Month: April 2020
Maxine Ryer
Was Notre Dame’s First Woman Lawyer A Killer?
Maxine Evelyn Ryer was the first woman to study law at the University of Notre Dame. She passed the bar examination in 1922 and began practice – and an intimate relationship – with a married man twice her age. When he died under mysterious circumstances a few years later, she immediately married her high school sweetheart, with whom she had never cut ties. Police never investigated the death.
The pioneering attorney was born in South Bend, Indiana, in 1899. 1“Mrs. Miller, 30, Attorney, Dies,” South Bend Tribune, June 13, 1930. [Describe South Bend at turn of century]
Agriculture remained the largest sector of the American economy, and her father was an executive with one the country’s most successful agriculture businesses, the Birdsell Manufacturing Co. It was a time when When you buy a Birdsell you are practicing Economy qualified as a catchy slogan.2“Mrs. Miller, 30, Attorney, Dies,” South Bend Tribune, June 13, 1930; 1900 U.S. Census, St. Joseph County, Indiana, Portage Township, City of South Bend, E.D. 136, p. 9, dwelling 167, family 192, Lester Ryer household, digital image, Ancestry.com, citing NARA Microfilm Publication T623; Robert Birdsell, “Birdsell Manufacturing Company,” The History Museum (South Bend), accessed December 18, 2020, https://historymuseumsb.org/birdsell-manufacturing-company/; “Mr. Lester Ryer,” in Points About People, South Bend Tribune, June 2, 1892.
In March 1907 the family moved to Kansas City, Kansas. Although the Ryers were not Catholic, Maxine attended St. Agnes Academy, a Catholic school in the northeast part of the city. The family’s move was prompted by Lester’s decision to resign from Birdsell and join the Economy Gas Lamp Co., a firm that manufactured lamps – for the church and home– that were fueled by gasoline.3“Lester F. Ryer Resigns,” South Bend Tribune, March 1, 1907; “Is Admitted To St. Joseph Bar,” South Bend Tribune, September 12, 1922; Chancellor of the Diocese, Catholic Churches and Institutions in the Diocese of Kansas City and Leavenworth (Kansas City: Catholic Press Guild of America, 1923); “Splendid Church Lighting System,” Word and Way (Kansas City, MO), August 15, 1907.
Whether it was related to the collapse of the gasoline-fired reading lamp craze or for another reason, the family returned to South Bend in 1911 and built a large home they dubbed “Castlewood.” The home was in the country at the time; today the spot is occupied by a Wendy’s just east of South Bend International Airport. Maxine enrolled in South Bend High School, where she was very active in theater, and where she met Ora “Everett” Miller, a slightly older boy with whom she fell in love. Upon graduation in 1916 she enrolled in Nazareth Academy in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where she continued her study of “violin and dramatics.” Everett stayed in South Bend where he worked at the Singer Sewing Machine factory.
Everett also enlisted in the Army as the U.S. entered World War I. Perhaps because of that enlistment, he and Maxine decided to get married as soon as possible. On March 20, 1917 they were married at the courthouse in St. Joseph, Michigan. If you have paid attention to the dates then you will realize that Maxine was not yet 18 years of age at the time of her marriage, as was required by Michigan law. She provided a false date on the marriage license. If the kids thought that mom and dad would not find out, they were wrong. The marriage was annulled immediately, but passion endures. In September 1917 Maxine visited Everett at Fort Benjamin Harrison (near Indianapolis) where he was training. On this trip, she was accompanied by Everett’s mother. No funny business.
Everett was assigned to the 321st Machine Gun Battalion, 82nd Division. The Army noted in an article entitled “Suiciders All” that was published in Recruiting News that the “mortality rate in the machine gun battalions … was unusually high.” Everett was stationed in
the trenches on the front line; fortunately for him, the armistice was signed only two days after he arrived. In March 1919 he returned home safely to South Bend and to Maxine.
