Frances Payne Bolton
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Frances Payne Bolton (née Bingham; March 29, 1885 – March 9, 1977) was an American politician from the Republican Party. She served in the
United States House of Representatives 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 ...
, and was the first woman elected to Congress from
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. In the late 1930s, Bolton took an
isolationist Isolationism is a term used to refer to a political philosophy advocating a foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality an ...
position on foreign policy, opposing the Selective Service Act in 1940 which introduced the
draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...
, and opposing
Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...
in 1941. During the war she called for desegregation of the military nursing units, which were all-white and all-female. In 1947 she sponsored a long-range bill for
nursing education Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
, but it did not pass. When the draft was resumed after the war, Bolton strongly advocated the conscription of women. Pointing to their prominent role during the war, she said it was vitally important that women continue to play these roles. She saw no threat to marriage, and argued that women in military service would develop their character and skills, thus enhancing their role in the family. As a member of the
House Foreign Affairs Committee The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs ...
, Bolton supported the United Nations, especially
UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
, and supported the independence of African colonies.


Early life

She was born on March 29, 1885, in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
, as Frances Payne Bingham. She was the daughter of Charles William Bingham (1846–1929) and Mary Perry (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Payne) Bingham (1854–1898). Her siblings included Oliver Perry Bingham, William H. Bingham, Elizabeth Beardsley (née Bingham) Blossom, and Henry Payne Bingham. Among her maternal family members was uncle Nathan P. Payne (the former
mayor of Cleveland The mayor of Cleveland is the head of the executive branch of Local government in the United States, government of the Cleveland, City of Cleveland, Ohio. As the chief executive in Cleveland's Mayor–council government#Strong-mayor government fo ...
),
Oliver Hazard Payne Oliver Hazard Payne (July 21, 1839 – June 27, 1917) was an American businessman, organizer of the American Tobacco Company Trust, assisted with the formation of U.S. Steel, and was affiliated with Standard Oil. Early life Oliver Hazard Payne ...
(who worked for Cleveland based
Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...
and was a trustee for the Standard Oil Trust), and aunt Flora Payne (the wife of
U.S. Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...
William Collins Whitney William Collins Whitney (July 5, 1841February 2, 1904) was an American political leader and financier and a prominent member of the Whitney family. He served as Secretary of the Navy in the first administration of President Grover Cleveland from ...
). Her maternal grandfather was wealthy
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
Henry B. Payne. She was educated at private schools in Cleveland,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, and in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.


Career

Active in public health, nursing education and other social service, education, and philanthropic work, she succeeded her husband,
Chester C. Bolton Chester Castle Bolton (September 5, 1882 – October 29, 1939) was a U.S. Representative from Ohio. He served four consecutive terms from 1929 to 1937. He was elected to a fifth term in 1938, but he died before completing the term. He was the husb ...
, in office a few months after his death in 1939. Upon election to the remainder of her late husband's term, Bolton refused the customary widow's allowance comprising the remainder of the salary her late husband would have collected had he served out his term. She represented the 22nd District, mostly consisting of Cleveland's eastern suburbs. Bolton served an additional fourteen terms, serving alongside her son,
Oliver P. Bolton Oliver Payne Bolton (February 22, 1917 – December 13, 1972) was an American politician of the Republican Party who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1953 to 1957 and from 1963 to 1965. In 1953, he and his mother, Franc ...
, for three of those terms. She and Oliver appeared on ''What's My Line?'' as the only mother and son serving together. It was reported that when he voted against her, she once stage-whispered, "That's my ''adopted'' son." A confidential 1943 analysis of the
House Foreign Affairs Committee The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs ...
by
Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...
for the British
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...
described Bolton as Serving on the
House Foreign Affairs Committee The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs ...
, Bolton called Secretary of State
John Foster Dulles John Foster Dulles (February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat who served as United States secretary of state under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 until his resignation in 1959. A member of the ...
in May 1954 after the fall of the French base at
Dien Bien Phu Diethylenetriamine (abbreviated and also known as 2,2’-Iminodi(ethylamine)) is an organic compound with the formula HN(CH2CH2NH2)2. This colourless hygroscopic liquid is soluble in water and polar organic solvents, but not simple hydrocarbons. ...
, urging him to invite nurse Genevieve de Galard to the United States. When Galard arrived in July, Bolton described her as a "symbol of heroic femininity in the free world". After receiving the
Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...
, Galard was received at a dinner for three hundred in Congresswoman Bolton's home district of Cleveland while on a tour of the country. Bolton voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...
,
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
, and
1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
, and the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights move ...
.


