Historical Data
Familial Connections of Women Representatives and Senators in Congress
Through the start of the 111th Congress in 2009, 46 women have directly succeeded their late husbands in Congress (38 in the House and eight in the Senate). Seven widows have represented California—more than any other state—including the first two in the House, Mae Ella Nolan (1923–1925) and Florence Prag Kahn (1925–1937). In 1931, Hattie Caraway of Arkansas became the first widow to succeed her late husband in the Senate. The following charts contain lists of all widows who have served in Congress as well as other family connections pertinent to women in Congress.
- Widows Who Directly Succeeded Their Late Husbands
- Wives Who Directly Succeeded Husbands Who Were Members of or Nominees to Congress
- Widows Who Followed Late Husbands into Congress Without Directly Succeeding Them
- Wives Appointed to the Senate by Their Husband
- Women Members Married to Other Members of Congress
- Women Members Who Gave Birth While Serving in Congress
- Daughters Who Directly Succeeded their Fathers in Congress
- Women Members of Congress Whose Fathers Preceded Them as Representatives or Senators
- Women Members Whose Children Have Served in Congress
- Women Members Whose Siblings Have Served in Congress
Widows Who Directly Succeeded Their Late Husbands
First Elected Congress | Name (Party, State) | Chamber |
---|---|---|
67th (1921–1923) | Mae Ella Nolan (R-CA) | Representative |
69th (1925–1927) | Florence P. Kahn (R-CA) | Representative |
69th (1925–1927) | Edith Nourse Rogers (R-MA) | Representative |
70th (1927–1929) | Pearl Oldfield (D-AR) | Representative |
71st (1929–1931) | Effiegene Locke Wingo (D-AR) | Representative |
72nd (1931–1933) | Hattie Wyatt Caraway (D-AR) | Senator |
72nd (1931–1933) | Willa McCord Blake Eslick (D-TN) | Representative |
73rd (1933–1935) | Marian Williams Clarke (R-NY) | Representative |
74th (1935–1937) | Rose McConnell Long (D-LA) | Senator |
75th (1937–1939) | Elizabeth H. Gasque (D-SC) | Representative |
76th (1939–1941) | Frances Payne Bolton (R-OH) | Representative |
76th (1939–1941) | Florence Reville Gibbs (D-GA) | Representative |
76th (1939–1941) | Clara G. McMillan (D-SC) | Representative |
76th (1939–1941) | Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME) 1 | Representative |
77th (1941–1943) | Veronica Grace Boland (D-PA) | Representative |
77th (1941–1943) | Katharine Edgar Byron (D-MD) | Representative |
78th (1943–1945) | Willa Lybrand Fulmer (D-SC) | Representative |
80th (1947–1949) | Vera Cahalan Bushfield (R-SD) | Senator |
82nd (1951–1953) | Vera Daerr Buchanan (D-PA) | Representative |
82nd (1951–1953) | Marguerite Stitt Church (R-IL) | Representative |
82nd (1951–1953) | Maude Elizabeth Kee (D-WV) | Representative |
83rd (1953–1955) | Mary E. (Betty) Farrington (R-HI)2 | Representative |
84th (1955–1957) | Kathryn E. Granahan (D-PA) | Representative |
86th (1959–1961) | Maurine B. Neuberger (D-OR)3 | Senator |
86th (1959–1961) | Edna O. Simpson (R-IL) | Representative |
87th (1961–1963) | Catherine D. Norrell (D-AR) | Representative |
87th (1961–1963) | Louise G. Reece (R-TN) | Representative |
87th (1961–1963) | Corinne Boyd Riley (D-SC) | Representative |
88th (1963–1965) | Irene Bailey Baker (R-TN) | Representative |
89th (1965–1967) | Lera Millard Thomas (D-TX) | Representative |
92nd (1971–1973) | Elizabeth Bullock Andrews (D-AL) | Representative |
93rd (1973–1975) | Corinne Claiborne (Lindy) Boggs(D-LA) | Representative |
93rd (1973–1975) | Cardiss Collins (D-IL) | Representative |
94th (1975–1977) | Shirley N. Pettis (R-CA) | Representative |
95th (1977–1979) | Maryon Pittman Allen (D-AL) | Senator |
95th (1977–1979) | Beverly Butcher Byron (D-MD) | Representative |
95th (1977–1979) | Muriel Humphrey (D-MN) | Senator |
97th (1981–1983) | Jean Spencer Ashbrook (R-OH) | Representative |
98th (1983–1985) | Sala Galante Burton (D-CA) | Representative |
99th (1985–1987) | Catherine S. Long (D-LA) | Representative |
102nd (1991–1993) | Jocelyn Birch Burdick (D-ND) | Senator |
104th (1995–1997) | Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) | Representative |
