Geraldine Macelwane

Geraldine Macelwane (1909–1974) was the first woman judge on the Lucas County Common Pleas Court.[1]

Biography

Geraldine F. Connell was born in 1909 in Detroit, Michigan to Jeremiah and Mary Connell and the family moved to Toledo, Ohio in 1924.[2][3] She graduated high school in 1926, she became a statistical clerk for the Wambash Railroad until she lost the position in the Great Depression.[2][4] She was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1932 before receiving her degree from the University of Toledo.[2] She married architect John P. Macelwane in 1938 and had two daughters.[4]

In 1937, Macelwane became a prosecutor for Lucas County, specializing in child neglect cases. She was elected to the Toledo Municipal Court as the first woman judge in 1952.[2] In 1956 appointed to the Lucas County Common Pleas Court by governor Frank Lausche, a position she held until her death in 1974.[2][5] By 1958, she had an all-woman court staff, her clerks included Marigene Valiquette and Mary Ann Fackelman.[6][7] As judge, she developed the individual docket system and jury instructions.[1]

Macelwane died of a heart attack on December 9, 1974.[8] She was posthumously inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1993.[9]

Reference section
  1. "GERALDINE FRANCES MACELWANE". Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  2. Floyd, Barbara L. (2016-03-28). Legendary Locals of Toledo. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-5515-3.
  3. "Geraldine Macelwane Recognized for 13-year Battle for Happy Homes". Toledo Times. December 28, 1950. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  4. "Makes Success of Career, Family". The Toledo Times. February 13, 1950. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  5. "OMNIA - Judge Geraldine Macelwane Scrapbook". www.omnia.ie. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  6. "Clipped From The News-Messenger". The News-Messenger. 1959-06-23. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  7. In Search of Our Past: Women of Northwest Ohio. Roles & Achievements Committee Women Alive! Committee YMCA. 1987. pp. 34–36.
  8. "Clipped From The Press-Gazette". The Press-Gazette. 1974-12-10. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  9. "Clipped From News-Journal". News-Journal. 1993-10-14. p. 28. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
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