[Nfb-seniors] The Blind History Lady - Women’s History Month

Thu Mar 28 20:06:14 UTC 2019

The real first blind woman lawyer 

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Dear Blind History Lady Fans;

This year has been a very busy time for the Blind History Lady. I have
visited several libraries in Washington D. C. and Maryland to research more
regarding our blind ancestors. My trip was a huge success! I have much
material to sift through, sort and follow up on to combine into stories and
pass along to you. 

I enjoyed addressing the NFB of Maryland’s Central chapter in February while
I was there. We had a lively discussion about Jim Ivy. If any of you would
like me to address your classes, community groups or church groups, please
contact me and we can work out an arrangement through Facetime or the
telephone. I would love to present more about my subjects to you than I have
time for in this email.

Now to this month’s subject. March is Woman’s History Month and I had the
difficult task to pick only one blind woman to celebrate in this month’s
email. I chose Lillian Blanche Fearing, a blind Iowan who left a mark in the
Midwest at the turn of the twentieth century.

Lillian Blanche Fearing was born in 1863 in Davenport Iowa. As a child, she
injured her eyes and lost her sight. She first continued in the local
schools, but could not keep up. Her parents sent her to the Iowa College for
the Blind in Vinton where she learned to read and write in Braille and to
solve life’s puzzles thrown at blind persons every day. 

While in school, she took music classes, began a theater club, enjoyed
literature and sharing all of her passions with her fellow classmates. 

She graduated from the school in 1884 as the class Valedictorian. After
graduation, Blanche learned of a new device, a typewriter that would allow
her to better communicate with the sighted world. Blanche bought herself a
typewriter and quickly taught herself to type. With her typewriter, she took
correspondence classes. After completing the classes, she would then teach
others, including fellow classmates from the College for the Blind. 

Her poems were being published in local papers. A book of poems of hers,
“The Sleeping Word” came out and was being sold in many places in Iowa and
the neighboring states. The publisher required Blanche to sell the first
printing on her own. If there were a second or more editions and the
publisher would promote across their territories. And there was a second
edition. It was up to Blanche to canvas door-to0door as well as visiting
book stores, general stores, women’s clubs, churches and anyone who would
purchase a few copies of her book to re-sell in their establishments.

Friends suggested that blanche use her blindness to promote her book. She
steadfastly refused to do so. Her work was to stand on its own merit, not on
pity. Another fear was that her work would only be seen as that of a “blind
girl”. With the stereotypes of the sighted, she felt that her blindness
would cause the general public to hot take her seriously Let it be a
surprise to the audience when the came to hear her lecture after purchasing
her book. 

Religion was an important part of her life. She read not just theological
books, but also magazines such as “Home Mission Monthly.” When articles of
letters touched her greatly, she responded with letters to the editor. In
one letter Fearing addressed the problems of rural working women as
missionaries in the United States 

In 1888, Blanche and her mother moved to Chicago so she could attend the
Union College of Law. Fearing was the only blind student and the only woman
in her class. Her mother was her reader and went to classes with her
daughter. She graduated in 1890 and set up her own law office in Chicago.

Sister Marion also moved to Chicago and became her sister’s
secretary/assistant. Marion went to school and became a court reporter. For
eight years they ran a successful, all-woman shop. 

Blanche had gotten to know many influential women in the Chicago area, such
as Mrs. Potter Palmer. Mrs. Palmer helped to get Blanche appointed to a
committee of the Women's Department of the World's Fair. During the World's
Fair, Blanche gave a speech to those assembled concerning the status of
women.

Fearing continued to write her poetry. Through her work she met many
individuals in the literary circles. She also met many influential women in
the Chicago and surrounding area. 

She wrote books that are still available today on Amazon. Look for “In The
City By The Lake”, “The Sleeping World And Other Poems” and “The Island
Lilly.”

Many sources attribute Christine Blanche LaBarraque as being the first blind
woman lawyer in the United States. Ms. LaBarraque was the first blind woman
to pass the bar in California about 1896. Fearing had been a lawyer for six
years by that time making her the first blind woman attorney in the United
States.. 

Blanch never married or had children to honor her memory. What she has left
are her books. You can read more about Lillian Blanche Fearing in my book
”The First Things I Learned” at
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www.smashwords.com. Check out this book and my other works by searching for
The Blind History Lady. 

You can read more of my Books at
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