William Franklin "Dixie" Gilmer (June 7, 1901 – June 9, 1954) was an American politician and a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Biography

Born in

Mount Airy, North Carolina Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,611. History Mount Airy was settled in the 1750s as a stagecoach stop on the road between Winston-Salem, North Carolina an ...

, Gilmer was the son of W. F. and Emma Prather Gilmer. He moved with his parents to Oklahoma, and attended the public schools of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He served as a page in the House of Representatives from 1911 to 1919, and graduated from the law school of the University of Oklahoma in Norman in 1923. Admitted to the bar in 1923, he commenced the practice of law in Wetumka, Oklahoma, and also served as a police judge and mayor.

Career

Gilmer served as member of the State house of representatives in 1927. In 1928, he married Ellen McClure of Celeste, Texas, and they had no children. He moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1929, and served as assistant county attorney of

Tulsa County, Oklahoma Tulsa County is located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 669,279, making it the second-most populous county in Oklahoma, behind only Oklahoma County. Its county seat and largest city is Tulsa, the second- ...

from 1931 to 1933, as well as County attorney of Tulsa County 1936-1946. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1946. Elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Eighty-first Congress, Gilmer served from January 3, 1949 to January 3, 1951. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1950 to the Eighty-second Congress, and the governor appointed him state safety commissioner. He served in that capacity until his death.

Death

Gilmer died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on June 9, 1954 (age 53 years, 2 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Memorial Park Cemetery in Oklahoma City.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Gilmer, William
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilmer, William Franklin (Dixie) 1901 births 1954 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma People from Mount Airy, North Carolina People from Wetumka, Oklahoma 20th-century American legislators