Victor Eugene Wickersham (February 9, 1906 – March 15, 1988) was an American politician and 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

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Early life and education

Born on a farm near Lone Rock, Arkansas, Wickersham was the son of Frank Morrell and Lillie Mae Sword Wickersham. He moved to

Mangum, Oklahoma Mangum is a city in and county seat of Greer County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,762 as of the 2020 United States census. Mangum was originally part of Old Greer County in the Texas panhandle. The community was named for A. S ...

, with his parents in 1915 and was educated in the public schools of Oklahoma.

Career

Employed in the office of the county clerk of

Greer County, Oklahoma Greer County is a county located along the southwest border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,491. Its county seat is Mangum. From 1860 to 1896, the state of Texas claimed an area known as Greer Cou ...

from 1924 to 1926, Wickersham was appointed as

court clerk A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court and administering oaths ...

of Greer County from 1926 to 1935. On June 30, 1929, he married Jessie Blaine Stiles of Mangum. As the county clerk, he issued his own marriage license. Four children were born to the marriage, LaMelba, Nelda, Galen, and Victor Wickersham II. Wickersham served as chief clerk of the board of affairs of the State of Oklahoma in 1935 and 1936. He engaged as a building contractor in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

in 1937 and 1938 and in the life insurance business 1938–1941. Wickersham also worked as a real estate, insurance, and investment broker.

Congressional tenure

Wickersham was elected as a

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 the 77th Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

Sam C. Massingale Samuel Chapman Massingale (August 2, 1870 – January 17, 1941) was an American politician and a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma. Biography Born in Quitman, Mississippi, Massingale was the son of George M. and Martha McGowan Massingale, and at ...

. He was reelected to the 78th and

79th Congress The 79th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 19 ...

es and served from April 1, 1941, to January 3, 1947. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1946, but was reelected to the 81st and to the three succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1957). He was not renominated in 1956 and 1958. He succeeded in his election to the 87th and to the 88th Congresses (January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1965). He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1964 to the 89th Congress. Wickersham did not sign the 1956

Southern Manifesto The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...

, and voted for the Twenty-Fourth Amendment (abolishing the poll tax) in 1962, but voted against the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

State legislature

In 1984 Wickersham's wife, Jessie, died. He married Lorene Dennis in 1986. He served as member of the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's ...

from January 3, 1971 to January 3, 1979, and again from February 9, 1988, until his death.Hudson, Geneva Johnston (AuthorHouse, 2005). ''Statesman or Rogue: Elected to Serve''. He was the oldest state legislator in office in 1988 at the age of 82.

Death

Wickersham died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, on March 15, 1988 (age 82 years, 35 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

at Riverside Cemetery, Mangum, Oklahoma.

References

External links

Victor E. Wickersham Collection
an
Photograph Series
at the

Carl Albert Center The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center is a nonpartisan institution devoted to teaching and research related to the United States Congress and, more broadly, to strengthening representative democracy through engaged and informe ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wickersham, Victor Eugene 1906 births 1988 deaths People from Baxter County, Arkansas People from Greer County, Oklahoma Democratic Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma People from Mangum, Oklahoma 20th-century members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives