Henrietta Hume Pettijohn Buck
Henrietta Hume Pettijohn Buck was New Mexico’s first female lawyer.
She was born in September 1853 in Columbia, Missouri as the eldest child to James Robert Hume and Sally Boothe. Buck attended the University of Missouri and initially began a career as a novelist. On April 15, 1892, Buck became the first female admitted to practice law in New Mexico.
Her first husband was Dr. J.B. Pettijohn and her second husband was ranch owner Arthur P. Buck. Their daughter Carrick Hume Buck also became a prominent lawyer, and her distinguished career included becoming the first female to serve as the Assistant U.S. District Attorney and a judge in Hawaii.
Buck died on October 11, 1921 in Los Angeles, California. She was buried in her birthplace of Columbia.