By then, Maxine had graduated from Nazareth Academy and was offering violin lessons in South Bend. In July 1919 Maxine and Everett announced their engagement – again, sort of. They did not get married, and it is not clear why, although the fact that they announced their engagement without any input or support from their parents might shed some light on their relationship. Maxine’s father was very wealthy; Everett was … keep reading.
In 1921 Maxine began working in the office of attorney Frank Dunnahoo. Frank was married and had graduated from the University of Michigan Law School five years before Maxine was born. But his wife lived in Oregon, and Frank and Maxine began working very closely together.
Around the same time, Maxine entered Notre Dame as a law student. In September 1922 she was admitted to the St. Joseph County bar following an examination before a committee including the mayor, local judges, and the head of the bar association. (Prior to 1931 attorneys in Indiana were admitted to the bar on a county-level basis, and a law degree was not required.) She was not the first woman admitted to the bar in St. Joseph County, but she was the first who actively practiced in court. Sponsors in support of her application included Notre Dame law professor John P. Tiernan, among many others. Newspaper reports were partly condescending (e.g., “Recognized Despite Her Sex”) but generally congratulatory. Maxine and Frank operated a law firm with the name “Ryer & Dunnahoo” in Suite 420 of the J.M.S. Building downtown. The building still exists; the suite is now a condominium.
Everett was keeping busy too. In March 1924 he married Clementine Wozniak, a co- worker at Singer Sewing Machine. Clementine happened to be five months pregnant at the time, and one gets the distinct impression that Everett was not too excited about the marriage. He filed for divorce just a few months later. Clementine had a baby boy in July and, despite the fact that she named him “Ora Everett Miller, Jr.” he failed to provide any support. The boy died of tuberculosis at age 3; there is no evidence that Everett attended the funeral.
There is evidence, however, that Everett remained interested in Maxine – including the fact that he asked her to represent him in his divorce and child support proceedings. By this time, Maxine and Frank Dunnahoo were married (or so she claimed – no public records of the fact have been discovered and nobody but Maxine ever identified them as husband and wife). Then, on a sunny Sunday afternoon in October 1924, as Frank Dunnahoo was crossing an alleyway on Main Street near the courthouse, a car sped out of the alleyway and struck him. Frank did a somersault and landed on his head. A few hours later, he was dead. The car did not stop and it did not have license plates; the driver was never apprehended. The coroner’s report does not make any mention of the whereabouts of Everett Miller, or the type of car that he drove, but a few months later Everett and Maxine were married. Draw your own conclusions.
With Frank’s death, Maxine’s law practice slowed considerably. She began offering violin lessons to supplement their income. Unfortunately, she also developed some sort of heart condition. On June 12, 1930 she died in South Bend. She and Everett did not have any children. Maxine’s obituary heralded her as “the first woman in the county to be admitted to practice before the supreme court of the United States.” I have not discovered any evidence to support that claim, but it’s a nice thought.
What happened to Everett? He married again, remained in South Bend throughout his life, and died in 1968.
As for the first woman to receive a law degree from Notre Dame, you may have noticed the picture of Graciela Olivarez along the first floor hallway of Biolchini Hall. She led an extraordinary life: Based purely on her leadership skills and desire to serve others Fr. Hesburgh awarded her a full scholarship to attend the Law School when she was nearly 40, despite the fact that she had not completed a high school education. She enrolled in 1967 and in 1970 she became the first woman to receive a J.D. from Notre Dame.
The facts and dates may be dry, but the story between the lines is fascinating. I am always open to feedback and suggestions for new stories. Until then, sleep tight.
*An earlier version of this story may be found in Story Time – The Complete Collection: Strange But True Stories Of Early Notre Dame Lawyers (Checkerboard Heart: 2021), available to download for free on Amazon and Google
SourcesandAdditional Reading
“Accident Is Blamed.” SouthBendTribune. January 7, 1925. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/
Ancestry.com. “‘Illinois, Marriage Index, 1860-1920,’ s.v. ‘Mary Alice Dunlap.’” Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., n.d.
“Another Woman Lawyer.” SouthBendTribune. April 19, 1923. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/59633341/another-woman-lawyer/.
“Brief News of the City.” SouthBend Tribune. May 23, 1919. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/34721345/brief-news-of-the-city/.
“City Happenings.” SouthBendTribune. January 25, 1901. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/65536012/city-happenings/.
“Class of 147 to Receive Diplomas.” SouthBend Tribune. May 26, 1916. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/33597312/class-of-147-to-receive-diplomas/.
“Class Presents Play.” SouthBend Tribune. June 1, 1916. https://www.newspapers.com/
clip/34803631/class-presents-play/.
“Day’s Business Small.” SouthBendTribune, August 6, 1924. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/30388571/days-business-small/.
Diocese of Kansas City, Missouri. CatholicChurchesandInstitutionsintheDioceseof Kansas City and Leavenworth. Kansas City, Missouri, 1923.
“Dunnahoo-Dunlap.” Pantagraph(Bloomington,IL). January 10, 1900. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/39080184/dunnahoo-dunlap/.
Estate of Frank H. Dunnahoo, No. 511 (St. Joseph County (IN) Superior Court November 6, 1924).
“Fairview.” SouthBendNews-Times. July 27, 1919. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/
“Fairview.” SouthBendNews-Times. May 26, 1921. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/
“Files Appeal.” Muncie (IN) Evening Press, November 7, 1924. “Finney Elected President.” SouthBendTribune. May 14, 1917. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/33604810/finney-elected-president/.
“First Woman Lawyer at South Bend Is Dead.” ChicagoTribune. June 14, 1930. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/30209623/first-woman-lawyer-at-south-bend-is-dead/.
Frank Dunnahoo v. Mary Dunlap Dunnahoo, No. 19958 (St. Joseph County (IN) Circuit Court April 5, 1923).
“Funeral Notes.” SouthBendTribune. March 22, 1902. https://www.newspapers.com/
“Funeral Notes.” SouthBend Tribune. June 15, 1930. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/
“Heirs To Price Estate To Meet.” SouthBendNews-Times. November 8, 1921. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/40811351/heirs_to_price_estate_to_meet/.
“Here’s Guard Roster of Two of South Bend’s Companies.” SouthBendNews-Times.
June 24, 1917. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65194814/heres-guard-roster-of-two-of-south/. “‘Illinois, Marriage Index, 1860-1920,’ s.v. ‘Franklin H. Dunnahoo.,’” January 9, 1900.
“In the Churches.” SouthBendTribune, June 9, 1917.
“‘Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011,’ Digital Image, s.v. ‘Everett Miller Jr.,’” n.d.
“‘Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011,’ Digital Image, s.v. ‘Virginia Dunnahoo,’” n.d.
“Indiana Death Certificates, Franklin H. Dunnahoo.” Digital image, October 24, 1924.
Indiana ex rel. Clementine Miller v. Ora E. Miller, No. 2866 (St. Joseph County (IN) Superior Court June 6, 1924).
“Is Admitted To St. Joseph Bar.” SouthBendTribune. September 12, 1922. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/30209200/the_south_bend_tribune/.
“Jury Hearings Shrink to Five.” SouthBendTribune. March 30, 1925. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/30310272/jury-hearings-shrink-to-five/.
“Late News From the Surrounding Towns – Lydick.” SouthBendNews-Times. June 26, 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34705264/late-news-from-the-surrounding-towns/.
“Lester F. Ryer Resigns.” SouthBendTribune, March 1, 1907. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/34771794/lester-f-ryer-resigns/.
“Little Theater Is Now Open to Public.” SouthBendTribune. December 4, 1915. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/33597161/little-theater-is-now-open-to-public/.
“[Local News].” SouthBend Tribune, April 26, 1898. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/
“Local Soldiers Return.” SouthBendTribune. May 29, 1919. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/30322862/local-soldiers-return/.
