Killgore's father was a prominent local attorney and encouraged his daughter's study of the law.

[6] On June 16, 1875 she married Jackson S. Wertman, an Indianapolis attorney, and the pair moved to Indiana and opened a joint practice there.

Under Indiana law, however, women were not eligible for admission to the bar, and so she handled the practice's real estate matters as well as office tasks, while her husband made court appearances.

[2][3] In November 1878, the couple moved to Ashland, Ohio and Killgore Wertman temporarily retired from law practice in order to raise the couple's children, Shields K., Helen M., and Clay (who died in infancy).

[3] Killgore Wertman and her husband later followed their children to Washington state, settling in Seattle, where she continued to reside with her son until her death on May 21, 1935.