research Materials

References:
Tiera Farrow
Frank Sotrines, Tiera Farrow, Kansas City Historical Society, available at: http://www.kshs.org/genealogists/individuals/vertical/bios/farrowtiera.htm
Tiera Farrow (1880-1971)
Tiera Farrow (1880-1971), The Inns of UMKC, available at: http://www1.law.umkc.edu/career/UMKC%20Inns/farrow.htm
But I'm Only a Woman: Tiera Farrow's Defense of Clara Schweiger
Gerald R. Butters, But I'm Only a Woman: Tiera Farrow's Defense of Clara Schweiger, 25 (3) Kansas History 190 (2002), available at: http://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/2002autumn_butters.pdf
Mary Tiera Farrow: Attorney 1880-1971
Susan Jezak Ford, Mary Tiera Farrow: Attorney 1880-1971. Kansas City Public Library (1999), available at: http://localhistory.kclibrary.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/Biographies&CISOPTR=41&CISOBOX=1&REC=15
Dawn Bradley Berry, The 50 Most Influential Women in American Law. Los Angeles: Contemporary Books (1996).
Lawyer 50 Years, Lady Judge Cites Business Woman's Advance, Independence Reporter, Jan. 31, 1954.
Mary Tiera Farrow, Lawyer in Petticoats. New Jersey: Vantage Press, Inc. (1953)
Career of Woman Lawyer Here Began With Triumph Over Flood, Kansas City Star, Apr. 28, 1953.
From a Job as Typist She Became First Lawyer in "Petticoats," Kansas City Star, Aug. 23, 1953
Laura Miller Derry, Digest of Women Lawyers and Judges. Lousville, Kentucky: Dunne Press (1949)
History of Wyandotte County Kansas and Its People, Vol. II
Morgan Perl (Ed), History of Wyandotte County Kansas and Its People, Vol. II, pp. 965-66. Chicago: Lewis Publishing (1911)

Student Papers:
Unearthing a Gem: The Story of Tiera Farrow, A Kansas City Lawyer
Thirsk, Alyssa Eve, 2000
Potential Paper Topics:
An analyses of her cases while she was in practice with her partner, Anna Donahue
An analysis of her work as a divorce proctor.
Research into her advocacy for a Court of Domestic Relations.
An analysis of her efforts to form the Women's Bar Association of Missouri.
An analysis of her work as the President of the Women's Bar Association of Kansas City.
An analysis of her work as the President of the Women's Bar Association of Missouri.
Research into her work with the American Institute of Criminal Law.
Research into her work with her women's school of law.
An analysis of her cases as a municipal judge.
An analysis of her work as a legal-aid caseworker with the Provident Association.
An analysis of her work as a legal-aid caseworker with the Welfare Department of Kansas City.