Advocate Of Woman's Rights

New England Inheritance.

The early years of Myra Colby Bradwell illustrate the extension of New England influence westward during the nineteenth century. Descended on both sides from early settlers of Boston, she was born in Manchester, Vermont, and moved shortly afterward with her parents to the Genesee River valley of New York. Her parents were friendly with abolitionists in the famous "burnt-over district," so called because of the frequency and intensity of evangelical revivals. When Myra was twelve, the family moved to a township near Elgin, Illinois, where she attended the Ladies' Seminary. Like many New England women of her generation, she then taught school for several years. In 1852 she married James Bradwell, and together they conducted a successful private school while he completed his studies for admission to the bar.

Chicago.

After James was admitted to the Illinois bar, he...