Eliza Jane Pratt (March 5, 1902 – May 13, 1981) was a
United States Representative
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...
from
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, the first woman to represent her state in the
U.S. Congress.
She was the only woman elected to the House of Representatives from North Carolina until the 1992 election of
Eva Clayton.
Early life and education
Pratt was born in
Anson County, North Carolina on March 5, 1902. She attended
Queens College in
Charlotte, North Carolina from 1918 to 1920.
Career
In 1923, Pratt worked as an editor for the ''Montgomerian'' newspaper in
Troy
Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
, North Carolina. In 1924, she was hired as an administrative assistant for Congressman
William C. Hammer.
Following Hammer's death in 1930, Pratt worked for a succession of North Carolina representatives:
Hinton James,
J. Walter Lambeth and
William O. Burgin.
When Burgin died in office in 1946, Pratt was elected as a
Democrat to fill the vacancy. She served from May 25, 1946, to January 3, 1947, and was not a candidate in the 1946 general election.
During her time in office, Pratt was appointed to three committees: Pensions, Territories, and Flood Control.
Pratt went on to a variety of federal government jobs between 1947 and 1956 with the
Office of Alien Property, the
Agriculture Department, and the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
.
She worked as secretary for another member of Congress,
Alvin Paul Kitchin, from 1957 through 1962.
In 1962, Pratt returned to North Carolina and worked as a public relations executive for the North Carolina Telephone Company.
See also
*
Women in the United States House of Representatives
References
External links
Congressional Biography*
* Marion Elliott Deerhake
''Jane Pratt: North Carolina's First Congresswoman'' McFarland and Co., 2024.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Eliza Jane
1902 births
1981 deaths
20th-century American women politicians
Female members of the United States House of Representatives
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina
Women in North Carolina politics
Editors of North Carolina newspapers
Queens University of Charlotte alumni
People from Wadesboro, North Carolina
Secretaries
United States congressional aides
20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives