Ruth Baker Pratt

Ruth Sears Pratt (née Baker; August 24, 1877 – August 23, 1965),[1] was an American politician and the first female representative to be elected from New York.[2]

Ruth Baker Pratt
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 17th district
In office
March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1933
Preceded byWilliam W. Cohen
Succeeded byTheodore A. Peyser
Personal details
Born
Ruth Sears Baker

(1877-08-24)August 24, 1877
Ware, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedAugust 23, 1965(1965-08-23) (aged 87)
Glen Cove, New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1904; died 1927)​
Children5, including Edwin
Alma materWellesley College

Early life

On August 24, 1877, Pratt was born as Ruth Sears Baker in Ware, Massachusetts to Carrie V. Baker and Edwin H. Baker, a cotton manufacturer.[1][3][4]

Pratt attended Dana Hall.[5] Pratt studied mathematics at Wellesley College.[1][3] She also spent a year and a half studying violin at the Conservatory of Liege, Belgium.[5]

Career
Mrs. Pratt in 1920

In the 1920 presidential election, Pratt was a presidential elector for Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge.[6] In 1924, she supported and drew in women's support for Frank J. Coleman Jr. candidacy for leadership of the Fifteenth Assembly District; Pratt was later made associate leader of the District before she became secretary.[5] She was a member of the Board of Aldermen of New York City in 1925, being the first woman to serve; re-elected in 1927 and served until March 1, 1929. She was a member of the Republican National Committee 1929-1943; delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1924, 1932, 1936, 1940; delegate to the Republican State conventions in 1922, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1936, and 1938.[7] She served as president of the Women's National Republican Club from 1943 to 1946.

She was elected as a Republican to the 71st and 72nd Congresses (1929–1933),[8][9] being the first woman elected to Congress from New York, beating out her primary competitor Phelps Phelps.[10] In 1932, Ruth lost reelection to Democrat Theodore Peyser.[11]

Pratt-Smoot Act

Together with Reed Smoot, she introduced the Pratt-Smoot Act, passed by the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on March 3, 1931. The Act provided $100,000, to be administered by the Library of Congress, to provide blind adults with books. The program, which is known as Books for the Blind, has been heavily amended and expanded over the years, and remains in place today.[12]

Personal life
Her husband, John Teele Pratt, in 1919

In 1904,[13] she married John Teele Pratt, a corporate attorney, philanthropist, music impresario, and financier.[1][14] He was one of six children born to industrialist and Standard Oil co-founder Charles Pratt and Mary Helen (née Richardson) Pratt. His siblings included brothers Frederic, George, Herbert, and Harold. From his father's first marriage, he had two half-siblings including Charles Millard Pratt.[15] He died in 1927, leaving her a large fortune.[4] Together, they had five children:[4][5][16]

Death

Pratt died on August 23, 1965, at the family house and estate, Manor House, Glen Cove, Long Island;[4][30][31] she was one day shy of her 88th birthday.[32] She was interred at the Pratt Family Mausoleum, Old Tappan Road, Glen Cove.

Descendants

Through her eldest son John, she was a grandmother of Mary Christy Pratt (1923–1960), who was married to Bayard Cutting Auchincloss (1922–2001), the nephew of U.S. Representative James C. Auchincloss, in 1950,[18][33] and Ruth Pratt, who in 1962 married U.S. State Department aide, R. Campbell James, a Groton and Yale graduate who was a stepson of architect Harrie T. Lindeberg.[34] Through her daughter Phyllis, she was a grandmother of William A. Nitze of Washington, DC, the chairman of Oceana Technologies and Clearpath Technologies, who married Ann Kendall Richards, an independent art dealer.[35] Through her youngest son Edwin, she was a grandmother to singer-songwriter Andy Pratt.

See also

References
  1. "Mrs. Ruth Baker Pratt Dies; State's First Woman in House; Served in Washington From 1928 to 1932 -- First of Sex on Board of Aldermen". The New York Times. August 24, 1965. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  2. "Ruth Sears Baker Pratt, The Junior League of New York". www.ajli.org. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  3. "PRATT, Ruth Sears Baker (1877-1965)". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  4. "PRATT, Ruth Sears Baker". house.gov. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  5. "Ruth B. Pratt--New York's First Congresswoman". Equal Rights. Vol. XIV, no. 48. January 5, 1929. pp. 379–380.
  6. Proceedings of the Electoral College of the State of New York, 1921. Albany, N.Y.: J. B. Lyon Company. 1921. p. 6.
  7. O'Dea, Suzanne (1999). From Suffrage to the Senate: An Encyclopedia of American Women in Politics. A - M. ABC-CLIO. p. 540. ISBN 9780874369601.
  8. Ford, Lynne E. (May 12, 2010). Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics. Infobase Publishing. p. 521. ISBN 9781438110325.
  9. Thorne, Magdalena E. (2005). Women in Society: Achievements, Risks, and Challenges. Nova Publishers. p. 45. ISBN 9781590339428.
  10. "National Affairs: Phelps-Pratt". Time. Time Inc. September 17, 1928. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  11. "Theodore Peyser, Congressman, Dies – Represented the Silk Stocking 17th District After Defeat of Ruth Baker Pratt – Former Insurance Man – Credited With Having Sold Million-Dollar Life Policies to 33 Clients Entered Politics in 1932 Aided by Wagner Native of West Virginia". The New York Times. August 9, 1937. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  12. Wasniewski, Matthew Andrew (2006). Women in Congress, 1917-2006. Government Printing Office. p. 96. ISBN 9780160767531.
  13. Women in Congress, 1917-2006. Government Printing Office. 2006. p. 95. ISBN 9780160767531. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  14. Stone, Kurt F. (December 29, 2010). The Jews of Capitol Hill: A Compendium of Jewish Congressional Members. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810877382.
  15. "John Teele Pratt, Financier, is Dead". New York Times. June 18, 1927.
  16. "Five Children of Mrs. Pratt To Share $1 Million Estate". The New York Times. August 31, 1965. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  17. "John T. Pratt Jr., 65, Is Dead; Institute Trustee and Bank Aide". The New York Times. June 21, 1969. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  18. "Miss Mary Christy Pratt Engaged to Bayard Cutting Auchincloss". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. February 10, 1950. p. 45. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  19. Martin, Douglas (August 22, 2006). "Alexander Cushing, 92, Dies; Turned Squaw Valley Into World-Class Skiing Destination". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  20. "Deaths | Thayer‐Virginia Pratt". The New York Times. December 13, 1979. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  21. "Robert H. Thayer, 82; Ex-Envoy to Rumania". The New York Times. January 29, 1984. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  22. "Miss Virginia Pratt to Wed on Dec. 30 – Marriage to Robert H. Thayer Will Take Place in St, Bartholomew's Church". The New York Times. December 8, 1926. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  23. "Sally Pratt Reveals Her Marriage Plans – Daughter of Mrs. Ruth B. Pratt, Alderman, and James Jackson Jr. Get a License". The New York Times. January 28, 1928. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  24. "Sally Pratt Weds James Jackson Jr.. – Married by Rev. Dr. Endicott Peabody at Home of Her Mother, Alderman Ruth Pratt – Her Sister Honor Maid". The New York Times. February 17, 1928. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  25. "Phyllis Pratt Nitze". The New York Times. June 28, 1987. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  26. Berger, Marilyn (October 21, 2004). "Paul H. Nitze, Missile Treaty Negotiator and Cold War Strategist, Dies at 97". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  27. "Edwin H. B. Pratt". The New York Times. March 21, 1975. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  28. "Headmaster Appointed – Edwin H. B. Pratt Is Named by the Browne & Nichols School". The New York Times. May 12, 1949. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  29. "Miss Aileen Kelly Engaged to Be Wed – Massachusetts Girl to Become Bride of Edwin Pratt, Son of Ruth Baker Pratt". The New York Times. August 9, 1935. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  30. "Mrs. Pratt Acquires Locust Valley tract – Purchase by Member of Congress Brings Long Island Estate to More Than 1,000 Acres". The New York Times. August 1, 1930. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  31. "Pratt Home Robbed of $30,000 in Jewels; Thieves' Carefulness Delays Discovery". The New York Times. February 15, 1949. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  32. Wasniewski, Matthew Andrew (2006). Women in Congress, 1917-2006. Government Printing Office. p. 97. ISBN 9780160767531.
  33. "James G. Auchincloss, A Law Student, And Kristin Morris Delafield Are Wed". The New York Times. July 19, 1987. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  34. "Miss Ruth Pratt And R.C. James Are Wed on L.I.; Father Escorts Bride at Marriage to Aide of State Department". The New York Times. September 15, 1962. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  35. "Jane Kucera and Paul Nitze". The New York Times. September 8, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
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