Representative Elizabeth Hawley Gasque

Elizabeth Gasque Van Exem (February 26, 1886 – November 2, 1989), known as Elizabeth Hawley Gasque during her tenure in Congress, was an American politician who served as a Democratic U.S. Representative from South Carolina. She represented South Carolina’s 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from September 13, 1938, to January 3, 1939, and was the first woman elected to Congress from South Carolina. At the age of 103 years, 249 days, she became the longest-lived member of Congress in American history, a record that still stands as of 2025.

Gasque was born on February 26, 1886, though some official records later gave a different year. Social Security death records list her birth year as 1893 under her later married name of Van Exem, but contemporary census records support the 1886 date as accurate. She spent much of her life in South Carolina, where she became closely connected to the political and civic life of the state. Details of her early family background and schooling are sparse in the historical record, but her later public role suggests a long-standing familiarity with public affairs and community leadership in the region.

Before her own election to Congress, Elizabeth Hawley Gasque was married to Allard Henry Gasque, a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina. Through her marriage, she was drawn into the political world of the state’s 6th district, which encompassed a largely rural area of eastern South Carolina. Her husband’s service in Congress placed her in proximity to national politics and the workings of the federal legislature during the New Deal era, a period of significant transformation in American political and economic life.

Elizabeth Hawley Gasque’s brief congressional career was the result of a special election held after the death of her husband. Allard Henry Gasque died in office in 1938, creating a vacancy in South Carolina’s 6th district. On September 13, 1938, she was elected as a Democrat to fill that vacancy and served from that date until January 3, 1939. Her service in Congress thus occurred during a significant period in American history, as the nation continued to grapple with the effects of the Great Depression and the evolving policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration. Although she contributed to the legislative process during her one term in office and formally participated in the democratic process as a member of the House of Representatives, Congress was not in session during the months of her service, and she therefore never actually attended a sitting of the House.

As a member of the House of Representatives, Elizabeth Hawley Gasque represented the interests of her constituents in South Carolina’s 6th congressional district and symbolized the emerging role of women in national politics. Her election marked a milestone for women in the United States House of Representatives, particularly in the traditionally conservative political culture of the South. She chose not to be a candidate for renomination in the 1938 electoral cycle beyond completing the unexpired term, and her formal congressional service concluded on January 3, 1939.

After her tenure in Congress, Gasque did not return to elective office but remained active in public life as an author and lecturer. Under her later married name, Elizabeth Gasque Van Exem, she continued to be recognized for her pioneering role as South Carolina’s first female member of Congress. She lived in Ridgeway, South Carolina, where she spent her later years. In recognition of her public service and long life, a section of a South Carolina state road was named the Elizabeth Gasque Van Exem Highway in 1982, commemorating her contribution to the state’s political history.

Elizabeth Gasque Van Exem died in Ridgeway, South Carolina, on November 2, 1989, at the age of 103. At the time of her death, she had surpassed the longevity record previously held by former Representative Maurice Thatcher, who died in 1973, and she remains the longest-lived member of Congress on record. Her life spanned from the late nineteenth century through most of the twentieth, and her brief but notable service in the House of Representatives secured her a distinctive place in both South Carolina and national political history.