Perhaps you've never heard of Belva Lockwood, but she was famous in her day. She had at least two things in common with Hillary Clinton — she was an accredited lawyer and she ran for president of the United States. She was the second woman to run for chief executive. Victoria Woodhull was the first, in 1872. Both were candidates of the Equal Rights Party, bent on reform.

Belva had several firsts — first woman to graduate from a national law school and first woman admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. She was also first to navigate the streets of Washington, D.C., on a tricycle. She would reach a top speed of 10 mph.

Belva's life was very different from Hillary's, a Yale Law School graduate who smoothly launched her legal career. Belva, born in 1830 in New York state, was a housewife when her first husband died, leaving her with a small daughter to support. Placing the child with grandparents, she entered Genesee College, graduating in 1857. She secured a teaching position in Lockport, N.Y., creating a stir by introducing public speaking and gymnastics for girls. She also met Susan B. Anthony and was converted to the cause of women's rights and the suffrage movement.

Hillary went to Washington to become first lady. Belva went to Washington to teach school in 1866, taking her daughter with her. She hoped to become a lawyer, but as a woman she faced discrimination and was rebuffed by Georgetown and Howard universities. Finally, at age 38 she was accepted at the National University Law School.

She completed her courses successfully but the school denied her a diploma because she was a woman. Resourcefully, she overcame this obstacle too. She discovered that President Ulysses S. Grant was ex officio president of the university and applied directly to him. Her signed diploma arrived promptly and she was admitted to the bar Sept. 3, 1873.

A handsome woman with dark hair and eyes, always dressed in the height of fashion, Belva quickly made a name for herself as a woman lawyer. Her practice grew. She achieved national prominence, resulting in her nomination for president by the Equal Rights Party in 1884. She was nominated again in 1888.

Her presidential campaign differed greatly from Hillary's. Hillary was accepted from the first as a serious candidate, greeted with respect on the campaign trail. When the Equal Rights Party nominated Belva, she campaigned widely. Always sure of herself,

it's interesting that she charged $100 for each public appearance and speech. Unfortunately, the majority of male voters considered her candidacy a joke. The press was especially unkind, calling it “a most laughable masquerade.” Even woman's suffrage advocates objected, saying her candidacy undermined their movement.

In every state huge crowds have come together to work for Hillary's election. Belva Lockwood clubs were organized too, but they worked against the candidate, staging “Belva Lockwood parades” in which men dressed as women. They marched wearing poke bonnets and carrying brooms for sweeping out corruption.

In quiet Stonington, such an event was arranged on Monday evening, Nov. 5, 1888, the night before election. Prominent men of the village, Palmers, Cheseboros, Weeks and Wheelers, donned women's clothing and paraded to Borough Hall. Posters around town promised that Miss Hannah Lee would “emit Impassioned Yawps” in favor of Belva A. Lockwood. A special train would bring passengers from Noank and Mystic. “Come One, Come All, and Bring Your Chewing Gum” it concluded. A report in the weekly paper gave details of the well-attended occasion.

Belva got 4,000 votes in 1884, a few less in 1888. She continued to practice law in Washington. Her most important case was the Eastern Cherokee Nation vs. U.S., concerning the trail of tears. The $5 million settlement was the largest yet paid by the government to an American Indian tribe. She maintained her law practice until she was in her 80s.

Belva Lockwood died in 1917. “I have not raised the dead, but I have awakened the living,” she once remarked.

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