A PHOTOGRAPH ACROSS GENERATIONS
Traynor family gift to UND Law Women’ s Caucus connects early legal history with the legacy of trailblazer Helen Hamilton
A century-old photograph has found a new home at the University of North Dakota( UND) School of Law, offering a powerful glimpse into the early legal community of North Dakota – and the quiet presence of a pioneering woman who helped shape its history.
The photograph, believed to have been taken at a State Bar Association of North Dakota convention in Grand Forks in the early 1920s, was recently donated to the UND School of Law’ s Law Women’ s Caucus by brothers Professor Paul Traynor, Judge Daniel Mack Traynor, and Tom Traynor. The image captures a gathering of attorneys from the era, including Edward Donovan, the brothers’ grandfather.
For decades, the photograph remained in the Donovan family home in Langdon, North Dakota. When the house was sold, the brothers’ mother, Jane Traynor, kept the photograph because of its connection to her father. Years later, while clearing out their parents’ home, the Traynor brothers
Madison Schoenberg, Law Women’ s Caucus president, and Professor Paul Traynor pose with the photograph gifted by the Traynor family.
Helen Hamilton rediscovered the piece of family – and legal – history.
As members of a family with deep ties to the legal profession, the brothers immediately noticed something remarkable in the photograph: a woman seated among the lawyers. That woman was Helen Hamilton, who at the time was the only licensed female attorney in North Dakota.
Recognizing the historical significance of Hamilton’ s presence, the Traynor brothers agreed that the photograph belonged somewhere it could continue telling its story. They chose to donate it to the
Below: A group photograph of attorneys attending a State Bar Association of North Dakota convention in Grand Forks in the early 1920s, including pioneering attorney Helen Hamilton, the only licensed female attorney in the state at the time. Edward Donovan, grandfather of the Traynor brothers, is seated at the far left of the photograph wearing a bow tie.
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