Tilman Bacon Parks (May 14, 1872 – February 12, 1950) was an American lawyer and politician who served eight terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

from 1921 to 1937.

Early life and education

Born near

Lewisville, Arkansas Lewisville is a city in Lafayette County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,280 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lafayette County. Geography Lewisville is located in northern Lafayette County. U.S. Route 82 passes thr ...

on May 14, 1872, Parks attended the local common schools. He then attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

and the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1900, after which he opened a private law practice in Lewisville.

Political career

He served as member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

from 1901 to 1904, then again from 1909 to 1911. In 1904, he was selected by the Democratic Party to be a presidential elector. He served as temporary chairman of the Democratic State convention in 1910, and then as prosecuting attorney of the eighth judicial circuit of Arkansas from 1914 to 1918. In 1915 he moved to

Hope, Arkansas Hope is a city in Hempstead County, Arkansas, Hempstead County in southwestern Arkansas, United States. Hope is the county seat of Hempstead County and the principal city of the Hope Hope micropolitan area, Micropolitan Statistical Area, which in ...

, where he engaged in the practice of law.

Tenure in Congress

In 1920, Parks sought election to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, challenging incumbent Congressman William S. Goodwin. Tilman won a close primary election and was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-seventh Congress with more than 70% of the vote. He then won re-election to the seven succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1921 – January 3, 1937). During his tenure, Tilman served at various times on the Accounts Committee, the Education Committee, the Expenditures on the Interior Committee, the Interstate and Foreign Committee, the Rivers and Harbors Committee, and on the powerful Appropriations Committee. Although he was usually unopposed or faced only token opposition for re-election, Tilman in 1934 was involved in a bitterly contested election against local attorney Wade Kitchens. Tilman was declared the winner, but several months later a federal court overturned the results based upon allegations of fraud. Nevertheless, because the House had already seated Tilman, he remained in office for the duration of his term. Knowing his political vulnerability, Tilman was not a candidate for renomination in 1936.

Life after Congress

He continued the practice of law until his retirement. His wife, Fay Newton Parks died in 1928 while Tilman was still in office. As his health declined later in life, Tilman lived with his son before being institutionalized for several years due to severe illness.

Death and burial

He died in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, February 12, 1950. He was interred in the

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street in Washington, D.C., in the Hill East neighborhood on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Tilman Bacon 1872 births 1950 deaths Burials at the Congressional Cemetery Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas People from Lewisville, Arkansas 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly