Jessie Sumner

Jessie Sumner (July 17, 1898 – August 10, 1994) was an American attorney and banker from Illinois. A Republican, she served as a U.S. Representative from 1939 to 1947.

Early life Jessie Sumner was born in Milford, Illinois on July 17, 1898, the daughter of Aaron Taylor Sumner and Jeannette Elizabeth (Gillan) Sumner. She attended the public schools of Milford and in 1916 she graduated from the Girton School in Winnetka, Illinois. She then attended Northampton, Massachusetts's Smith College, from which she graduated in 1920 with a AB degree in economics.

After college, Sumner studied law at the University of Chicago Law School, Columbia University, and Oxford University. She was admitted to the bar in 1923 and practiced in Chicago, Illinois. She served until December 1938, when she resigned in preparation to assume her seat in the United States House of Representatives. In 1938, Sumner was elected to the U.S. House; she was reelected three times and served from January 3, 1939 to January 3, 1947, the 76th, 77th, 78th Congresses.