Harman Patil (Editor)

List of first minority male lawyers in the United States

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This is a listing of the first minority male attorneys in the United States and for each individual state. If available, the first Caucasian male lawyer for each state is mentioned to offer a historical perspective.

Contents

Nationwide

  • Thomas Lechford (c. 1638) (First barrister who emigrated to New England)
  • James McDonald (c. 1820s) (First Native American lawyer in the United States)
  • Macon Bolling Allen (1844) (First African-American lawyer in the United States)
  • Augustin Haidusek (c. 1870) (First Czech lawyer to be licensed to practice in the United States)
  • Joseph G. Parkison (c. 1883) (First deaf male lawyer in the United States)
  • Hong Yen Chang (1887) (First male of Chinese ancestry admitted to practice law in the United States)
  • Masuji Miyakawa (1905) or Arthur K. Ozawa (c. 1910) (First Japanese-American lawyer in the United States)
  • Pablo Manlapit (1919) (First Filipino licensed to practice law in the United States)
  • Herbert Choy (1941) (First Korean-American admitted to practice law in the United States)
  • Christopher Thang Tao (c. 1986) (First Hmong licensed to practice law in the United States)
  • Sergio C. Garcia (2014) (First undocumented immigrant licensed to practice law in the United States)

    • Individual states

  • Alabama: John McKinley (Alabama’s first lawyer by certain accounts); Robert Charles O'Hara Benjamin (First African-American male lawyer in Alabama)
  • Alaska: John F. McLean, M. P. Berry, and Edward W. Haskett (1844) (First members of the Alaska Bar of Attorneys); William Paul (1921) (First male of Native blood admitted to practice law in Alaska)
  • Arizona: Cole Bashford (Arizona's first lawyer); Joseph C. Padilla (1936) (First Hispanic male lawyer in Arizona); Hayzel B. Daniels (1948) (First African-American male lawyer in Arizona)
  • Arkansas: Perly Wallis (1808) (Arkansas' first lawyer); Thomas P. Johnson (1866) (First African-American male lawyer in Arkansas)
  • California: Frederick H. Billings (California's first lawyer); Robert Charles O'Hara Benjamin (1884) (First African-American male lawyer admitted to the California Bar); Chan Chung Wing (1890) (First Chinese-American male to obtain a law degree in California, but was denied the right to practice law. He was awarded the right to practice posthumously in 2015); You Chung Hong (1923) (First Chinese-American male lawyer to pass the California Bar exam); Kenji Ito (1945) (First Japanese-American male attorney post-WWII); John Rollin Ridge/Yellow Bird (First Native American to practice law in California); Sergio C. Garcia (2014) (First undocumented immigrant to be admitted to the California Bar and the United States)
  • Connecticut: Roger Ludlow (c. 1634) (Connecticut's first lawyer); Edwin Archer Randolph (1880) (First African-American male lawyer in Connecticut)
  • Delaware: Thomas Spry (c. 1676) (Delaware' first lawyer); Louis L. Redding (1929) (First African-American male lawyer in Delaware)
  • District of Columbia: George Boyer Vashon (1869) (First African-American male attorney in the District of Columbia)
  • Florida: Abraham Bellamy (1822) (First lawyer to settle in Jacksonville, Florida); Harvey S. Harmon (1869) (First African-American male attorney in Florida); James Weldon Johnson (1897) (First African-American male admitted to the Florida Bar post-Reconstruction
  • Georgia: William Clifton (1754) (Georgia's first lawyer); Judson Whitlocke Lyons (First African-American male attorney in Georgia)
  • Hawaii: John Ricord (1844) (Hawaii's first lawyer); Thomas McCants Stewart (First African-American male attorney in Hawaii); Keigoro Katsura (c. 1855) (First male lawyer of Japanese descent in Hawaii); Arthur K. Ozawa (1910) (First Japanese-American to pass the Hawaii Bar); Pablo Manlapit (1919) (First Filipino licensed to practice law in Hawaii and in the United States)
