Alice Mary Robertson

Alice Mary Robertson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1923
Preceded by	William W. Hastings
Succeeded by	William W. Hastings
Personal details
Born	January 2, 1854 Tullahassee Mission, Creek Nation, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma)
Died	July 1, 1931 (aged 77) Muskogee, Oklahoma
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Elmira College
Profession	Educator, public servant

Alice Mary Robertson (January 2, 1854 – July 1, 1931) was an American educator, social worker, government official, and politician who became the second woman to serve in the United States Congress, and the first from the state of Oklahoma. Robertson was the first woman to defeat an incumbent congressman. She was known for her strong personality, commitment to Native American issues, and anti-feminist stance.

Until the election of Mary Fallin in 2006, Robertson was the only woman elected from Oklahoma to Congress.

Robertson was born at the Tullahassee Mission in Creek Nation, Indian Territory, to missionaries Ann Eliza (née Worcester) and William Schenck Robertson. Her maternal grandfather was Samuel Worcester, a long-time missionary to the Cherokees. The 1860 United States Census shows the family living in Creek Nation, Indian Lands, Arkansas. Her parents translated many works into the Creek language, including the Bible. In early life, Mary Alice Robertson was self-taught under the supervision of her parents. She attended Elmira College, in Elmira, New York.

Robertson started working as a clerk in the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Washington, D.C. (1873 to 1879). She returned to the Indian Territory and taught briefly in the school at Tullahassee. Later she taught at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania from 1880 to 1882. It was the model for Indian boarding schools across the country.

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