105th (1997–1999) | Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) | Representative |
105th (1997–1999) | Lois Capps (D-CA) | Representative |
107th (2001–2003) | Jean Carnahan (D-MO)4 | Senator |
109th (2005–2007) | Doris Matsui (D-CA) | Representative |
Wives Who Directly Succeeded Husbands Who Were Members of or Nominees to Congress
Dates of Service | Name | Chamber |
---|---|---|
1927–1931 | Katherine Gudger Langley (R-KY)5 | Representative |
1963–1971 | Charlotte T. Reid (R-IL)6 | Representative |
1975–1995 | Marilyn Lloyd (D-TN)7 | Representative |
Widows Who Followed Late Husbands into Congress Without Directly Succeeding Them
Dates of Service | Name | Chamber |
---|---|---|
1929–1931 | Ruth Hanna McCormick (R-IL)8 | Representative |
1953–1977 | Leonor K. Sullivan (D-MO)9 | Representative |
2007–present | Nicola S. (Niki) Tsongas (D-MA)10 | Representative |
Wives Appointed to the Senate by Their Husband
Dates of Service | Name | Chamber |
---|---|---|
1937 | Dixie Bibb Graves (D-AL) | Senator |
1972 | Elaine S. Edwards (D-LA) | Senator |
Women Members Married to Other Members of Congress
Dates of Service | Name | Chamber |
---|---|---|
1929–1931 | Ruth Hanna McCormick (R-IL)11 | Representative |
1945–1947 | Emily Taft Douglas12 | Representative |
1975–1979 | Martha Elizabeth Keys (D-KS)13 | Representative |
1978–1997 | Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R-KS)14 | Senator |
1979–1995 (House) 1995–present (Senate) |
Olympia Jean Snowe (R-ME)15 | Representative/Senator |
1990–1997 | Susan Molinari (R-NY)16 | Representative |
1993–1995 | Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky (D-PA)17 | Representative |
2003–2009 | Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)18 | Senator |
2004–present | Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD)19 | Representative |
1998–present | Mary Bono Mack (R-CA)20 | Representative |
Women Members Who Gave Birth While Serving in Congress
Dates of Service | Name | Chamber |
---|---|---|
1973–1979 | Yvonne Brathwaite Burke (D-CA) | Representative |
1990–1997 | Susan Molinari (R-NY) | Representative |
1995–1997; 1998–present | Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D-AR) | Representative/Senator |
1995–1997 | Enid Greene Waldholtz (R-UT) | Representative |
2003–present | Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA) | Representative |
2004–present | Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) | Representative |
2005–present | Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) | Representative |
2007–2009; 2009–present | Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) | Representative/Senator |
Daughters Who Directly Succeeded their Fathers in Congress
- Rep. Winnifred S. Huck (R-IL) succeeded William E. Mason (R-IL, a Representative from 1887–1890; a Senator from 1897–1902; a Representative from 1917–1922).
- Rep. Susan Molinari (R-NY) succeeded Rep. Guy Molinari (R-NY, 1981–1990).
- Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) succeeded Rep. Edward R. Roybal (D-CA, 1963–1993).
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) succeeded Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-AK, 1981–2002).
Women Members of Congress Whose Fathers Preceded Them as Representatives or Senators
- Rep. Katherine Gudger Langley (R-KY) daughter of Rep. James Madison Gudger, Jr. (D-NC, 1903–1914).
- Rep. Ruth Hanna McCormick (R-IL) daughter of Sen. Marcus A. Hanna (R-OH, 1899–1904).
- Rep. Ruth Bryan Owen (D-FL) daughter of Rep. William Jennings Bryan (D-NE, 1891–1994).
- Rep. Clare Boothe Luce (R-CT), stepdaughter of Rep. Elmer Austin (R-CT, 1939–1941).
- Rep. Louise G. Reece (R-TN) daughter of Sen. Guy D. Goff (R-WV, 1925–1930).
- Rep. Elizabeth J. Patterson (D-SC) daughter of Sen. Olin D. Johnston (D-SC, 1945–1966).
- Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) daughter of Thomas D'Alesandro (D-MD, 1939–1947).
- Rep. Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) daughter of Rep. Arch Moore (R-WV, 1957–1968).
Women Members Whose Children Have Served in Congress
- Sen. Rose McConnell Long (D-LA), mother of Senator Russell Long (D-LA, 1948–1987).
