Honeyman, Nan Wood, 1881-1970

Nan Wood Honeyman (July 15, 1881 – December 10, 1970) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first woman elected to the United States Congress from Oregon in 1936, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1937 to 1939.

Born Nan Wood in West Point, New York, she grew up in Portland, Oregon, attending private schools before graduating from St. Helen’s Hall in 1898. She later attended the Finch School in New York City for three years, where she studied music and established a lifelong friendship with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1907 she married David Taylor Honeyman, secretary-treasurer of the Honeyman Hardware Company in Portland. Nan Honeyman became active in local and state politics in her late 40s as an anti-Prohibition activist.

In 1928 she became head of the Oregon division of the Women’s National Organization for Prohibition Reform. Two years later, she aligned with liberal interests in the state and became vice chair of the Oregon Democratic Committee. In 1934, she campaigned for and won a seat in the Oregon house of representatives. Honeyman later served as a delegate to the Democratic national conventions of 1936 and 1940.

In 1936, Honeyman ran for the U.S. House; embracing the New Deal platform of President Franklin Roosevelt, she captured 53 percent of the vote. During her House service, Honeyman staunchly supported the New Deal. While in Congress, Honeyman was a strong supporter of the New Deal and the completion of the Bonneville Dam. However, her unflinching support for Roosevelt's policies ultimately led to Honeyman narrowly losing her bid for re-election in 1938. In 1940, she similarly fell short in her attempt to return to the U.S. House.

After Congress, Honeyman stayed active in politics and government. From August 1941 to May 1942 she was the senior Pacific Coast representative of the Office of Price Administration. In late 1941, she also was appointed by the Multnomah County commissioners to fill a vacant seat for a brief term in the Oregon state senate, but she resigned several months later. Honeyman’s loyalty to the Roosevelt administration was rewarded when FDR appointed her the collector of customs in the Twenty-Ninth District, Portland, in May 1942. She served in that position for 11 years, retiring in July 1953. Honeyman moved to Woodacre, California, in the mid-1960s and died there.