Representative Hugh Steel Hersman

Hugh Steel Hersman (July 8, 1872 – March 7, 1954) was an American banker, businessman, and Democratic politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from California from 1919 to 1921. He was born in Port Deposit, Cecil County, Maryland, and spent his early childhood there before moving west with his family. In 1881 his parents relocated to California and settled in Berkeley, where he was raised and began the education that would prepare him for a career in finance and public service.

After attending the public schools in California, Hersman pursued higher education in the South. He enrolled at Southwestern Presbyterian University in Tennessee, from which he was graduated in 1893. Seeking further academic training, he later undertook additional study at the University of California at Berkeley in 1897 and 1898. This combination of eastern birth, California upbringing, and education in both the South and on the Pacific Coast helped shape his outlook as he entered business and, later, political life.

Hersman established himself professionally in banking and corporate management in California. By the early twentieth century he was active in the financial life of Gilroy, a growing community in Santa Clara County. He served as president of the First National Bank of Gilroy from 1914 to 1918, overseeing the institution during the World War I era, and he also served as an officer and director of various corporations. His work in banking and on corporate boards gave him prominence in local and regional business circles and provided the practical experience in finance and administration that underpinned his later political career.

A member of the Democratic Party, Hersman entered national politics in the post–World War I period. He was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-sixth Congress and served as a Representative from California from March 4, 1919, to March 3, 1921. During his single term in the U.S. House of Representatives, he participated in the legislative process at a time of significant transition in American history, as the nation adjusted to the end of the war and confronted issues of demobilization, economic readjustment, and social change. As a member of the House of Representatives, Hugh Steel Hersman represented the interests of his California constituents and contributed to the work of Congress during this critical period.

Hersman sought to continue his congressional service but was unsuccessful in his bid for reelection in 1920 to the Sixty-seventh Congress. In that election he was defeated by Republican Arthur M. Free, bringing his tenure in the House to a close after one term in office. Following his departure from Congress, he returned to his business pursuits in California, resuming the financial and corporate activities that had defined his pre-congressional career.

In his later years, Hersman remained involved in the banking sector. He served as a member of the board of directors of the American Trust Company in Gilroy, California, maintaining his influence in local financial affairs and continuing his long association with the community. He lived out the remainder of his life in California, where he had resided since childhood and where he had built his professional and political reputation.

Hugh Steel Hersman died in San Francisco, California, on March 7, 1954. Although he spent most of his life and career on the West Coast, he was interred in Nottingham Cemetery in Colora, Cecil County, Maryland, returning in death to the region of his birth.