Pearl Carter Pace (January 25, 1896 – January 1970) was the first elected female

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

in the Commonwealth of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, 1938–1941. (Mary Lois Roach was sworn in as Sheriff of Graves County, Kentucky in 1922 becoming the first acting female sheriff in the state of Kentucky.)

Early years

Pearl Carter was born into a family devoted to public service in

Tompkinsville Tompkinsville may refer to: *Tompkinsville, Kentucky *Tompkinsville, Maryland *Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York ** Tompkinsville (Staten Island Railway station) {{geodis ...

in Monroe County, Kentucky. Her father, James C. Carter Sr., had served for forty years as a circuit judge in south central Kentucky. James C. Carter Jr., the brother of Pearl Carter Pace and U.S. Representative, Dr.

Tim Lee Carter Tim Lee Carter (September 2, 1910 – March 27, 1987) was an American politician serving as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth o ...

, also served in political office for many years. Pearl Carter married Stanley Dan Pace, the owner of a profitable roadbuilding company and relocated to his neighboring

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberl ...

Political career

Originally a schoolteacher and a businesswoman, Pace had a great

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

of life: "Anybody can do anything he wants if he just wants enough to make the effort." This thinking took her into areas of life largely uncharted for rural southern women. She was the sheriff of Cumberland County from 1937 to 1941. During her four-year term as sheriff, she came to be known as "Pistol-Packin' Pearl." Pace's husband, Stanley Dan Pace, had been "drafted" in 1933 to run for Cumberland County sheriff by county citizens determined to control

rum-running Rum-running, or bootlegging, is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. The term ''rum-running'' is more commonly applied to smuggling over water; ''bootlegging'' is applied to smugg ...

and

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

during

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

. He was elected as the first

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to hold that office since the 19th century. When his term ended, he was unable to succeed himself; so Pearl was drafted to run and was elected. Stanley Pace died in a car accident, leaving Pearl Carter Pace to raise their children and to pursue her career in local, state, and national politics. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, her son, Stanley Carter Pace, a

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

and

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

, was taken as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

by the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (, from ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("na ...

. Upon returning from the war, Stanley C. Pace put his

aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

degree to work and rose to the chairmanship of TRW. After being pulled from retirement in the 1980s, he assumed the position of restoring the giant defense contractor,

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales and fifth largest in the Unit ...

, to credibility after grievous ethical lapses brought the company to near dissolution. Through Pearl Carter Pace's activism in the Republican Party, she became a tireless supporter and friend of

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

. In 1953, she brought national attention to Kentucky when President Eisenhower appointed her to the War Claims Commission (later the

Foreign Claims Settlement Commission The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States (FCSC) is a quasi-judicial, independent agency within the U.S. Department of Justice which adjudicates claims of U.S. nationals against foreign governments, either under specific jurisdic ...

). Near the end of his administration, Eisenhower elevated her to the commission chairmanship, making Pearl Carter Pace the third highest ranking woman in his administration, next only to the

Treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as the custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage pr ...

and the new position of

United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...

, and the first Kentucky woman appointed by a president to a national post. Pace was active in the GOP for many years, including a stint from 1948 to 1957 as her state's Republican national committeewoman.

Death

Pace died in 1970 at the home of her daughter, Patty-Nell Pace Keen, in Burkesville, the seat of Cumberland County. Pace is interred beside her husband at the former Pace-Allen Cemetery, now Grider Memorial Cemetery, in Waterview in Cumberland County at a site overlooking Pace Farms.

Early years

Political career

Death

References

Further reading