Bessie Morehead: The Fight for a Spot

Bessie Morehead, a well-known singer in Cache Valley, defeated her opponent Charles Hyde to become the first female County Recorder in Cache County, Utah.

In 1896 Utah became a state and women were allowed to run for public office. In that year 14 women won public office in Utah: one to the U.S. Senate, two to the state House of Representatives, and eleven to county offices, including Bessie Morehead. Morehead was born in Smithfield, Utah in 1867 and became a well known Logan citizen. She was a talented singer and performed in the Logan Opera Company. She was seen as one of Utah’s “best and favorite vocalists.”

She decided to run for the Cache County Recorder in 1896. This was a highly respected and honorable position to hold. Democrats nominated Morehead instead of the incumbent Charles Hyde. Many Democrats at the time were excited for women to participate in public office and wanted to give Morehead a chance. Hyde decided to switch to the Republican party to run against her. When Hyde came to the Democratic Convention, Morehead kicked him out. He then came at her with a knife but luckily nothing happened.

The fight didn’t stop there. Her LDS stake president casted doubt on Morehead as a candidate. He implied that Charles Hyde was a more religious member than she was. One editor for the Logan Journal defended her and said she was just as faithful. Amongst all this opposition. Morehead still won the election. She received 3,174 votes and Hyde received 1,840. After the election Hyde said the “Democratic party of Cache County is corrupt”. Only to receive backlash from the newspaper asking why he sought the Democratic nomination for recorder in the first place if it was corrupt.

Bessie Morehead served two terms from 1897-98 and 1899-1900. Morehead and 13 other Women in Utah made history. Bessie Morehead became the first woman in Cache County to hold public office.

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