Isabel Darlington

Isabel Darlington (June 22, 1865 – June 24, 1950) was an American lawyer and the first woman to gain admittance to the bar and practice law in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Specializing in estate and business law, Darlington handled the legal affairs of industrialist Pierre S. du Pont, including his purchase of Longwood Gardens in 1906. She was the sole woman practicing law in Chester County for 45 years. A native of West Chester and alumna of Wellesley College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Darlington was the daughter of Congressman Smedley Darlington and the aunt of General Smedley Butler. She grew up amid wealth and privilege—the Darlingtons' net worth reached $1 million before the Panic of 1893 cost the family much of its fortune. "I realized that it might be wise to make some independent provision for the future," Isabel recalled.

Seeking to gain independent means, Darlington enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1896 after studying for the summer at Carlisle Law School. Her Penn Law application was ignored at first and she had to petition the dean directly, vowing to show up for class anyway if she were not accepted. She completed the three-year Bachelor of Laws program in 18 months and graduated at the top of her class, overcoming reluctance from faculty members who had been reluctant to admit her, let alone confer a degree. This achievement made her one of only 140 women lawyers and law students in the country at the time. She gained admittance to practice before the Superior Court of Pennsylvania in 1902 and before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1907, though she generally avoided courtroom trials. She was elected president of the Chester County Bar Association on January 14, 1941, becoming the first woman to attain such an office in Pennsylvania. including 45 years as the only woman lawyer in Chester County. and trustee of West Chester State Normal School (1925). She served as director of the poor in Chester County, president of the Wentworth Home in West Chester, and vice president of the Chester County Historical Society. As chair of the society's financial committee, she raised funds to buy and improve the Chester County History Center building in 1938. She chaired Wellesley College's alumna committee as of 1907 and also served on the endowment committee.

Personal life Darlington never married and lived quietly with her sister at the family home of Faunbrook, a Victorian mansion in West Chester built in 1860 and purchased by their father in 1867. Her law offices were located at 16 East Market Street, to which she would walk daily until the age of 84. Her great-nephew, Thomas R. Butler, continued to practice law there.

Like her father, Darlington was a Quaker of English descent and used distinctive "thy" and "thou" pronouns in letters to her nephew, Smedley Butler. Later in life, she became a member of the Church of Christ, Scientist. A lifelong member of the Republican Party, she was active in the Women's Republican Club of Chester County.