American lawyer Clara Hapgood Nash (1839-1921) was the first woman admitted to the bar in New England and the fifth to do so in the country.

Nash was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts; however, her parents quickly returned to their hometown of Acton, Massachusetts where she and her brothers were raised at her father’s farm on Central Street. Related to sculptor Harriet Hosmer and Henry Durant, the founding President of the University of California, Nash attended public schools and studied education at the State Normal School in Framingham, Massachusetts. Upon graduation, she taught in Acton, Marlborough and Danvers, while editing The Crystal Font, a pro-temperance publication.

Nash moved to Maine with her husband, Frederick C. Nash, an attorney. Serving as an apprentice in his office, she began the study of law. After becoming a Justice of the Peace, she became the first woman admitted to the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine in 1872, an achievement that was widely publicized. The following year, Nash made the opening remarks in a jury trial, another first for a woman. She was active in the women’s suffrage movement in Maine, leading a petition drive to garner support for the cause.

When Nash moved back to Massachusetts, she was no longer able to practice law and instead became the first librarian of the West Acton Citizens’ Library. She remained active in the temperance movement, serving as president of the local affiliate for more than twenty years. In 1909, she authored a book of poetry, entitled Verses.