“Local Statistics.” SouthBendTribune. July 16, 1924. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/
“Marriage Licenses.” News-Palladium(BentonHarbor,MI). January 13, 1931. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/31020918/marriage-licenses/.
Maxine Evelyn Ryer v. Everett Miller, No. 17921 (St. Joseph County (IN) Circuit Court November 5, 1917).
“Meet In California.” SouthBend Tribune. April 10, 1920. https://www.newspapers.com/
clip/39131241/meet-in-california/.
“Michigan City Plays Buchanan.” SouthBendTribune. June 19, 1930. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/31020597/michigan-city-plays-buchanan/.
“‘Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952,’ Digital Image, s.v. ‘Evelyn Dunnahoo,’” n.d.
“Miss Maxine Ryer to Practice Law in County Courts.” SouthBendNews-Times.
September 13, 1922. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34704581/miss-maxine-ryer-to-practice-
Monks, Leander John, ed. CourtsandLawyersofIndiana. Vol. 3. Indianapolis: Federal Publishing Co., 1918. https://books.google.com/books?id=5CwaAAAAYAAJ.
“Mrs. Miller, 30, Attorney, Dies.” South BendTribune. June 13, 1930. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/30220706/mrs-miller-30-attorney-dies/.
“Non-Resident Notice.” SouthBendTribune. July 2, 1923. https://www.newspapers.com/
clip/59633217/non-resident-notice/.
“Non-Resident Notice.” SouthBendTribune. November 16, 1923. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/59633125/non-resident-notice/.
“Non-Resident Notice.” SouthBendTribune. May 24, 1924. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/59633005/non-resident-notice/.
“Non-Resident Notice.” SouthBendTribune. May 12, 1925. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/59632857/non-resident-notice/.
“Non-Resident Notice.” SouthBendTribune. February 3, 1928. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/59645434/non-resident-notice/.
“Non-Resident Notice.” SouthBendTribune. January 9, 1930. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/33604691/non-resident-notice/.
“Notice of Administration.” SouthBend Tribune. November 25, 1924. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/59632657/notice-of-administration/.
“Notice of Administration.” SouthBendTribune. December 22, 1924. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/59632941/notice-of-administration/.
“Notice of Final Account.” South BendTribune. May 3, 1923. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/59633286/notice-of-final-account/.
Oare, Lenn J. “Genesis of Bar Examinations in Indiana.” NotreDameLawReview7, no.
1 (November 1, 1931): 70. http://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndlr/vol7/iss1/5. “Obituaries.” Bulletin(MichiganLawClassof1894), January 1925. http://
repository.law.umich.edu/class_pubs/138.
“Obituary – Everett Miller.” SouthBendTribune. July 24, 1968. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/65241341/obituary-everett-miller/.
“Owners of Two Saloons Jailed.” SouthBendTribune, September 20, 1924. “Personal Mention.” South Bend Tribune. December 18, 1917. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/39015909/personal-mention/.
“Petition Is Filed.” SouthBendTribune. April 2, 1925. https://www.newspapers.com/
clip/30242140/petition-is-filed/.
“Points About People.” SouthBend Tribune. June 2, 1892. https://www.newspapers.com/
clip/34771475/points-about-people/.
“Probate Estate, St. Joseph County (IN) Circuit Court, ES 325 / ES2833, Maxine Ryer Miller,” June 12, 1930. Cause ES325 / ES2833, Box #3090319. St. Joseph County Clerk.
“Real Estate.” SouthBendTribune. August 17, 1921. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/
“Recognized Despite Sex.” SouthBendTribune. April 15, 1923. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/30209347/recognized-despite-sex/.
Smith, Herbert E. “Suiciders All.” U.S.ArmyRecruitingNews, October 1, 1933. https://
books.google.com/books?id=eyQtAAAAIAAJ.
“Social and Other Interests of Women.” SouthBendNews-Times. December 4, 1916.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30298745/social-and-other-interests-of-women/. “Social Calendar.” South Bend Tribune, September 24, 1924. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/31021070/social-calendar/.
