Phoebe Wilson Couzins (September 8, 1842 – December 6, 1913)[1] was one of the first female lawyers in the United States.

During the American Civil War, both Phoebe and Adaline helped organize the Western Sanitary Commission, which offered medical aid to wounded soldiers in places without hospitals.

Inspired by Professor John M. Krum, Couzins submitted an application to study law at the new Washington University in St. Louis.

[3] In 1869, Couzins began her studies at the university's law school, and earned her L.L.B degree in 1871, as one of only nine people in her class.

[7] Couzins was licensed to practice law in the federal courts, Missouri, Arkansas, Utah, and Kansas.

Even prior to beginning her studies, she was the Missouri delegate to the American Equal Rights Association meeting in New York.

[12] It was a society consisting of a considerable number of suffragists, including Annie Turner Wittenmyer and Virginia Minor.

[16]  After the convention, she aligned causes with Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to form the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) and toured extensively around the country.

She believed that the merge spurred the rise of a new type of suffragist- one who was young and wealthy, and was fighting for suffrage for reasons that opposed her own.

[7] Prior to her appointment to the Board of Lady Managers, she was a founding member of the Chicago women's group, the Queen Isabella Association.

She left the suffrage movement in 1897, and joined the United States Brewers' Association, as a lobbyist against prohibition and temperance.

[7] Couzins died in St. Louis on December 6, 1913, in an unoccupied house at 2722 Pine Street and was mourned by only her brother and a few friends.