  • Idaho: Hartwell Lytton (H.L.) Preston (1866) (Idaho’s first lawyer); Reginald Ray Reeves (1952) (First African-American male attorney in Idaho)
  • Illinois: John Rice Jones (c. 1790s) (Illinois' first lawyer); Frederick McGee (First African-American male attorney in Illinois)
  • Indiana: Isaac Newton Blackford (Indiana's first lawyer); James T.V. Hill (First African-American male attorney in Indianapolis, Indiana)
  • Iowa: W.W. Chapman or James W. Woods (c. 1830s) (Iowa's first lawyer); A.H. Watkins (1874) (First African-American male attorney in Iowa)
  • Kansas: John Adams Halderman (c. 1854) (Kansas’ first lawyer); John H. Morris (1871) (First African-American male attorney admitted to Kansas Bar)
  • Kentucky: George Nicholas (c. 1790s), John Williams or John Todd (Kentucky's first lawyer); Nathaniel Harper (First African-American male attorney in Kentucky)
  • Louisiana: René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1682) (Louisiana’s first lawyer); C. Clay Morgan (1860) (First African-American male attorney in Louisiana)
  • Maine: Charles Story and Lt. Richard Bryar (c. 1701) (Maine’s earliest known male lawyers); Macon Bolling Allen (1844) (First African-American male attorney in Maine)
  • Maryland: Luther Martin (Maryland's first lawyer by certain accounts); Charles S. Wilson (1885) (First African-American male attorney in Maryland)
  • Massachusetts: Thomas Newton (1688) (Massachusetts' first lawyer); Macon Bolling Allen (1845) (First African-American male attorney in Massachusetts); Harry Dow (1929) (First Chinese-American male lawyer in Massachusetts)
  • Michigan: Daniel Webster (1836) (Michigan's first lawyer); John C. McLeod (1870) (First African-American male attorney in Michigan); Michael Berry (First Muslim male lawyer in Michigan)
  • Minnesota: General H.H. Sibley (c. 1834) (Minnesota’s first lawyer); Frederick McGee (1889) (First African-American male attorney in Minnesota)
  • Mississippi: John McKinley (Mississippi’s first lawyer by certain accounts); James Henry Piles (1869) (First African-American male attorney in Mississippi)
  • Missouri: John Rice Jones (1802) (Missouri’s first English lawyer); John H. Johnson (1871) (First African-American male attorney in Missouri)
  • Montana: H. P. A. Smith (1864) (Montana’s first lawyer in the southern region); Frank G. Higgins (1886) (Montana's first native-born lawyer); John D. Posten (1890) (First African-American male attorney in Montana); James Weston Dorsey (1927) (First African-American male to earn a law degree at the University of Montana School of Law)
  • Nebraska: Othman A. Abbott (1867) (Nebraska’s first lawyer by certain accounts); Silas Robbins (1889) (First African-American male attorney in Nebraska); Simeon Bloom (First Jewish male lawyer in Nebraska)
  • Nevada: Dr. Charles Daggett and Solomon C. Perren (1855) (Nevada’s first lawyers admitted to the bar); Charles Kellar (1961) (First African-American male to pass the Nevada bar exam, but denied the right to practice law); Earle W. White, Jr. and Robert L. Reid (1964) (First African-American male lawyers in Nevada)
  • New Hampshire: Daniel Abbot (1803) (New Hampshire's first lawyer)
  • New Jersey: Cortlandt Parker (New Jersey's first lawyer); George Jackson (1893) (First African-American male attorney in New Jersey)
  • New Mexico: Henry Lucien Warren (c. 1880s) (New Mexico’s first lawyer by certain accounts); Fred Simms (c. 1880s) (First African-American male attorney in New Mexico); M.T. Malone (1914) (First African-American male attorney to pass the bar exam and practice law in New Mexico); Antonio Barreiro (c. 1932) (First male of Mexican descent to practice law in New Mexico)
  • New York: Abraham van Vechten (c. 1777) (New York's first lawyer); George B. Vashon (1847) (First African-American male attorney in New York); Hong Yen Chang (1887) (First Chinese male attorney in the United States and New York); George Yamaoka (1939) (First Japanese-American male lawyer in New York); Cesar Vargas (2015) (First undocumented lawyer admitted to practice in New York)