“Social Calendar.” SouthBendTribune. December 28, 1924. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/59632898/social-calendar/.
“Social Calendar.” SouthBendTribune. March 6, 1925. https://www.newspapers.com/
clip/34722179/social-calendar/.
“Society.” SouthBendTribune, May 28, 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/
“Society.” SouthBendTribune. July 8, 1923. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/
“Society.” SouthBendTribune. November 26, 1924. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/
“Society.” SouthBendTribune. December 31, 1924. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/
“Society.” SouthBendTribune. October 29, 1925. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/
“Society.” SouthBendTribune. December 3, 1925. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/
“Society – Personal Mention.” SouthBendTribune. May 25, 1910. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/40837204/society_personal_mention/.
“Society and Other Interests of Women.” SouthBendNews-Times. May 4, 1917. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/33597615/society-and-other-interests-of-women/.
“Society News – Personal Mention.” SouthBendTribune. September 6, 1916. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/30298532/society-news-personal-mention/.
“Society News – Personal Mention.” SouthBendTribune. September 29, 1917. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/30298872/society-news-personal-mention/.
SouthBendCityDirectory, 1925.
SouthBend,Indiana,CityDirectory. R.L. Polk, 1923.
“St. Joseph Circuit Court.” South BendTribune, October 8, 1894. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/39151506/st-joseph-circuit-court/.
“St. Joseph County (IN) Marriage License, Everett Miller and Maxine Dunnahoo.” St.
Joseph County Clerk, November 24, 1925. License No. 364. License Vol. 37.
Stoll, John B., ed. AnAccountofSt.JosephCounty,Indiana. Dayton Historical Publishing, 1923. https://books.google.com/books?id=nJduAAAAMAAJ.
“The Mortuary Record – Dunnahoo.” South BendTribune. March 21, 1902. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/39131853/the_mortuary_record_dunnahoo/.
“The Mortuary Record – Everett Miller, Jr.” SouthBendTribune. December 5, 1927.
“The Mortuary Record – Franklin H. Dunnahoo.” SouthBendTribune. October 27, 1924.
“The Mortuary Record – Funeral Notes.” SouthBendTribune. December 6, 1927. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/30310074/the-mortuary-record-funeral-notes/. University of Michigan. Directory,LawClassof1894, 1921. http://
repository.law.umich.edu/class_pubs/44.
“Will Open A Law Office.” SouthBendTribune. September 22, 1899. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/39151580/will_open_a_law_office/.
“Woman Is Injured As Cars Collide.” SouthBendTribune. July 26, 1926. https://
www.newspapers.com/clip/31020802/woman-is-injured-as-cars-collide/. “Women at the Bar.” South Bend Tribune, September 17, 1922.
Colovin
Today’s story is about Matthew Colovin, the first professor of law at the University of Notre Dame. The University published a book celebrating the first 100 years of legal studies at Notre Dame including the following entry: “The first head, or principal, as he was called, of the law department was Professor M. P. Colovin. He disappears at the end of one year, and nothing is known of him [except his family relationships].”
Well, I know something of him. It is a long, bizarre tale, involving members of a family that held great promise and who had many advantages and opportunities, and who squandered them all. The story involves murder, insanity, and scandal. And it is entirely true.
For starters, his name was “Matthew F. Colovin” – the book got his middle initial wrong, as did the commencement bulletin from the only year when he was at Notre Dame (which indicated “M.T. Colovin”).
Matthew F. Colovin was born in 1840 in Ireland. He was the oldest child of Charles Colovin and Rose (O’Reilly) Colovin. While he was an infant his family emigrated to Canada, where they settled in London, Ontario, midway between Toronto and Detroit.
Charles operated a dry goods store at No. 9 Dundas Street. He and Rose had four more children after arriving in Canada. One (Rebecca) died as a child; the others were named Patrick, Charles, and Elizabeth.
