Sargent Prentiss Freeling (January 25, 1874 – April 18, 1937) was an American politician who served as the 2nd attorney general of Oklahoma between 1915 and 1922.

Early life and education

Sargent Prentiss Freeling was born to John William Freeling and Rosa Minerva Cantrell on January 25, 1874, in McNairy, Tennessee. He attended Southwestern Baptist University and graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1899 before attending Southern Law College for one year.

Move to Oklahoma and political career

Freeling moved to Shawnee, Oklahoma in 1900. Shortly after moving, he was admitted to the Oklahoma Bar. He was the elected county attorney for Pottawatomie County from 1902 to statehood. He ran against Charles West for the office of attorney general of Oklahoma in 1907, but lost the election. He would go on to win the race for attorney general in November 1914.

Attorney general

While attorney general, Freeling lead the Red River litigation which officially establish the border between Oklahoma and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Freeling lead the state investigation of the Tulsa Race Massacre, charged Black Tulsans for the riot, and blamed the riot on Black Tulsans "intimidating white people."

Later life and death

Freeling resigned in 1922 to focus on the Red River litigation. He practiced law in Oklahoma City after his retirement. In 1924, Freeling ran in the

1924 United States Senate election in Oklahoma The 1924 United States Senate election in Oklahoma took place on November 4, 1924. Incumbent Democratic Senator Robert Latham Owen declined to run for re-election. In a crowded Democratic primary, impeached former Governor Jack C. Walton won th ...

, but lost the primary. He would later represent the mastermind of the

Osage Indian murders The Osage Indian murders were a series of murders of Osage Native Americans in Osage County, Oklahoma, during the 1910s–1930s; newspapers described the increasing number of unsolved murders as the Reign of Terror, lasting from 1921 to 1926. So ...

, William K. Hale, in his murder trial in 1926. He died on April 18, 1937, in Oklahoma City, where he was later buried. He never married, had no children, and was survived by a sister in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeling, Sargent Prentiss 1874 births 1937 deaths 20th-century Oklahoma politicians District attorneys in Oklahoma Harvard University alumni Oklahoma attorneys general Oklahoma Democrats Oklahoma lawyers People from McNairy County, Tennessee People involved in the Tulsa race massacre Union University alumni