Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Elizabeth "Bessie" Russell Crockett (Hayes), 1886-1959
By Amanda Ritter-Maggio, Associate Professor of English, Texarkana College, Texarkana, TX
Photo credit: "Mrs. S.W. Hayes," The Daily Oklahoman 22 May 1931 (Newspapers.com)
Secretary, Oklahoma State Suffrage Campaign Committee; Treasurer, Oklahoma Federal Suffrage Amendment Ratification Committee; State Chairman, Fatherless Children of France Organization; Vice-President, Civic Theater Organization of Oklahoma City
Elizabeth "Bessie" Russell was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky on January 9, 1886 to James David and Alice Brown Russell. She had two older brothers, John and James, and one sister, Corrine.
On May 15, 1907, Elizabeth married prominent Hopkinsville attorney Albert Percy Crockett. The couple moved to Oklahoma but frequently spent time in Hopkinsville and in Nashville, Tennessee, where they owned property.
In Oklahoma City, A.P. Crockett worked as an attorney at his firm, Burwell, Crockett, and Johnson, and as a partner of the Fortuna Oil and Gas Company. According to newspaper society pages, Elizabeth was active in Oklahoma City women's and social organizations by 1912. She served as the secretary of the Oklahoma State Suffrage Campaign Committee, as well as treasurer of the Oklahoma Federal Suffrage Amendment Ratification Committee. Together with her husband, Elizabeth entertained the governor of Oklahoma at a dinner party at her home in 1914. She was also a speaker at business luncheons given by Tulsa Suffrage Organization in July of 1918.
In October of 1919, just a few days after winning a $2,000,000 oil land suit, A.P. Crockett died suddenly in Oklahoma City. At the time of his death, his estate was valued at over a million dollars. He was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
As a widow, Elizabeth traveled overseas and served as the Oklahoma state chairman of the Fatherless Children of France Organization, which sought adoptive American parents for French orphans after World War I. Sometime between 1922 and 1930, Elizabeth married Judge Samuel Walter Hayes, a prominent lawyer, member of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and former Oklahoma state Democratic party chairman. Samuel Hayes was a two-time widower with a son, Kent, and two daughters. Ruby and Ida. In the 1930s, Elizabeth served as an officer for the Civic Theater Organization of Oklahoma City.
S.W. Hayes died in 1941, and Elizabeth Russell Crockett Hayes died on December 7, 1959. She is buried in the Crockett family plot in Riverside Cemetery in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
Sources:
Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
Ancestry.com. U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.
"A.P. Crockett Dead." Muskogee Times-Democrat 31 Oct. 1919. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/608086712/?terms=a.p.%20crockett&match=1
Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com/memorial/88551753/albert-percy-crockett : accessed 05 May 2021), memorial page for Albert Percy Crockett (3 Dec 1868-29 Oct 1919), Find a Grave Memorial ID 88551753, citing Riverside Cemetery, Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky, USA ; Maintained by Joe Craver -- KY Legionnaire (contributor 48586211).
Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com/memorial/88841802/elizabeth-russell-hayes : accessed 06 May 2021), memorial page for Elizabeth Russell Crockett Hayes (3 Jun 1908-1959), Find a Grave Memorial ID 88841802, citing Riverside Cemetery, Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky, USA ; Maintained by Joe Craver -- KY Legionnaire (contributor 48586211).
"Funeral of A.P. Crockett." The Kentuckian 01 November 1919. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/173836661/?terms=a.p.%20crockett&match=1
The History of Woman Suffrage vol. VI. Ed. Ida Husted Harper. New York: Little and Ives, 1922. [LINK]
"Lawtonians Make Part Payment Due to France." The Lawton [Oklahoma] News 04 December 1918. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/581901121/?terms=mrs.%20a.p.%20crockett&match=1
"Local News." Fairview [Oklahoma] Republican 19 February 1915. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/605905456/?terms=elizabeth%20crockett&match=1
"Mrs. Elizabeth Hayes." The Daily Oklahoman 09 December 1959. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/449697019/?terms=elizabeth%20hayes&match=1
"Society." The Daily Oklahoman 15 May 1907. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/440976561/?terms=mrs.%20a.p.%20crockett&match=1
"Society." The Tulsa Democrat 18 July 1918. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/583436984/?terms=mrs.%20a.p.%20crockett%20suffrage&match=1
"Tulsa Women Prominent in Equal Suffrage Campaign Committee for Oklahoma." The Tulsa Democrat 29 September 1918. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/583434322/?terms=mrs.%20a.p.%20crockett%20suffrage&match=1
"2 Estates Worth Million." The Beggs [Oklahoma] Independent 06 February 1920. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/708204052/?terms=elizabeth%20crockett%20suffrage&match=1