House Foreign Affairs Committee

In 1955, she became the first American woman member of Congress to head an international delegation, using her own resources to fund it. As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee's subcommittee on Africa, she felt it was her responsibility to visit as much of Africa as possible. Arriving in Senegal on September 1, she spent the next six weeks crisscrossing the continent by plane, train, boat, and car. Her important stops included Liberia, Ghana (then still known as the Gold Coast), the Belgian Congo, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), South Africa, and Ethiopia. She met with leading nationalists such as
Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...
, powerful politicians such as
Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...
, and leading women such as the Queen Mother of the Tutsis. She also spent a lot of time during her trip visiting schools and talking with young people, and meeting with women from all walks of life in the markets or clinics. As someone with a lifelong interest in education and health care, she prioritized these issues during her African travels. When she got back to the United States she submitted a very thorough and insightful report to Congress. One of her recommendations was that Congress should create a new State Department Bureau for African Affairs to be overseen by a new assistant secretary of state for African affairs. Bolton helped to see that this did in fact happen, and Congress created the new bureau in 1958. In addition to sharing information about her trip with Congress through her official report, Bolton also made an impressive effort to enlighten the American people about the diversity of the African continent by creating a film about her trip, entitled ''Africa: Giant With a Future, 1955.'' This film is an excellent resource for students and instructors wanting a look at several African countries/colonies in the mid-1950s and has been made available on DVD by the National Archives. In addition to educating Congress and the general public about Africa, Bolton's trip helped to begin the process of opening doors for women to play a major role in US foreign relations. In addition to influencing US relations with Africa, another of Bolton's most lasting achievements was sponsoring legislation to purchase property across the
Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
from
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...
, the home of
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
. This prevented commercialization of the area and preserved its appearance as it was when Washington lived there. Bolton had a phenomenal relationship with her constituents of Italian-American heritage and was known for mailing government child-care pamphlets to homes where new children were born. The
nursing school Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
at
Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...
is named in her honor for her accomplishments and generosity in the field of public nursing.


Later life

After rising to become ranking minority member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Bolton was defeated in a bid for a sixteenth term in 1968 by
Charles Vanik Charles Albert Vanik (April 7, 1913 – August 30, 2007) was a Democratic politician from Ohio. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1955 to 1981. Early life Vanik was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Stella (née ...
. She was, until
Louise Slaughter Dorothy Louise Slaughter (née McIntosh, August 14, 1929 – March 16, 2018) was an American politician elected to 16 terms as a United States representative from New York, serving from 1987 until her death in 2018. Slaughter was born in Lynch, ...
's continued service in 2012, the oldest woman to serve in the House of Representatives. Bolton retired to her family home, Franchester (named for herself and her late husband), in
Lyndhurst, Ohio Lyndhurst is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and an eastern suburb of Cleveland. The population was 14,050 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. A small part of Lyndhurst was originally part of Mayfield Township, Cuyahoga ...
.


Personal life

In 1907, Frances Payne Bingham married
Chester Castle Bolton Chester Castle Bolton (September 5, 1882 – October 29, 1939) was a U.S. Representative from Ohio. He served four consecutive terms from 1929 to 1937. He was elected to a fifth term in 1938, but he died before completing the term. He was the husb ...
(1882–1939). Together, they were the parents of four children: * Charles Bingham Bolton (1909–1976), a dentist who developed the "Bolton Standards of Craniofacial Growth". * Kenyon Castle Bolton (1912–1983), a philanthropist and patron of the arts who married Mary Idelle Peters of
Lancaster, Ohio Lancaster ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, and its county seat. The population was 40,552 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Ohio, Ohio's 30th largest city, having surpassed Warren, Ohio, Warren and Fin ...
. * Oliver Payne Bolton (1917–1972), who also served in the U.S. House of Representatives. * Elizabeth Bolton (1919–1919), who died in infancy. She died in
Lyndhurst, Ohio Lyndhurst is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and an eastern suburb of Cleveland. The population was 14,050 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. A small part of Lyndhurst was originally part of Mayfield Township, Cuyahoga ...
, on March 9, 1977, and was interred at
Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a Private property, privately owned, Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Rural cemetery, garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, Ohio, East Cleveland ...
in Cleveland.


Legacy

She was a devotee of
yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
. The Bolton Fellowship supports research in
parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, teleportation, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry (paranormal), psychometry) and other paranormal cla ...
. Bolton and her husband donated land adjacent to their estate in 1922 to create the campus of
Hawken School Hawken School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory day school in Northeast Ohio. Hawken currently has two main campuses, the Lower and Middle Schools in Lyndhurst and the Upper School in Chester Township, plus a third, an ur ...
in
Lyndhurst, Ohio Lyndhurst is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and an eastern suburb of Cleveland. The population was 14,050 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. A small part of Lyndhurst was originally part of Mayfield Township, Cuyahoga ...
. Her sons attended the private country day school. Her papers are held at the Western Reserve Historical Society. The school of nursing at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland is named
Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing The Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing is the nursing school of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. The school is named in honor of Frances Payne Bolton, a former congresswoman from Cleveland's 22nd District. History Original ...
in her honor.


See also

*
Women in the United States House of Representatives Women have served in the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United States Congress, since 1917 following the election of Republican Jeannette Rankin from Montana, the first woman in Congress. In total, 396 women ...


Sources


References

* David Loth. ''A Long Way Forward, A Biography of a Congresswoman: Frances P. Bolton'' (New York: Longmans, Green 1957).


External links


Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
* * ateway to Paradise: Bingham-Bolton-Blossom Estate in Palm Beach– ''Casa Apava, built in 1918 for Frances Payne Bolton.'' * *Spring, Kelly
"Frances Bolton"
National Women's History Museum. 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, Frances P. 1885 births 1977 deaths Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland Female members of the United States House of Representatives People from Lyndhurst, Ohio Politicians from Palm Beach, Florida Politicians from Cleveland Spouses of Ohio politicians Women in Ohio politics 20th-century American women politicians Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives