Interview with Eunice S. Groark
IntervieweeInterview with
Eunice S. Groark
American, 1938 - 2018
InterviewerInterviewed by
Beverly J. Hodgson
American
Date2001 January 22
DimensionsDuration: 1 Hour, 42 Minutes, 7 Seconds
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of the Connecticut Bar Foundation
DescriptionOral history interview with Eunice S. Groark who was interviewed by Judge Beverly J. Hodgson on January 22, 2001 for the Connecticut Bar Foundation's History of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession Project.
Topic Discussed:
- Childhood and Family: Born in Sharon, Connecticut. Lived on a small farm until about age six. Her father was elected to the state legislature from Salisbury in 1943. Her father became Chief of Staff to Ray Baldwin in 1944-1945 when Baldwin took office. Moved to Hartford due to her father's political involvement. Childhood exposure to politics. Republicans gathering at their house and visiting the Capitol.
- College: At Westover, she was president of the Dramatic Club. At Bryn Mawr, she was president of a major government club and was involved with issues related to the integration movement in the South. Majored in political science and philosophy of religion at Bryn Mawr.
- Post-College Work Experience: After graduating from Bryn Mawr, she worked for the Curtis Publishing Company in Philadelphia for about a year, doing statistical abstracts. Moved to New York and worked for "The International Art Market," a newsletter listing auction prices, handling business and circulation. The newsletter was started by the Ochs family, who owned the New York Times.
- Law School: Decided to go to law school in the spring of 1962, took the LSATs at NYU. Attended the University of Connecticut School of Law, with her father paying her tuition in exchange for her living at home. In her entering class at UCONN Law School, there were four women out of about 140 students.
- Married to Tom Groark at the end of her second year of law school in 1964. Worked at the UCONN Law School library, becoming the first woman to do so, mentored by Shirley Bysiewicz (mother of Susan Bysiewicz).
- Early Legal Career: Graduated from law school and took the bar in 1965. Did not immediately open her own practice, but did so in 1981.
- Sadie Glantz and Ethel Donaghue.
- Environmental: Earned a master's degree at Michigan in environmental sciences.
- Hartford Politics and City Council: Her family considerations influenced her decision to work locally in Hartford, starting in September 1967 at Day, Berry and Howard. Began running for public office in 1981. Served on the Hartford City Council in 1981.
- Republican Town Committee.
- Run for Mayor: Ran for mayor in 1985 against Thirman Milner, the first black mayor in New England.
- Corporation Counsel and Later Political Engagements.
Topic Discussed:
- Childhood and Family: Born in Sharon, Connecticut. Lived on a small farm until about age six. Her father was elected to the state legislature from Salisbury in 1943. Her father became Chief of Staff to Ray Baldwin in 1944-1945 when Baldwin took office. Moved to Hartford due to her father's political involvement. Childhood exposure to politics. Republicans gathering at their house and visiting the Capitol.
- College: At Westover, she was president of the Dramatic Club. At Bryn Mawr, she was president of a major government club and was involved with issues related to the integration movement in the South. Majored in political science and philosophy of religion at Bryn Mawr.
- Post-College Work Experience: After graduating from Bryn Mawr, she worked for the Curtis Publishing Company in Philadelphia for about a year, doing statistical abstracts. Moved to New York and worked for "The International Art Market," a newsletter listing auction prices, handling business and circulation. The newsletter was started by the Ochs family, who owned the New York Times.
- Law School: Decided to go to law school in the spring of 1962, took the LSATs at NYU. Attended the University of Connecticut School of Law, with her father paying her tuition in exchange for her living at home. In her entering class at UCONN Law School, there were four women out of about 140 students.
- Married to Tom Groark at the end of her second year of law school in 1964. Worked at the UCONN Law School library, becoming the first woman to do so, mentored by Shirley Bysiewicz (mother of Susan Bysiewicz).
- Early Legal Career: Graduated from law school and took the bar in 1965. Did not immediately open her own practice, but did so in 1981.
- Sadie Glantz and Ethel Donaghue.
- Environmental: Earned a master's degree at Michigan in environmental sciences.
- Hartford Politics and City Council: Her family considerations influenced her decision to work locally in Hartford, starting in September 1967 at Day, Berry and Howard. Began running for public office in 1981. Served on the Hartford City Council in 1981.
- Republican Town Committee.
- Run for Mayor: Ran for mayor in 1985 against Thirman Milner, the first black mayor in New England.
- Corporation Counsel and Later Political Engagements.
Object number2024.38.11a-j
NotesProject Overview: At the turn of the 20th century, other than Mary Hall, women lawyers were virtually unknown in Connecticut. By contrast, at the turn of the 21st century, law schools were enrolling roughly the same number of women as men. Since their earliest time at the bar, women have become leaders in all areas of the profession at a pace out of all proportion to their brief history and number. In 1999, the Fellows of the Connecticut Bar Foundation initiated the Oral History of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession Project. Within the framework of this dynamic project, the Fellows have been creating a permanent video, audio, and photographic historical record of milestone achievements of women as they have become more visible and achieved prominence in the field of law. In 2019, a leadership donation of $20,000 from the law firm of Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey enabled the project to significantly broaden its scope and plan for the future.
Through its first two phases, the project worked with award-winning documentarian Karyl Evans and attorney/photographer Isabel Chenoweth to produce fifty-eight oral history interviews with outstanding female attorneys and 118 portraits of women in the Connecticut judiciary.
The oral history interviews have collected the stories of women whose ingenuity, perseverance, and intelligence dismantled barriers that historically prevented women from pursuing careers in the law. Connecticut has benefited from the efforts of these “pioneers” as they enriched the legal profession by joining the ranks of their male peers and paved the way for more women to join the profession. (Source: Connecticut Bar Foundation)
Subject Terms
- Women
- Lawyers
- Women lawyers
- Oral history
- Interview films
- Interview transcripts
- Interviews
- Oral narratives
- Attorneys
- Sharon (Conn.)
- Farms
- Politics, practical
- Salisbury (Conn.)
- Baldwin, Raymond E. (Raymond Earl), 1893-1983
- Hartford (Conn.)
- Capitols
- New York (N.Y.)
- Law schools
- University of Connecticut
- Mayors
- Groark, Eunice, 1938-2018
- Family
- Education
- Political candidates
- Politicians
- Women politicians
- Libraries
- Law firms
- City council members
- City council (Hartford, Conn.)
- Corporation law
- Milner, Thirman Leonard, 1933-2024
- Bysiewicz, Shirley Raissi, -1990
- University of Connecticut School of Law Library (Hartford, Conn.)
- Interviews and Oral Histories
- History of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession Project
On View
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