Oldfield, Pearl Peden, 1876-1962

<p>Pearl Oldfield succeeded her late husband, Democratic Whip William Allan Oldfield, in the House of Representatives. During her tenure, Representative Oldfield sought to remedy the threats that natural disaster and economic depression posed to the livelihood and welfare of her rural Arkansas constituency. Though she had years of experience in Washington as the wife of a powerful politician, Oldfield left Congress after little more than one term, content to retire, she said, “to the sphere in which I believe women belong— the home.”</p>

<p>Fannie Pearl Peden was born on December 2, 1876, in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, one of five children born to J.A. Peden and Helen Hill Peden. A member of a prominent Southern family, Pearl Peden attended Arkansas College in Batesville. In 1901 she married William Allan Oldfield, a Spanish-American War veteran, lawyer, and district attorney for Izard County, Arkansas. William Oldfield was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1908 and went on to win election to 10 additional consecutive terms in Congress. Representative Oldfield served as Democratic Whip for eight years, from 1920 to 1928, and as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Committee from 1924 to 1928. He also attained the chairmanship of the Patents Committee and served on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. “Equivocation and compromise were not in his nature,” the Washington Post observed. “Party loyalty was his byword.” He also was considered a top prospect to head the Democratic National Committee, but he passed on the chance to stand for the post. During her husband’s House career, Pearl Oldfield lived with him in an apartment in northwest Washington, DC, returning occasionally to their Arkansas home in Batesville. After Pearl Oldfield’s mother came to live with them in 1914, the Congressman’s wife stopped regular travel back to the district to provide for her mother’s health-care needs. In the 1920s, a fire destroyed the Oldfields’ Batesville home.</p>

<p>William Oldfield had been in poor health since 1925, and the stress and strain of campaigning nationally for Democratic House candidates took its toll on him. Shortly after election day, on November 19, 1928, he passed away after surgery for gallstones. Less than a week later, local Arkansas Democratic Party leaders—seeking a temporary replacement until a candidate could be groomed to replace the powerful Congressman—asked his wife to run for his seat. Originally, leaders wanted Pearl Oldfield just to fill in the remaining four months on her husband’s term in the 70th Congress (1927–1929), set to expire in March 1929. They later asked her to campaign for the full term in the 71st Congress (1929–1931) to which her husband had just been elected. Pearl Oldfield agreed. “I am deeply appreciative of the good will shown toward Mr. Oldfield’s memory and the expression of confidence in me,” she told reporters. On December 8, 1928, the Arkansas Democratic central committee nominated Oldfield—which was tantamount to victory at the time.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>In 1901, she married William A. Oldfield. They had no children.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>