John W. Harreld

John William Harreld
United States Senator
from Oklahoma
In office
March 4, 1921 – March 4, 1927
Preceded by Thomas Gore
Succeeded by Elmer Thomas
Personal details
Born January 24, 1872(1872-01-24)
Morgantown, Kentucky
Died December 26, 1950(1950-12-26) (aged 78)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Political party Republican

John William Harreld (January 24, 1872 – December 26, 1950) was a United States Representative and Senator from Oklahoma. Harreld was the first Republican senator elected in Oklahoma and represented a shift in Oklahoma politics.[1]

Contents

Early life and career

Harreld was born near Morgantown, Kentucky to Martha Helm and Thomas Nelson Harreld.[2] He attended public schools, the normal school at Lebanon, Ohio, and Bryant and Stratton Business College of Louisville, Kentucky, where he taught while studying law.[3] Admitted to the bar in 1889, he begin his practice in Morgantown.[3] He was prosecuting attorney of Butler County from 1892 to 1896.[3] After marrying Laura Ward on October 20, 1889, and having a son, Ward,[2] he moved to Ardmore, Oklahoma in 1906.[3] He was a referee in bankruptcy from 1908 to 1915, when he resigned to become an executive with an oil corporation.[3] He moved to Oklahoma City in 1917 and engaged in the production of oil and continued the practice of law.[3] After his first wife's death, he married his wife's sister, Thurlow Ward, in 1931.[2]

Political career

Harreld was elected, on November 8, 1919, as a Republican to the Sixty-sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Joseph B. Thompson[2] and served from November 8, 1919, to March 4, 1921. He was not a candidate for renomination, having become a candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator; he was elected to the Senate in 1920 and served from March 4, 1921, to March 4, 1927; he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1926.[3] He served as Senate chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs.[3] He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1940 to the Seventy-seventh Congress and returned to Oklahoma City, where he continued the practice of law and his interest in the oil business.[3] He died there in 1950, and was interred in Fairlawn Cemetery.[2]

References

  1. ^ Gaddie, Ronald Keith, "Republican Party," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed May 21, 2010).
  2. ^ a b c d e Kosmerick, Todd J., "Harreld, John William," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed May 21, 2010).
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Congressional Biography: Harreld, John William (accessed May 21, 2010).

External links