Pearl P. Oldfield

Pearl Peden Oldfield

Pearl Peden Oldfield (December 2, 1876 – April 12, 1962) was a U.S. Democratic politician. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Arkansas.

Biography

She was born Frances Pearl Peden in Cotton Plant, Arkansas to John A. and Amanda Helen (Hill) Peden. She attended the schools of Cotton Plant and Arkansas College in Batesville.

In 1901, she married William A. Oldfield. They had no children.

She was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas in a special election caused by the death of her husband, William Allan Oldfield. She completed the term to which he had been elected in 1926 and was elected to a full term in 1928, and she served from January 9, 1929 to March 3, 1931. She did not run for reelection in 1930.

Oldfield's mother moved in with her in Washington, D.C. in 1914, and after leaving Congress Oldfield remained in Washington to care for her. After her mother's death in 1933, Oldfield lived in retirement in Washington, where she was involved in several civic and charitable organizations. She died in Washington in 1962, and was buried at Oaklawn Cemetery in Batesville.

See also

• Women in the United States House of Representatives

References

• United States Congress. "Pearl P. Oldfield (id: O000061)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.