NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — For more than four decades, Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey was an influential leader in the courtroom. Now, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals judge is taking a step back from the bench and talking about her plans for the books in her personal collection.
In 2020, she announced her first donation of books to the Nashville Public Library for the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Her gift included Volumes I-IV of “History of Woman Suffrage." The rare copies are signed by Susan B. Anthony.
Daughtrey's impressive career led her to acquire many rare books. Some 460 books on feminism, traditional women's roles and women in law are on display in the Votes For Women room on the second floor of the downtown library.
"Is it hard to let them go? All these books that I've been living with all these years?" Daughtrey asked herself. "Yeah, it is hard in a way, but to have them here and to know they're safe and they're not going to get shredded and young people can come in and do research with them..." Daughtrey said that made her feel content.
On Tuesday, members of Nashville's Lawyers’ Association for Women attended an intimate conversation with the judge. She was asked questions about her book collection, women and the pandemic as well as the Roe v. Wade draft decision.
While none of the judge's books can be checked out of the library, visitors can take them to the reading room.
