Lorraine Michael Gensman (August 26, 1878 – May 27, 1954) was 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 on a farm near

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

, on August 26, 1878, Gensman was the son of Nicholas and Kansas Osborne Gensman. He attended the

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

s, the Garden Plains Grade School, Wichita Commercial College, Lewis Academy, and the

Kansas State Normal School Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. Em ...

at Emporia. He was Principal of the

Andale, Kansas Andale is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 941. History Andale was founded in the early 1880s. The city's name is an amalgamation of the surnames of two families of pione ...

schools in 1896 and 1897. He graduated from the

University of Kansas School of Law The University of Kansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Kansas, a public research university in Lawrence, Kansas. The University of Kansas Law School was founded in 1893, replacing the earlier Department of Law, which had e ...

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

in 1901, and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

the same year. He married fellow University of Kansas graduate Lucia Van Cleef on April 6, 1904.

Career

Gensman began practice in Lawrence, Kansas; then moved to

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Ce ...

in 1901, resuming his practice there. He served as

Referee in Bankruptcy A Referee in Bankruptcy or Bankruptcy Referee was a federal official with quasi-judicial powers, appointed by a United States district court to administer bankruptcy proceedings, prior to 1979. The office was first created by the Bankruptcy Act o ...

from 1902 to 1907. He served as

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

of Comanche County in 1918 and 1919. Elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the

67th Congress The 67th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 192 ...

, Gensman served from March 4, 1921 to March 4, 1923. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922 to the 68th Congress and for election in 1936 to the 75th Congress. He served as delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

in 1924. He engaged in the oil business, and resumed the practice of law until his retirement in 1953.

Death

Gensman died in Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma, on May 27, 1954 (age 75 years, 274 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 Highland Cemetery, Lawton, Oklahoma.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Gensman, L. M.

at the

Carl Albert Center The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center is a nonpartisan institution devoted to teaching and research related to the United States Congress and, more broadly, to strengthening representative democracy through engaged and infor ...

*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gensman, Lorraine Michael 1878 births 1954 deaths People from Sedgwick County, Kansas Emporia State University alumni University of Kansas alumni Kansas lawyers Oklahoma lawyers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma