Isabelle Butler Robertson Explained

Office:2nd First Lady of Oklahoma
Term Start:1919
Term End:1923
Predecessor:Lillian Gallup Haskell
Successor:Madeleine Orrick Walton
Birth Name:Isabelle Butler
Birth Place:Afton, Indian Territory
Resting Place:Resthaven Gardens Cemetery, Oklahoma City, U.S.
Spouse:James B. A. Robertson

Isabelle Butler Robertson was the second First lady of Oklahoma from 1919 to 1923 during the tenure of her husband, Governor James B. A. Robertson.

Biography

Isabelle Butler was born on August 30, 1884, in Afton, Indian Territory to Hardy Hubbard Butler and Mary Reece. Her family later moved to Miami where her father was elected mayor. She later went to Willie Halsell College in Vinita and Maddox Seminary in Little Rock, Arkansas. On November 28, 1917, she married attorney James B. A. Robertson.[1]

Her husband won the Democratic primary for Governor of Oklahoma in 1918 and later the governor's race, making her the First lady of Oklahoma. Robertson supported women's suffrage and campaigned alongside her husband in the 1918 Oklahoma gubernatorial election. She served as first lady from 1919 to 1923.[2] Her husband left office in 1923 and died in 1938. After her husbands death, she worked for as the superintendent of the Western Oklahoma Home for Orphans, secretary of the Commission for the Adult Blind, and postmaster for the Oklahoma House of Representatives. She died on December 15, 1956, and is buried in Resthaven Gardens Cemetery in Oklahoma City.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Isabelle Butler Robertson (1884–1956) . okhistory.org . . 30 October 2024.
  2. Web site: Paustenbaugh . Jennifer . Oklahoma's First Ladies From Territorial Days To The Present Time . 30 October 2024.