Anna Lee Keys Worley (1872 – May 2, 1961) was the first woman elected to the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue rega ...

, representing Sullivan and Hawkins counties. She was born Anna Lee Keys to William T. and Sarah (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Evans) Keys in

Boswell, Indiana Boswell is a town in Grant Township, Benton County, Indiana, United States. The population was 778 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The town of Boswell was first laid out by Charles ...

, in 1872. She married Tennessee state representative J. Parks Worley on November 25, 1907. Parks was elevated to the

state senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

in 1913 and served until his death on January 6, 1921. Worley was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

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 Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

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1872 births 1961 deaths Democratic Party Tennessee state senators Women state legislators in Tennessee 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American women politicians People from Sullivan County, Tennessee 20th-century Tennessee politicians {{Tennessee-politician-stub