Bartelme, Mary (1866–1954)

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Bartelme, Mary (1866–1954)

American judge and juvenile reformer. Name variations: Mary Margaret Bartelme; (nickname) "Suitcase Mary." Born Mary Margaret Bartelme, July 24, 1866, in Chicago, Illinois; died July 25, 1954, in Carmel, California; dau. of Balthazar Bartelme and Jeannette (Hoff) Bartelme; attended Cook Co. Normal School; graduated as only woman in class at Northwestern University Law School.

Lawyer who proposed reduction of female delinquency by providing sex education and extending women's minimum working age to 16, was admitted to Illinois bar (1894), then US bar, and began private practice in Chicago (1896); served as Cook Co. public guardian (1897–1913); with other members of Chicago Woman's Club, established Chicago juvenile court (1899); served as assistant to juvenile court judge (1913–23); created several halfway houses for dependent girls (1914) and for semi-delinquent girls (1916); served as Cook Co. Circuit Court associate justice (1923–27) and as presiding judge of juvenile court (1927–33).