Bertha Fain Tucker papers

Collection

Identifier: MSD-1920-001

Scope and Contents

This collection contains articles by Bertha Tucker, book reviews, letters, tributes, certificates, citations, campaign material, clippings and lectures. This collection is also in alphabetical order. It also contains three scrapbooks, mostly containing news articles about her running for judge and working as a judge.

Dates

Creation: 1931 - 1970

Creator

Tucker, Bertha Fain (class of 1920) (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with the Archives and Special Collections, DePauw University, Greencastle, IN. All requests to publish or quote must be submitted to Archives and Special Collections.

Biographical Note

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Bertha Fain Tucker was an American jurist and educator in Cook County, Illinois. She was born on April 7, 1899 in Greencastle, Indiana, to William W. Tucker and Bertha M Clark. Tucker studied political science at DePauw University. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and later earned a law degree from the University of Chicago, graduating cum laude. According to the Iota Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma, she was married to Elery Mahaffey on June 29, 1923. They later divorced. She began practicing law in 1927.

Tucker served as a judge in Cook County and in 1953 became the second woman elected to the Circuit Court. She was the first woman to be assigned to criminal court and the first to preside over a murder case in the county. In addition to her judicial career, she wrote legal textbooks and articles and was involved in medico-legal issues and women’s organizations including the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois.

She received several honors, including Kappa Kappa Gamma Woman of the Year in 1954, Chicagoland’s Woman of Distinction in 1954, honorary Doctor of Law degree from DePauw University in 1955, and Hoosier of the Year in 1956. She passed away on September 26, 1970.

Sources:

“Bertha Fain Tucker,” Indiana US Marriages, Ancestry.com.

“Judge B. Fain Tucker in Memoriam” Women Lawyers Journal, 57, no.1 (1971), 29-30.

“Hail G.O.P Victory,” Scrapbook Newspaper Clipping, Bertha Fain Tucker Papers, DePauw University Archives.

“Circuit Judge B. Fain Tucker Dies at 71,” Scrapbook Newspaper Clipping, Bertha Fain Tucker Papers, DePauw University Archives.

“Iota,” Kappa Kappa Gamma, November 13, 1875.

“Bertha Fain Tucker,” from Find a Grave, Ancestry.com.

This biographical note was created by Sophie Royer and Estephania Perez as part of the HIST278: Women's History from 1890-Present course during the spring 2026 semester. It was revised by Professor Sarah Rowley and the Coordinator of Archives and Special Collections Bethany Fiechter.