Who Was Belva Ann Lockwood?

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One of my favorite things to read, is a biography or autobiography of famous or not so famous persons. I came across this person by accident, when my daughter and I went to the Thrift Store recently. I always go to the book section first and I always come home with at least ten books. This particular day, they were practically giving the books away, so I brought home two bags full of books. I hadn’t even had time to sort through them until yesterday and I found some very interesting information. One book, that had caught my eye contained some biographies, so I grabbed it up and put it in the basket, without really knowing what it contained. One biography was about Belva Lockwood. Belva Lockwood was born in Royalton, New York in 1830. When she became an adult, she became interested in women’s rights and this prompted her to study law, which was unheard of at that time of history. The very idea of a woman becoming a lawyer was ridiculous, but she persisted. After three law schools turned her down, she was accepted at the National University in Washington, D.C and earned her diploma, thanks to U.S. Grant who pressured the school. In 1875, a federal court blocked her from arguing a case because she was a woman. However, she convinced Congress, after a long struggle, to pass a bill ending discrimination against women lawyers and was allowed to practice before the Supreme Court. She became very successful, as she became the first woman to have a NATIONAL practice, when she worked to help women receive equal rights, to own property, to obtain guardianship of their children, to receive equal pay for equal work and the right to vote. She also gave support to minorities. She succeeded in helping the Cherokees win a $1 million land-claim case in 1906. In addition to all of this, she was also the PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the National Equal Rights Party in 1884. As I read all this about her, I wondered WHY I have never heard of her before, especially since she was a candidate for election to be the President of the United States. I don’t remember her ever being mentioned during any presidential election in this country. Have you ever heard of her?