Matthew was educated at the Collège Sainte-Marie de Montréal (now part of the Université du Québec à Montréal), where he excelled in his studies. He earned a law degree and was admitted to the bar for Upper Canada in June 1861. He maintained a solo practice in London, Ontario for the next several years.
In September 1868, Matthew Colovin arrived at the University of Notre Dame and began teaching … French. It was not for another few weeks that the Board of Trustees approved the establishment of a law department. Once it had done so, however, Colovin set about establishing the law curriculum, and in February 1869 the University began offering courses in law. Matthew Colovin was the sole Professor of Law.
Why did a Canadian trained in law arrive on campus as a French instructor? After all, the University did not have any shortage of faculty who might have taught French, the native language of Father Sorin and many other members of the Congregation of Holy Cross. It seems likely that Father Sorin recruited Matthew Colovin to design a law curriculum, and that French was a “placeholder” position while the law department got approved. Sorin was probably aware of Matthew through his brother, Patrick Colovin. Read to the end to learn more about that strange relationship.
Regardless of his reasons for joining Notre Dame, by the fall of 1869, Matthew Colovin departed and was never to return. He moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi during the height of Reconstruction. By January 1870 he was again teaching … French. Not at a university, but in the upstairs rooms at 175 Washington Street. In November he began offering night school in his rooms, on the corner of Cherry and Crawford Streets, including “particular attention to the commercial branches, bookkeeping, etc.”
Why was he teaching again? Because Matthew Colovin was not yet a citizen of the United States and was therefore unable to practice law. He began the naturalization process in 1872 and was admitted to the bar that same year. Shortly afterward, his brother Charles joined him in Vicksburg, working in the newspaper business.
Matthew Colovin’s law practice flourished in Vicksburg and the surrounding area. In 1878 he represented W. L. Lowry and other taxpayers of Sunflower County on an important matter of state constitutional law. To give you a flavor of Mississippi in the late nineteenth century, Lowry was later killed in a scene straight out of a movie:
- Lowry was a prominent businessman. He boarded a steamboat (of course) to transact business
- On board the steamboat was a man named Holman, who was upset with Lowry over a prior business deal
- When Holman saw Lowry on board, he shot him (of course)
- Lowry turned to his friend, John Arnold, and said “kill him John, he has shot
me”
- Arnold got out of his chair (he was being shaved – of course) and started after
Holman
- As Arnold chased after Holman, Lowry also fired at Holman.
- Lowry’s shot missed Holman, but struck and killed Holman’s friend, Walker
- Lowry died moments after he killed Walker
- Meanwhile, Arnold had caught Holman and struggled with him on the deck of the steamboat
- During that struggle, Holman shot and killed Arnold
Holman was arrested and charged with murder. Following a sensational trial, and despite overwhelming evidence, Holman was acquitted. As the Jackson (Mississippi) Comet reported, “The affair is deeply to be regretted, as all the parties engaged are very highly respected.” So that’s the environment to keep in mind.
Back to Matthew Colovin. In 1880 we find him in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he is tending to business and delivering speeches on the evils of alcohol. This is not a promising sign of things to come, as it suggests some level of expertise by Colovin in the field.
In 1885, Colovin’s drinking problem led to real tragedy. On October 2, he shot and killed a man named Dan Steel in Indianola, Mississippi. Newspaper accounts stated that “testimony in the preliminary trial of Mr. Colovin … revealed unmistakably that Colovin did the killing, without provocation. The testimony goes to prove that it was a case of downright murder. Both [Steel] and Colovin were dissipated characters, and it is presumed that both were drinking.” Steel was an African-American man; Colovin was a prominent leader of the local bar; and despite the “almost universal opinion of all who closely followed the evidence in the case [and] regarded a conviction as beyond question,” a Sunflower County jury did not take long to acquit Colovin of the charges. He promptly returned to practicing law.
