Editor’s note: The author, Steve Bailey, is outreach coordinator at the Anson County Historical Society.

Eliza Jane Pratt, who was born in Morven on March 5, 1902, was elected as a Democrat to the 79th Congress in 1946 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William O. Burgin, serving until 1947.

The daughter of James Leonidas Pratt and Lena Little Pratt, Eliza attended public school in Morven until age 9, when her family moved to Raeford. She attended Queens College and from 1923-24 was editor of the weekly newspaper in Troy, “The Montgomerian,” which stopped publication in the mid-1920s.

When Representative Burgin died in April 1946, the North Carolina Democratic Executive Committee nominated Miss Pratt – who had worked for Burgin – in the special election to fill Burgin’s term. During the five-week campaign that followed she paid all of her own expenses and was easily elected on May 25, 1946, as representative from the Eighth Congressional District. She was appointed to three committees: Pensions, Territories and Flood Control. Congress adjourned in late summer and she was not a candidate for reelection, probably because of the illness and subsequent death of her mother.

Eliza lived during a period when women often set aside personal and professional goals to devote time and energy to their family. Although her public service was noteworthy, the needs of her parents and her devotion to them restricted her professional career.

She was employed with the Office of Alien Property, Washington, D.C., (1947-51), the Department of Agriculture (1951-54) and with the Library of Congress (1954-56). She was secretary to U.S. Rep. Paul Kitchin of North Carolina (1957-62) and served as public relations head for the North Carolina Telephone Co. until her death on May 13, 1981, at age 79 in Charlotte. She’s buried in Raeford, in Hoke County. For more, click here.