Lee Cruce
| Lee Cruce | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 2nd Governor of Oklahoma | |
|
In office January 9, 1911 – January 11, 1915 |
|
| Lieutenant | John A. Greer |
| Preceded by | Charles N. Haskell |
| Succeeded by | Robert L. Williams |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
July 8, 1863 Marion, Kentucky |
| Died | January 16, 1933 (aged 69) Los Angeles, California |
| Resting place | Rose Hill Cemetery Ardmore, Oklahoma |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | widowed |
| Profession | lawyer, banker |
| Religion | Presbyterianism |
Lee Cruce (July 8, 1863 – January 16, 1933) was an American lawyer, banker and the second governor of Oklahoma. Losing to Charles N. Haskell in the 1907 Democratic primary election to serve as the first governor of Oklahoma, Cruce successfully campaigned to succeed Haskell to serve as the second governor of Oklahoma. As governor, Cruce was responsible for the establishment of the Oklahoma Department of Highways and the Oklahoma State Capitol. He worked hard to enforce prohibitions on alcohol and gambling, going so far as to use the state militia to stop horse racing. He was succeeded by Robert L. Williams.
Born in Kentucky, Cruce worked as a lawyer, a banker, and a municipal official before his election as governor. After finishing his term as governor, he worked in the private sector and made an unsuccessful bid for the United States Senate. He died in 1933 in Los Angeles, California, and was buried in Ardmore, Oklahoma.
Lee Cruce was born in the city of Marion in Crittenden County, Kentucky on July 8, 1863. He attended Marion Academy, and subsequently attended Vanderbilt University, receiving a law degree from the latter. Though he passed the Kentucky bar exam in 1888, he did not practice law until he joined his brother's law firm, Johnson, Cruce and Cruce at Ardmore in Indian Territory in 1891. After ten years of practicing law, Cruce entered the financial world as the first cashier of the Ardmore National Bank, of which he later served as the bank's president. In 1901, Cruce was elected an alderman in the local government of Ardmore.
Through his combined positions of power in the Ardmore National Bank and the movement towards statehood in late 1906, Cruce submitted his name on the Democratic primary for governor of the newly created state of Oklahoma. The popular Charles N. Haskell defeated Cruce for the nomination, but before Haskell's term ended in 1911, Cruce once again sought the Democratic nomination for governor and was successful. He then defeated his Republican opponent in the general election.
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