He also returned to drinking. In 1888 he was charged with violating local revenue laws in Vicksburg; that was a euphemism for purchasing alcohol illegally. The State agreed not to prosecute, and shortly thereafter, Colovin relocated to Louisville, Kentucky.
In 1892 Colovin was admitted to the bar of the Jefferson County Circuit Court. He also appears to have worked as a teacher at Gethsemani College (affiliated with the Trappist abbey that was later the home of the influential writer Thomas Merton, author of “The Seven Storey Mountain” and many other works).
Unfortunately, things did not improve for Colovin in Kentucky. On May 21, 1900 he was adjudged insane by the Jefferson County Circuit Court and was involuntarily committed to the Central Kentucky Asylum for the Insane. He died there on June 17; he and hundreds of others are buried in unmarked graves on the grounds of the facility. The cause of death is noted as “chronic alcoholism.”
Very sad, right? It gets worse.
I noted that Matthew’s brother, Charles, joined him at Vicksburg in the early 1870s.
Charles married a woman named Julia Burns, and in 1878 Charles died during a yellow fever epidemic that swept through Vicksburg. Julia remarried, but she attempted to keep in touch with Matthew as much as possible.
When Matthew moved from Vicksburg to Louisville, Julia lost track of him. A boy from Vicksburg who had studied at Gethsemani College told Julia that Matthew was at the school, and she promptly wrote to him. “Many years have passed since last you received a message from us, and we had begun to think of you as dead … I could not make you believe how happy it made us feel to know you were alive and living such a holy life.” Matthew Colovin never received the letter. It was written four weeks after he died.
Well, what about his sister, Elizabeth?
She married Michael Fitzgerald, a steamship captain several years her senior with a very solid reputation among Great Lakes mariners. In 1902, Fitzgerald was captain of the ship “George Hadley” when it collided with the ship “Thomas Wilson” not far from Duluth, Minnesota. Nine men were killed. Fitzgerald was stripped of his license and never sailed again. He died in 1908. Elizabeth returned to London, Ontario, where she died in 1925.
Okay, but what about his other brother, Patrick?
Patrick Colovin joined the Congregation of Holy Cross at Saint-Laurent and was ordained on St. Patrick’s Day, 1867. He was brilliant and gregarious. He soon came to the attention of Father Sorin, who insisted that Patrick be appointed superior of the congregation in Montreal only a few years after he was ordained.
Along with his brilliance, Patrick did not tolerate guidance from his own superiors very well. He and Sorin clashed frequently. Nevertheless, when the University of Notre Dame needed to fill the office of president in 1874 due to the untimely death of Auguste Lemmonier, Father Sorin asked Patrick Colovin to fill the role.
Patrick was also a frequent speaker on the evils of alcohol; you know by now where this is going. He was wildly popular with the students, who saw him as a champion of the Irish.
Father Sorin requested that students not celebrate St. Patrick’s Day as heartily as they would like; Father Colovin disagreed, and large celebrations followed. After three years, Father Sorin had had enough, and Patrick Colovin was sent to a parish and small college in Wisconsin.
Father Colovin was not happy. He wrote to Sorin complaining of his posting, and Sorin acted quickly. “You don’t like your assignment? I have great news for you – you can move. Your new assignment is Deadwood, South Dakota.” If you have seen any of the HBO Series “Deadwood,” you know what a horrifying prospect that would have been for a man like Patrick Colovin.
After a year in Deadwood, Father Colovin let Father Sorin know that he wasn’t going to take it any more. He moved back to Canada. Within a year he was dismissed from the Congregation of Holy Cross. He resumed parish work in Wisconsin and died – almost certainly from alcohol-related causes – at age 45.
It’s hard to be a parent. One son of Charles and Rose Colovin founded the law department at the University of Notre Dame; another became the fifth president of the University. They made some extraordinarily bad choices, and their early successes in life were overshadowed by their actions later.
I didn’t say it would be a happy story, but I hope I delivered on my promise: a strange but true tale involving the early personalities at Notre Dame.
