Gibbs, Florence Reville, 1890-1964

<p>Election Day 1940 was just a month away, and the Members of the 76th Congress (1939–1941) saw no sign that they would adjourn for the election. As Members began leaving Washington to campaign, Florence Reville Gibbs arrived from Georgia, having just been elected to serve out the term of her late husband, Representative Willis Benjamin Gibbs. Georgia’s first woman elected to Congress served three months in the U.S. House of Representatives.</p>

<p>Florence Reville was born in Thomson, Georgia, on April 4, 1890, the oldest child of a country doctor, Thomas Porter Reville, and Sallie Printup Reville. Florence Reville grew up in Thomson and left to attend Brenau College in Gainesville, Georgia. She married a lawyer, Willis Benjamin Gibbs, and the couple settled in Jesup, Georgia, and had two children. Ben Gibbs carved out a career as a government attorney at various local and county agencies. Eventually, he was elected unopposed to a Georgia seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for the 76th Congress. His initial term in Congress was successful enough that a district rival, John Strickland Gibson, informed Gibbs that he would go unchallenged at the next primary election. But Gibbs never stood for re-election, dying of a sudden stroke on August 7, 1940, in Washington, DC, just 19 months into his freshman term.</p>

<p>Florence Gibbs acceded to the wishes of the local Democratic county leaders who asked her to run for her husband’s vacant seat. She won the uncontested October 1, 1940, special election called by Georgia Governor E. D. Rivers. As typical for a special election, turnout was light— from the 20-county district in the state’s southeast corner, fewer than 2,500 voters went to the polls. The turnout was smaller than that of 1938, when her husband had first been elected to Congress unopposed with fewer than 5,000 votes. Just more than a month later, John S. Gibson was elected unopposed to the 77th Congress (1941–1943) with more than 24,000 votes.</p>

<p>Florence Reville Gibbs (April 4, 1890 – August 19, 1964) was a Democratic congresswoman. Elected in special election to replace her deceased husband, she became the first woman to represent Georgia in the United States House of Representatives, serving for three months from October 3, 1940 to January 3, 1941.</p>

<p>Florence Reville was born April 4, 1890, in Thomson, McDuffie County, Georgia. She was the oldest child of Sallie Printup Reville and Thomas Porter Reville. She grew up there, attending public schools, and then graduated from Brenau College in Gainesville, Georgia. She married Willis Benjamin Gibbs, a Georgia attorney and politician, and together they had two children.</p>

<p>In 1938, W. Benjamin Gibbs was elected as a Democrat to represent Georgia's Eighth congressional district in the 76th United States Congress. He took his seat on January 3, 1939, and served until his death in 1940. Florence Gibbs was elected on October 3, 1940 as a Democrat in the special election to fill the vacant seat left by her husband's death; she was sworn into office on October 3, 1940. She did not run in the general election to represent the district in the 77th United States Congress, and she left office January 3, 1941.</p>

<p>After leaving Congress, Florence Gibbs retired from public life and resided in Jesup, Georgia, until her death there on August 19, 1964.</p>