- Rep. Frances Payne Bolton (R-OH), mother of Rep. Oliver Bolton (R-OH, 1953–1957; 1963–1965). 21
- Rep. Katharine Edgar Byron (D-MD), mother of Rep. Goodloe Byron (D-MD, 1971–1978).
- Rep. Maude Elizabeth Kee (D-WV), mother of Rep. James Kee (D-WV, 1965–1973). 22
- Rep. Irene Bailey Baker (R-TN), stepmother of Senator Howard Baker (R-TN, 1967–1985).
- Rep. Carrie P. Meek (D-FL), mother of Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL, 2003–present).
- Sen. Jean Carnahan (D-MO), mother of Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO, 2005–present).
Women Members Whose Siblings Have Served in Congress
- Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), sister of Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA).
Footnotes
- Smith served in the House from 1940 to 1949 and then won election to the Senate, where she served from 1949 to 1973.
- Territorial delegate.
- Neuberger was not immediately appointed to succeed her husband Richard Neuberger after he died in early 1960. However, she won the general election in November 1960 to serve the remainder of her husband's unexpired term in the 86th Congress and a full six-year term commencing on January 3, 1961.
- Mel Carnahan was killed in a plane crash less than two weeks before the election for the Missouri Senate seat he was running for. His name remained on the ticket, and he posthumously defeated incumbent John Ashcroft by a narrow margin. Governor Roger Wilson appointed Jean Carnahan to her husband's vacant seat. Carnahan's re-election bid in a special election held in 2002 was unsuccessful.
- Her husband, John Wesley Langley, had won re-election to the House in 1924 for Kentucky's 10th District but was convicted of conspiring to transport and sell liquor in violation of the Volstead Act. He was placed in a federal penitentiary in Atlanta before his term expired. Katherine Langley ran successfully for his seat in 1926 and was re-elected in the 71st Congress in 1928.
- The GOP nominee for Illinois' 15th District, Frank R. Reid, Jr., died in August 1962 while campaigning for the open seat. Republican officials convinced his widow, Charlotte Reid, to replace him on the ticket.
- Just weeks after securing the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican incumbent Lamar Baker in Tennessee's 3rd District, Mort Lloyd was killed in a plane crash. Democratic leaders convinced his widow, Marilyn Lloyd, to replace him on the ticket.
- Ruth Hanna McCormick won election in 1928 to one of Illinois' two At-Large House seats. Her husband, Joseph Medill McCormick, had served one term each in the House (1917–1919) and the Senate (1919–1925). He died days before his Senate term expired in February 1925.
- John B. Sullivan died in January 1951, but Leonor Sullivan could not convince Missouri 3rd District Democrat leaders to give her the nomination for the special election. In November 1952, after redistricting merged her husband's old district with another, she defeated GOP incumbent Claude I. Bakewell, who had succeeded John Sullivan in the 82nd Congress.
- Nicola Tsongas was elected to a House seat covering a Massachusetts congressional district once represented by her late husband, Paul Tsongas. Paul Tsongas served in the House from 1975 to 1979 and, later, in the Senate from 1979 to 1985. He died in 1997.
- (See note 8 above.) Ruth Hanna McCormick married Rep. Albert Simms, who had served one term in the House with her in the 71st Congress (1929–1931), in March 1932.
- Married to Sen. Paul Douglas (D-IL, 1949–1967).
- Married Rep. Andrew Jacobs (D-IN, 1965–1973, 1975–1997) in 1975 while both were serving in the House.
- Married Sen. Howard Baker (R-TN, 1967–1985) in 1996 after he left office but while she still was in the Senate. They had served together six years.
- Married Rep. John McKernan, Jr. (R-ME, 1983–1987) in 1989, after he had left the House and was serving as governor of Maine, but while Snowe was still in the House. They had served together four years.
- Married Rep. Bill Paxon (R-NY, 1989–1999) in 1994 while both were serving in the House.
- Preceded in the House by her husband, Rep. Ed Mezvinsky (D-IA, 1973–1977).
- Preceded in the Senate by her husband, Robert J. Dole (R-KS), who served in the House from 1961 to 1969 and the Senate from 1969 to 1996.
- Stephanie Herseth married Rep. Max Sandlin (D-TX, 1997–2005) in 2007. They served together for one year in the House.
- Mary Bono married Rep. Connie Mack IV (R-FL, 2005–present) in 2007. They are currently serving together in the House.
- They were the only mother–son pair to serve simultaneously.
- James Kee was the first son to directly succeed his mother in Congress.