  • North Carolina: Thomas Bragg (North Carolina’s first lawyer by certain accounts); George Lawrence Mabson (1871) (First African-American male attorney in North Carolina); John S. Leary (1892) (First African-American male attorney to practice in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina)
  • North Dakota: Leslie A. Simpson (North Dakota’s first lawyer to practice in the western region); In 1900, the first African-American male attorney was listed in the census. However, it is uncertain who that person is.
  • Ohio: Paul Fearing (Ohio's first lawyer); John Mercer Langston (1854) (First African-American male attorney in Ohio)
  • Oklahoma: Sam Houston (Oklahoma’s first lawyer by certain accounts); Simon R. Walking-Stick (c. 1893) (First Cherokee Indian male lawyer in Oklahoma)
  • Oregon: Peter Skene Ogden (Oregon’s first lawyer); McCants Stewart (First African-American male attorney in Oregon); Seid Beck, Jr. (1907) (First known Chinese-American male lawyer in Oregon); Minoru Yasui (c. 1939) (First Japanese-American male lawyer in Oregon)
  • Pennsylvania: David Lloyd (Pennsylvania’s first lawyer); Jonathan Jason Wright (1865) (First African-American male attorney in Pennsylvania); Juan Silva (1965) (First Hispanic male lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania)
  • Rhode Island: Nathaniel Newdigate, Henry Bull, and Daniel Updike (c. 1720s) (Rhode Island’s first lawyers); John Henry Ballou (1874) (First African-American male attorney in Rhode Island)
  • South Carolina: Nicholas Trott (South Carolina's first lawyer by certain accounts); Jonathan Jason Wright (1867) (First African-American male attorney in South Carolina); Antonia Capotosto (1904) (First Italian-American lawyer in Rhode Island)
  • South Dakota: Henry Masters (South Dakota's first practicing lawyer); Will F. Reden (First African-American male attorney in South Dakota)
  • Tennessee: Luke Bowyer (Tennessee's first lawyer); Frederick McGee (First African-American male attorney in Tennessee)
  • Texas: Francisco de Arocha (Texas' first lawyer by certain accounts); William A. Price (1873) or Allen W. Wilder (c. 1880) (First African-American male attorney in Texas); Wellington Chew (1951) (First Chinese-American male lawyer in Texas)
  • Utah: Phineas Young (Utah's first lawyer by certain accounts); Lawrence Marsh (1909) (First African-American male attorney in Utahwho was disbarred); Yoshio Katayama (1946) (First Japanese-American male admitted to the Utah Bar); M. Kent Christopherson (1973) (First Native American male admitted to the Utah Bar); Michael Martinez (1976) (First Hispanic male to practice law in Utah)
  • Vermont: John Burham (c. 1778) or Charles Phelps (Vermont's first lawyer); Samuel Johnson (c. 1980s) (First African-American male attorney in Vermont)
  • Virginia: Captain Gabriel Archer (Virginia's first lawyer); Robert Charles O'Hara Benjamin (First African-American male lawyer in Virginia)
  • Washington: Daniel Q. Gale (Washington's first lawyer); Robert O. Lee (1889) (First African-American male lawyer in Washington)
  • West Virginia: William Pallister Hubbard (1866) (West Virginia's first lawyer by certain accounts); Thomas G. Nutter (1929) (First African-American in West Virginia)
  • Wisconsin: John Catlin and Henry S. Baird (1823) (Wisconsin's first lawyers); Everett E. Simpson (First African-American male lawyer in Wisconsin)
  • Wyoming: William L. Simpson (1892) (First Wyoming lawyer to be admitted via oral examination); In 1910, the first African-American male attorney was listed in the census. Various sources have stated that it is uncertain who that person is, though according to www.ancestry.com, Plasa L. Turner is listed as a Black lawyer living in Middle, Sweetwater, Wyoming in the 1910 U.S. Census.

    • References

    List of first minority male lawyers in the United States Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA