Ruth Sears Pratt (née Baker; August 24, 1877 – August 23, 1965), was an American politician and the first female representative to be elected from New York.

Early life

On August 24, 1877, Pratt was born as Ruth Sears Baker in

Ware, Massachusetts Ware is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,066 as of 2020. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The census-designated place of Ware, comprising the main settleme ...

to Carrie V. Baker and Edwin H. Baker, a cotton manufacturer. Pratt attended

Dana Hall Dana Eric Hall (born July 8, 1969) is a former professional American football player who was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1st round (18th overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft. A 6'2", 206-lb. safety from the University of Washington, Hal ...

. Pratt studied mathematics at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

. She also spent a year and a half studying violin at the Conservatory of Liege, Belgium.

Career

In the 1920 presidential election, Pratt was a presidential elector for Warren G. Harding and

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

. In 1924, she supported and drew in women's support for Frank J. Coleman Jr. candidacy for leadership of the Fifteenth Assembly District; Pratt was later made associate leader of the District before she became secretary. She was a member of the

Board of Aldermen of New York City The New York City Board of Aldermen was a body that was the upper house of New York City's Common Council from 1824 to 1875, the lower house of its Municipal Assembly upon consolidation in 1898 until the charter was amended in 1901 to abolish th ...

in 1925, being the first woman to serve; re-elected in 1927 and served until March 1, 1929. She was a member of the Republican National Committee 1929-1943; delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

s in 1924, 1932, 1936, 1940; delegate to the Republican State conventions in 1922, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1936, and 1938. She served as president of the

Women's National Republican Club The Women's National Republican Club is the oldest private club for Republican women in the United States, and was founded by Henrietta Wells Livermore in 1921.The club grew out of the earlier women's suffrage movement in New York which led to the ...

from 1943 to 1946. She was elected as a Republican to the 71st and 72nd Congresses (1929–1933), being the first woman elected to Congress from New York, beating out her primary competitor Phelps Phelps. In 1932, Ruth lost reelection to Democrat

Theodore Peyser Theodore Albert Peyser (February 18, 1873 – August 8, 1937) was an American businessman and politician who served three terms as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York from 1932 to 1937. Biography Peys ...

Pratt-Smoot Act

Together with

Reed Smoot Reed Smoot (January 10, 1862February 9, 1941) was an American politician, businessman, and apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). First elected by the Utah State Legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1902, he served ...

, she introduced the Pratt-Smoot Act, passed by the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on March 3, 1931. The Act provided $100,000, to be administered by the Library of Congress, to provide blind adults with books. The program, which is known as Books for the Blind, has been heavily amended and expanded over the years, and remains in place today.

Personal life

In 1904, she married

John Teele Pratt John Teele Pratt (December 25, 1873 – June 17, 1927) was an American corporate attorney, philanthropist, music impresario, and financier. Early life Pratt was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 25, 1873. He was one of six children born ...

, a corporate attorney, philanthropist, music impresario, and financier. He was one of six children born to industrialist and

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

co-founder Charles Pratt and Mary Helen (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Richardson) Pratt. His siblings included brothers Frederic, George,

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, ...

, and Harold. From his father's first marriage, he had two half-siblings including

Charles Millard Pratt Charles Millard Pratt (November 2, 1855 – November 27, 1935) was an American oil industrialist, educator, and philanthropist. As the eldest son of industrialist Charles Pratt, in 1875 he began working at Charles Pratt and Company, soon beco ...

. He died in 1927, leaving her a large fortune. Together, they had five children: * John Teele Pratt Jr. (1903–1969), who was married to Mary Christy Tiffany, the daughter of George Shepley Tiffany. They divorced and he later married Elizabeth Ogden Woodward, the daughter of

William Woodward Sr. William Woodward Sr. (April 7, 1876 – September 25, 1953) was an American banker and major owner and breeder in thoroughbred horse racing. __TOC__ Early life Woodward was born in New York City on April 7, 1876. He was a son of Sarah Abagail ( ...

and the former wife of Robert Livingston Stevens Jr. After his death, she married Alexander Cochrane Cushing, founder of Squaw Valley Ski Resort. * Virginia Pratt (1905–1979), who married Robert Helyer Thayer, a U.S. Minister to Romania, in 1926. * Sally Sears Pratt (1908–1973), who married James Tracy Jackson III in 1928. * Phyllis Pratt (1912–1987), who married

Paul Henry Nitze Paul Henry Nitze (January 16, 1907 – October 19, 2004) was an American politician who served as United States Deputy Secretary of Defense, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, and Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State Department. He is best k ...

, the Secretary of the Navy and Deputy Secretary of Defense under President Lyndon B. Johnson. * Edwin Howard Baker Pratt (1913–1975), the headmaster of Browne & Nichols school, who married Aileen Kelly.

Death

Pratt died on August 23, 1965 at the family house and estate, Manor House, Glen Cove, Long Island; she was one day shy of her 88th birthday. She was interred at the Pratt Family Mausoleum, Old Tappan Road, Glen Cove.

Descendants

Through her eldest son John, she was a grandmother of Mary Christy Pratt (1923–1960), who was married to Bayard Cutting Auchincloss (1922–2001), the nephew of U.S. Representative

James C. Auchincloss James Coats Auchincloss (January 19, 1885 – October 2, 1976) was an American businessman and Republican Party politician who represented northern coastal region of New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives from 1943–196 ...

, in 1950, and Ruth Pratt, who in 1962 married

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

aide, R. Campbell James, a Groton and Yale graduate who was a stepson of architect

Harrie T. Lindeberg Harrie Thomas Lindeberg (1879 – January 10, 1959) was an American architect, best known for designing country houses in the United States. Among academic eclectic architects Lindeberg found a niche as "the American Edwin Lutyens, Lutyens" by wo ...

. Through her daughter Phyllis, she was a grandmother of William A. Nitze of Washington, DC, the chairman of Oceana Technologies and Clearpath Technologies, who married Ann Kendall Richards, an independent art dealer. Through her youngest son Edwin, she was a grandmother to singer-songwriter Andy Pratt.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Ruth Baker 1877 births 1965 deaths People from Ware, Massachusetts Wellesley College alumni Female members of the United States House of Representatives New York City Council members Politicians from Glen Cove, New York Charles Pratt family Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Women New York City Council members 1920 United States presidential electors