Sleep tight.1
SourcesandAdditional Reading
1861 Census of Canada, Montreal, Canada East, digital image, s.v. “M.F. Colovino,” Ancestry.com
1880 U.S. Census, District 112, Sunflower County, Mississippi, digital image, s.v. “M. F. Colovin.” Ancestry.com
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Kentucky, digital image, s.v. “M.F. Calvin.” Ancestry.com
“A Corner Stone Laying.” WisconsinStateJournal(Madison). September 15, 1873.
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1. Special thanks to Beth Klein of the Kresge Law Library at Notre Dame Law School for her assistance in obtaining documents from the Kentucky State Archives.
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about post 1 topic
Prof. Peter Foote
APRIL 1, 2020
Dear Students: This message does not relate to grades, commencement, or any current events whatsoever. Depending on your perspective the message is therefore either (1) an essential break or (2) frivolous. I choose the former. Let’s have story time. Read all the way to the end for a surprise happy twist.
Today is the 180th birthday of Professor Peter J. Foote, one of the very earliest members of the law faculty. He was born on April 1, 1840 in County Monaghan, Ireland. His mother died during the famine, and family lore has it that his father collapsed and died on her grave. Peter and his sister emigrated to the U.S. as very young children, arriving in Boston. Shortly thereafter he moved to New York City to live with his uncle, a parish priest.
Anti-immigrant feelings were quite high at the time, especially regarding the Irish. Peter’s extended family attempted to cope with this by changing their last name from “Cush” to “Foote.” (Cush is Gaelic for a style of riding boot or footwear; the family added an “e” to Anglicize it further).
Peter attended St. John’s College (now Fordham University) and later moved to Chicago to teach at St. Mary of the Lake College, near the site of the current Water Tower. No law school that was accessible to him would admit Catholic students, so he “read the law” and was admitted to the bar in Illinois in 1867.
Peter Foote was extremely quick-witted and gregarious. In addition to practicing law in Chicago, he edited and largely wrote the first subscription Catholic magazine in the Midwest, “The Month.” It seems likely that this is how he came to the attention of Father Sorin when he sought to establish a law program at Notre Dame in 1868-69.
Law studies began at Notre Dame in February 1869, and during the 1869-70 and 1870-71 academic years Peter Foote was “the” professor of law. The number of law students was in the single digits, and the University struggled to gain a foothold in those early years. Professor Foote helped lay the groundwork for legal education to continue during some very doubtful times.
He married and returned to Chicago, where he was appointed to the bench at a variety of municipal court levels. Things didn’t go very well. Foote insisted on treating the Irish defendants more leniently than the police preferred, and he received quite a bit of negative press as a result.
Stories of his courtroom antics and quips were very widely published. He was not careful with his own finances, made some poor choices in friendships, and some bad decisions regarding his conduct on the bench. He was indicted for conspiracy and, while he was acquitted, the judge admonished his behavior.
Two months later, Foote was hospitalized. To give you a sense of newspaper reportage at the time, rumors were published that he had a drinking problem, and an article in the Chicago Tribune opened with these lines: “Peter Foote is dying. Justice Foote is already dead.” Newspaper reporters hounded the residence, asking his young
children for any news. He died in December 1888 and was buried following a small private funeral. One obituary stated that he left “five or six children” (there were actually seven), and another article took pains to report that the family “was not well provided for.”
If you have read this far, then you deserve your happy ending. Just this morning I heard from Peter James Foote, the great-great grandson of Professor Foote. The family has done well in a very wide variety of careers and locations over the years. I hope to invite him to campus when we resume our normal studies, so that he can see the legacy that his great-great grandfather helped create and the community of Notre Dame Lawyers and students that might not exist if he hadn’t been present at the founding.
Your work will influence people you will never know. Make it count.
*An earlier version of this story may be found in Story Time – The Complete Collection: Strange But True Stories Of Early Notre Dame Lawyers (Checkerboard Heart: 2021), available to download for free on Amazon and Google