Belle Christie Critchett

Belle Christie Ferguson Critchett (c. 1868 - January 6, 1956) was an American social activist and suffragist. Critchett was active in Texas, especially in El Paso and was part of the Texas Equal Suffrage Association (TESA). She worked with suffragist Maude E. Craig Sampson to increase opportunities for Black women voters. Later, she became president of the El Paso chapter of the League of Women Voters.

Belle Christie Critchett in 1918.

Biography

Critchett was born in Perthshire, Scotland.[1] When she was two, her family moved to Clinton, Iowa.[2] She attended normal school in Iowa.[2] The family moved to Denver and Critchett worked as a teacher for eight years, teaching in both Pueblo, Colorado and Denver.[2] She also studied music and drawing while in Colorado.[2]

Critchett married Otis A. Critchett in 1901.[3] She and her husband moved to El Paso, Texas in 1902.[4] The couple had one boy, Otis Adams, Jr. who died in childhood.[4] After her son's death, Critchett focused on civic activism.[4]

Critchett became a member of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).[1] She was also the secretary of the First Presbyterian Woman's auxiliary, which was at the time one of the largest women's organizations in the city.[5] Critchett was involved with the El Paso Women's Club, where she discussed women's suffrage issues.[6] She was involved with the Texas Equal Suffrage Association (TESA), acting as the National Committee Member in 1917.[7] She headed the El Paso women's suffrage organization, the Equal Franchise League.[8]

Critchett ran for the El Paso school board in 1918, where she was the only woman candidate.[9][4] She was defeated by 47 votes.[10] Also in 1918, Critchett attempted to get Black women to serve as county clerks in the upcoming elections, though she and Maude E. Craig Sampson were unsuccessful in the project.[11] Critchett and Sampson, who headed with the El Paso Negro Women's Civic and Enfranchisement League, worked together on women's suffrage in El Paso.[12]

After women earned the right to vote, Critchett became the president of the League of Women Voters in El Paso, a position she was elected to several years in a row.[13]

Critchett died after a long illness on January 6, 1956.[1] She was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in El Paso.[14]

References
  1. Carroll, Ann (13 January 1956). "Ex-Society Editor Salutes Friend Who Crosses Divide". El Paso Herald-Post. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  2. "Woman Candidate for School Board". El Paso Herald. 29 March 1918. p. 8. Retrieved 18 August 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "O. Critchett, Assayer, Dies at 74". El Paso Times. 12 July 1950. p. 19. Retrieved 18 August 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Weiser, Abbie (1 July 2007). "Belle Christie Critchett Papers" (PDF). C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department. University of Texas at El Paso.
  5. Luther, Betty (14 August 1934). "Women Need to Learn Cooperation Is Opinion Mrs. O. A. Critchett". El Paso Herald-Post. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  6. "Literary Department of the Woman's Club Elects Officers". El Paso Herald. 18 March 1915. p. 5. Retrieved 18 August 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Will Lead Texas Again". The Woman Citizen. 1: 91. 30 June 1917.
  8. Johnston, Dorothy B. "El Paso Federation of Women's Clubs Puts Up Mrs. O. A. Critchett as a Candidate for School Trustee at the Coming Election". El Paso Herald. Retrieved 18 August 2020 – via The Portal to Texas History.
  9. "Endorsements of Mrs. Critchett for School Board". El Paso Times. 2 April 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 18 August 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Critchett, Belle C. (11 May 1918). "A letter giving the results of the El Paso School Board elections". University of Houston Libraries. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  11. Brannon-Wranosky 2010, p. 216.
  12. "Letters regarding African American suffrage organization". Bullock Texas State History Museum. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  13. "Mrs. Critchett Elected to a Fourth Term as President of League of Women Voters". El Paso Times. 19 January 1923. p. 7. Retrieved 18 August 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Mrs. Belle Critchett". El Paso Times. 9 January 1956. p. 16. Retrieved 18 August 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

Sources
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