Frances Rowena Mathews Jones Hunt (June 6, 1874 – August 21, 1958)[1] was an American Progressive Era politician. She was the first woman to hold to a seat in the Arkansas General Assembly, when she was appointed to fill a vacancy in 1922. Later that year, Hunt was one of the first two women elected to seats in the Arkansas House of Representatives.
Frances Hunt | |
|---|---|
 Hunt, from a 1923 newspaper | |
| Born | Frances Rowena Mathews June 6, 1874 Des Arc, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Died | August 21, 1958 (aged 84) Pine Bluff, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Other name | Frances Jones |
| Occupations | Politician, clubwoman, state official |
| Spouse(s) | Henry Pearce Jones Sidney Jackson Hunt |
Early life
editMathews was born in Des Arc, Arkansas, the daughter of Allen C. Mathews and Julia Ann Wair Mathews.[2] Her father was a newspaper editor and a Confederate States Army veteran of the American Civil War. After he died in 1891, she lived with her widowed mother and siblings in Redfield. She worked as a printer in Benton as a young woman.[1]
Career
editHunt was elected postmistress of the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1905.[2] In 1922, she and another woman (a Mrs. Wilson) were appointed to fill vacant seats in the House;[3][4] the legislature was out of session at the time, but they were the first two women to be sworn-in members of the Arkansas legislature.[5][6] Hunt was elected to the seat later that year, when she and Erle Rutherford Chambers became the first two women elected to seats in the Arkansas legislature.[7][8][9]
Hunt and Chambers co-sponsored a bill on maternal and infant health.[10] Hunt was re-elected in 1924. She chaired the committee on Confederate soldiers and widows,[7] and successfully sponsored a bill to establish a state board to inspect cosmetology schools. She did not run for a third term, but continued to work in politics at the state level, and was an inspector for the Board of Cosmetic Therapy until 1938.[1]
Hunt was active in church, clubs,[11] women's suffrage, and temperance groups in Pine Bluff, and a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Daughters of the American Revolution.[1]
Personal life
editMathews married twice. Her first husband was lawyer Henry Pearce Jones. They married in 1899, and he died within a year, while she was pregnant with their son, Henry Jr.[2] She married again in 1905, to Arkansas legislator Sidney Jackson Hunt.[4] They had two children together. She raised her grandson, Henry P. Jones III, after his mother died in childbirth. She died in 1958, at the age of 84, in Pine Bluff. The Frances M. and Sidney J. Hunt Letters are in the Arkansas State Archives.[1]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 Smith, Lindsley Armstrong; Smith, Stephen A. "Frances Rowena Mathews Jones Hunt (1874–1958)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- 1 2 3 Smith, Lindsley Armstrong; Smith, Stephen A. (2022-11-16). Stateswomen: A Centennial History of Arkansas Women Legislators, 1922-2022. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 101–102. ISBN 978-1-68226-216-0.
- ↑ "Woman is Chosen Member of House; Governor McRae Appoints Mrs. Frances Hunt of Pine Bluff to Vacancy". Times Record. 1922-04-12. p. 7. Retrieved 2026-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 "Woman Appointee is Urged to be Candidate". Arkansas Democrat. 1922-04-12. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "First Women to Serve in State and Territorial Legislatures". National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- ↑ "Mrs. Hunt May Be Candidate for the Regular Term". Pine Bluff Daily Graphic. 1922-04-14. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- 1 2 Barnard, Ninfa O. (2023-02-13). "Frances Hunt was Arkansas House's 1st female legislator". Pine Bluff Commercial. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- ↑ Pruden, William H. III. "Erle Rutherford Chambers (1875–1941)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- ↑ Weatherford, Doris (2012-01-20). Women in American Politics: History and Milestones. SAGE. p. 93. ISBN 978-1-60871-007-2.
- ↑ Dillman, Caroline M. (2013). Southern Women. Routledge. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-136-55696-8.
- ↑ "Women Are Good Lawmakers". Southwest American. 1923-02-11. p. 12. Retrieved 2026-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
edit- "Mrs. Hunt and Miss Erle Chambers, Arkansas' first two female legislators" (1923 photograph), in the University of Arkansas's Center for Arkansas History and Culture