Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
ADAMS, Austin
ADAMS, Austin. (Andover, Windsor Co., VT, May 24, 1826--Oct. 17,1890). Chief Justice, Iowa Supreme Court. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Adams with his wife Mary moved to Dubuque in 1854. He became a leading Iowa attorney and served as a judge on the Iowa Supreme Court from January 1, 1876, until December 31, 1892. Adams served as Chief Justice beginning in 1880. He held the office of regent of the State University of Iowa for sixteen years, president of the board of education in Dubuque, and was a law lecturer from 1875 until his death.
One of the state's most farsighted jurists, Adams was one of Iowa's first lawyers to encourage women to study law. He was the first chief justice in Iowa to allow women to practice before the Supreme Court. Austin Adams was the father of Eugene ADAMS and the husband of Mary Newbury ADAMS.