Ferris served as member of the territorial
Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1904 and 1905. Upon the admission of Oklahoma as a
State into the
Union, Ferris was elected as a
Democrat to the
60th Congress. He was reelected to the
61st and to the six succeeding Congresses and served from November 16, 1907, until March 3, 1921. He served as chairman of the
Committee on Public Lands (
62nd through
65th Congresses). He did not seek renomination as a Representative, but was an unsuccessful candidate for
Senator. He won the Democratic primary against incumbent
Thomas P. Gore but was defeated in the general election by Republican
John W. Harreld, receiving 45 percent of the vote. In 1912 and in 1916 Ferris served as delegate to the
Democratic National Conventions. He moved to
New York City and engaged in the oil business from 1921 to 1924. Returning to Oklahoma in 1925, he served as
Democratic National Committeeman from Oklahoma from 1924 to 1940. He resumed the
practice of law; engaged in the oil business and in agricultural pursuits. His wife, Grace Hubbert Ferris, died unexpectedly of a cerebral hemorrhage on March 9, 1944. ==Death==