Anna Lee Keys Worley

Anna Lee Keys Worley (1872 – May 2, 1961) was the first woman elected to the Tennessee Senate, representing Sullivan and Hawkins counties.[1]

Anna Lee Keys Worley
Member of the Tennessee Senate
from the 2nd district
In office
February 8, 1921 – January 1, 1923
Preceded byJ. Parks Worley
Succeeded byD. A. Barger
Personal details
Born
Anna Lee Keys

1872 (1872)
Boswell, Indiana, U.S.
DiedMay 3, 1961(1961-05-03) (aged 89)
Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1907; died 1921)​

She was born Anna Lee Keys to William T. and Sarah (née Evans) Keys in Boswell, Indiana, in 1872. She married Tennessee state representative J. Parks Worley on November 25, 1907.[2][3] Parks was elevated to the state senate in 1913 and served until his death on January 6, 1921.

Worley was elected as a Democrat in the January 25, 1921, special election to succeed her husband and was sworn in on February 8.[1]

One historian wrote that Worley "succeeded her antisuffragist husband in the Tennessee state senate and promptly used her powers to sponsor legislation to remove civil disabilities against Tennessee's women".[4]: 119 

Worley left the Senate in 1923 after serving one term.[1] She died on May 2, 1961, in Lafayette, Indiana.[2]

Sources
  1. "Anna Lee Keys Worley". National Women's History Museum. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  2. "First Woman State Senator in U.S. Dies". Journal & Courier. May 3, 1961. p. 3. Retrieved April 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Is First Woman Member of Any Southern Legislature". The Sunday Journal and Tribune. February 13, 1921. p. 2A. Retrieved April 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Weatherford, Doris (2012). Women in American Politics: History and Milestones. SAGE. p. 119. ISBN 9781608710072.


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