Killgore Wertman was born in Jefferson,
Clinton County, Indiana on March 1, 1843 to David and Elizabeth Killgore. Killgore's father was a prominent local attorney and encouraged his daughter's study of the law. Her religious upbringing led Killgore to attend seminary school, graduating from Ladoga Seminary in
Ladoga, Indiana in 1862. She then worked for a number of years as a school teacher. She began studying law at Chicago University (now the
University of Chicago) in 1869, and went on to study law at the
University of Michigan Law School, becoming the first female law student in the School's history. Killgore Wertman graduated from the University with an
LL.B. in March 1871. Later that year she was admitted to the Michigan State Bar. However, she became very ill and had to move home to Indiana. On June 16, 1875 she married Jackson S. Wertman, an
Indianapolis attorney, and the pair moved to
Indiana and opened a joint practice there. Under Indiana law, however, women were not eligible for admission to the bar, and so she handled the practice's real estate matters as well as office tasks, while her husband made court appearances. In November 1878, the couple moved to
Ashland, Ohio and Killgore Wertman temporarily retired from law practice in order to raise the couple's children, Shields K., Helen M., and Clay (who died in infancy). When her children were older, she decided to sit for the Ohio Bar examination. She passed in September 1893. Once admitted to the Ohio Bar, Killgore Wertman returned to her husband's law practice, specializing in real estate law and abstracting. Killgore Wertman and her husband later followed their children to
Washington state, settling in
Seattle, where she continued to reside with her son until her death on May 21, 1935. She was involved in
University of Michigan alumni groups and was a lifelong member of the
Equity Club, an organization of women lawyers based at the University of Michigan who exchanged letters. ==See also==