Frances Payne Bolton
| Frances Bolton | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 22nd district |
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In office February 27, 1940 – January 3, 1969 |
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| Preceded by | Chester Bolton |
| Succeeded by | Charles Vanik |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Frances Payne Bingham March 29, 1885 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 9, 1977 (aged 91) Lyndhurst, Ohio, U.S. |
| Resting place | Lake View Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Chester Bolton (1907–1939) |
| Children | Oliver |
Frances Payne Bingham Bolton (March 29, 1885 – March 9, 1977) was a Republican politician from Ohio. She served in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Ohio. In the late 1930s Bolton took an isolationist position on foreign policy, opposing the Selective Service Act (the draft) in 1940, and opposing Lend-Lease in 1941. During the war she called for desegregation of the military nursing units, which were all-white and all-female. In 1947 she sponsored a long-range bill for nursing education, but it did not pass. When the draft was resumed after the war, Bolton strongly advocated the conscription of women. Pointing to their prominent role during the war, she said it was vitally important that women continue to play these essential roles. She saw no threat to marriage, and argued that women in military service would develop their character and skills, thus enhancing their role in the family. As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Bolton strongly supported the United Nations, especially UNICEF, and strongly supported the independence of African colonies.
She was born on 29 March 1885 in Cleveland, Ohio as Frances Payne Bingham. She was the granddaughter of wealthy oilman Henry B. Payne.
Active in public health, nursing education and other social service, education, and philanthropic work, she succeeded her husband, Chester C. Bolton, in office a few months after his death in 1939. Upon election to the remainder of her late husband's term, Bolton refused the customary widow's allowance comprising the remainder of the salary her late husband would have collected had he served out his term. She represented the 22nd District, mostly consisting of Cleveland's eastern suburbs. Bolton served an additional fourteen terms, serving alongside her son, Oliver P. Bolton, for three of those terms. She and Oliver appeared on What's My Line? as the only mother and son serving together. It was reported that when he voted against her, she once stage-whispered, "That's my adopted son."
A confidential 1943 analysis of the House Foreign Affairs Committee by Isaiah Berlin for the British Foreign Office described Bolton as
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