John W. Harreld

John W. Harreld
United States Senator from Oklahoma
In office March 4, 1921 – March 4, 1927
Preceded by	Thomas Gore
Succeeded by	Elmer Thomas
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 5th district
In office November 8, 1919 – March 4, 1921
Preceded by	Joseph Bryan Thompson
Succeeded by	Fletcher B. Swank
Personal details
Born	John William Harreld (1872-01-24)January 24, 1872 Butler County, Kentucky
Died	December 26, 1950(1950-12-26) (aged 78) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Laura Ward Thurlow Ward
Alma mater	Bryant & Stratton Business College, Louisville, Kentucky

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]

Early life and career

Harreld was born in Butler County, Kentucky, near Morgantown to Martha Helm and Thomas Nelson Harreld.[2] He attended public schools, the normal school at Lebanon, Ohio, and Bryant & Stratton Business College of Louisville, Kentucky, where he taught while studying law.^[where?][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 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1950, and was interred in Fairlawn Cemetery.[2]

References

1. Gaddie, Ronald Keith, "Republican Party Archived 2011-09-03 at the Wayback Machine," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Archived 2009-04-16 at the Wayback Machine (accessed May 21, 2010).
2. Kosmerick, Todd J., "Harreld, John William Archived 2010-07-17 at the Wayback Machine," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Archived 2009-04-16 at the Wayback Machine (accessed May 21, 2010).
3. Congressional Biography: Harreld, John William (accessed May 21, 2010).

External links

• Media related to John W. Harreld at Wikimedia Commons
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Harreld, John Archived 2010-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
• John W. Harreld Collection at the Carl Albert Center

Party political offices
Preceded by John H. Burford	Republican nominee for United States Senator from Oklahoma (Class 3) 1920, 1926	Succeeded by Wirt Franklin
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Joseph Bryan Thompson	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 5th congressional district 1919–1921	Succeeded by Fletcher B. Swank
U.S. Senate
Preceded by Thomas Gore	U.S. Senator from Oklahoma 1921–1927	Succeeded by Elmer Thomas