Claude Weaver

Claude Weaver (March 19, 1867 – May 19, 1954) was an American politician, judge, and U.S. Representative from Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he served one term in the United States House of Representatives from 1913 to 1915, during a significant period in American political and social history. Over the course of his career, he was active in law, public service, and the legislative process, representing the interests of his constituents and contributing to the development of the young state of Oklahoma.

Weaver was born on March 19, 1867, and came of age in the post–Civil War era, a time of rapid national expansion and reconstruction. His early life unfolded against the backdrop of these changes, which shaped the political and legal environment in which he would later work. Details of his family background and upbringing are sparse in the surviving public record, but his subsequent professional path suggests an early commitment to legal study and public affairs.

Weaver pursued an education that prepared him for the practice of law and for public office. Trained in the legal profession at a time when many lawyers combined formal study with apprenticeship, he gained admission to the bar and entered into practice. His legal training provided the foundation for his later work as a judge and legislator, equipping him with familiarity in statutory interpretation, courtroom procedure, and the evolving body of state and federal law in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Before his election to Congress, Weaver established himself as a practicing attorney and public official. As an American politician and judge, he held judicial responsibilities that required him to preside over legal disputes, interpret the law, and administer justice in his jurisdiction. His combined experience in the courtroom and in public life helped build his reputation within the Democratic Party and among voters, positioning him for higher office as Oklahoma, admitted to the Union in 1907, developed its political institutions and representation in Washington.

Weaver was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives and served as a Representative from Oklahoma from 1913 to 1915. His term coincided with the administration of President Woodrow Wilson and with the early years of the Progressive Era, when Congress addressed issues such as banking and currency reform, tariff policy, and the regulation of business. During this single term in office, he participated in the democratic process at the national level, contributed to the legislative work of the House, and represented the interests of his Oklahoma constituents in debates and votes on federal policy.

After leaving Congress in 1915, Weaver returned to his legal and public pursuits. Drawing on his experience as a former Representative and judge, he remained part of the civic and political life of his community. His post-congressional years reflected the broader pattern of early Oklahoma leaders who moved between law practice, judicial service, and party politics as the state continued to grow and integrate more fully into national economic and political structures.

Claude Weaver died on May 19, 1954, closing a life that had spanned from the Reconstruction era through two world wars and into the early Cold War period. Remembered as an American politician, judge, and U.S. Representative from Oklahoma, he left a record of service that linked the formative years of Oklahoma statehood with the broader currents of American political development in the early twentieth century.