Today's profile takes us to Tate County, Mississippi, and obscure state representative Servetus Love Crockett, who served one four-year term in that body. Crockett was born near Tyro, Mississippi on September 2, 1886, the son of Powhatan Perkins Crockett and his wife Annie Louise Babb. Servetus is listed as a direct descendant of famed Texan and Congressman Davy Crockett (1786-1836) and as a youth attended schools local to the Tate County area.
In December 1914 Crockett married Ms. Floy Emma Liles and in the following year graduated from Millsaps College with a Bachelor of Laws degree. During his tenure at Millsaps College, Crockett is listed as winning four medals in oratory and after graduating engaged in farming pursuits instead of pursuing a career in law. Crockett was also a published author, authoring a Eulogy On Davy Crockett and a genealogical work relating to the Crockett family
In November 1915, the citizens of Tate County elected the 29-year-old Crockett to a seat in the Mississippi State House of Representatives. He would serve from 1916-20 and during his service held a seat on the following committees: Judiciary, Mississippi Levees, Penitentiary, Public Buildings and Grounds, Banks and Banking, and Drainage. Mississippi's Official and Statistical Register notes that despite his youth, Crockett "evinced statesmanlike abilities" during his four-year tenure in the House.
Little could be found on Crockett after the conclusion of his legislative service. A newspaper report from 1970 (published a year following his death) denotes him as "a colorful personality who ran a quaint country store in the Barr community 10 miles east of Senatobia, Miss." Widowed in 1942, Servetus remained connected to his store until his death on November 30, 1969, at age 83, and was survived by a son, Servetus P. Both Crockett and his wife were interred in the Mount Vernon Cemetery in Tate County.
From the Memphis Press Scimitar, April 25, 1958.
No comments:
Post a Comment