Evangeline Starr was a Justice of the Peace and a founding member of the Seattle chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW).
Starr earned a law degree cum laude from the University of Washington in the mid-1920s and was the only female out of a group of about 100 who took a three-day bar exam in Olympia. She passed the exam with the highest grade of all those that applied. She spent several years in private practice, six years as a King County deputy prosecuting attorney and divorce proctor, and 14 years as a judge in the Seattle Justice Court. In 1941, she became King County's second female justice of the peace and replaced Reah Mary Whitehead, the state's first female judge. She worked as a prosecuting attorney before being appointed to the bench. She served the judicial system for 29 years first as a justice of the peace and then, when the district court system was created to replace justices of the peace in 1963, as a Seattle District Court judge.
Starr was a longtime advocate of equal rights for women. In 1963, she presented a report to the Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women that pointed out the inequality between men and women in many of Washington's existing laws. She was a member of the Commission on the Status of Women from 1961 through 1969. Starr joined the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1967 on the recommendation of a fellow lawyer. She became the state's first NOW member. In 1970, the Seattle Chapter of NOW was organized in her chambers after business hours. She was also active in the American Association of University Women, the Washington State Federation of Women’s Clubs, Traveler’s Aid, the Phi Delta Delta legal fraternity, and the Business and Professional Women’s Club (serving as president of the Seattle chapter in 1934-1936). She was a board member of the Council on Aging for Seattle and King County and was the Washington State Magistrates Association's secretary-treasurer for 18 years. Starr returned to private practice in January 1987, specializing in probate work for wills and estates. She died in 1990.
Source: HistoryLink, Seattle Times obituary
Correspondence, reports, officers' guide and other materials related to Evangeline Starr's involvement with the American Association of University Women (Seattle Branch). Her candidate flyer for King County superior court is also included.
No restrictions on access.
Creator's copyrights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
Separated from the Zelda Boulanger papers. Donated by Danielle Everson on June 1, 2017.