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.

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. 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.

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".

Worley left the Senate in 1923 after serving one term. She died on May 2, 1961, in Lafayette, Indiana. Provided by Wikipedia