Representative Edna Oakes Simpson

Edna Oakes Simpson (October 26, 1891 – May 15, 1984) was a United States Representative from Illinois and a member of the Republican Party who served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1959 to 1961. She was born in Carrollton, Greene County, Illinois, where she spent most of her life and later became closely identified with the public career of her husband, Sidney E. Simpson, whom she succeeded in Congress.

Details of Simpson’s early life and formal education are not extensively documented in public sources, but she grew up in Carrollton, a small community in west-central Illinois. Her long residence in Carrollton suggests deep roots in the local civic and social life of the town, which would later form the base of her political support. Through her marriage to Sidney E. Simpson, who became a prominent Republican officeholder, she was drawn into the world of public affairs and national politics.

Before her own election to Congress, Edna Oakes Simpson was primarily known in a supporting role to her husband’s political career. Sidney E. Simpson represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives, and during his tenure she became familiar with the workings of Congress and the concerns of their district. This experience, combined with her longstanding ties to the community, positioned her as a natural successor when the opportunity arose to stand for election in her own right.

Simpson was elected as a Republican to the Eighty-sixth Congress and served from January 3, 1959, to January 3, 1961. Her tenure in the House came during a significant period in American history, at the close of the Eisenhower administration and on the eve of the Kennedy presidency, when the nation was confronting Cold War tensions, the early stirrings of the modern civil rights movement, and debates over domestic economic policy. As a member of the House of Representatives, Edna Oakes Simpson participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of her Illinois constituents, contributing to the work of Congress during her single term in office.

During her service, Simpson was part of the small but growing number of women in the United States House of Representatives, a group that remained limited in size in the late 1950s. Her election reflected both the increasing visibility of women in national politics and the common mid‑20th‑century pattern in which widows or spouses of deceased members continued a family’s congressional service. Within this context, she helped maintain representation for her district while adding to the presence of women in federal legislative roles.

Simpson did not seek renomination in 1960, thereby concluding her congressional career at the end of her first term on January 3, 1961. After leaving office, she returned to private life in Carrollton, Illinois, where she continued to reside. She remained a resident of Carrollton until her death in Alton, Illinois, on May 15, 1984. Her life and service are recorded in the official Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, and she is remembered as one of the women who helped pave the way for broader female participation in the U.S. House of Representatives.