Betsey (Hoskins) Beeler Creekmore was born on May 23, 1915 to Ulysses D. and Bessie Olivia (Hoskins) Beeler in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her maternal family included her grandparents William Patton Hoskins and Mary Olivia Rawls Hoskins, her aunt Nellie Temple Hoskins, and her uncle James Dickason Hoskins who served as the president of the University of Tennessee. As a child, she was known as Bessie, until she chose Betsey while at college. She graduated from Vassar in 1935 and married Frank B. Creekmore on November 10, 1938. Together they had Betsey Beeler and David Dickason on August 8, 1942.

Creekmore began writing as a child, publishing her first poem at five, and had two books and numerous additional poems published before graduation. As an adult she published many articles and books, mostly about handicrafts, gardening and Knoxville history, some of which were extremely successful. In addition to her writing, Creekmore was active in organizations and civic projects, as well as being a popular public speaker. She died on October 7, 1995.

Frank Benson Creekmore was born to George W. and Stella (Vaughn) Creekmore on April 4, 1909 in Rockhold, Kentucky. He graduated from the John Randolph Neal College of Law and was granted a license in 1932. During his law career he served as the president of the Tennessee Bar Association and wrote the Libel section of the 1955 edition of the TPA Legal Handbook. He was a legal officer and judge advocate during his military service in World War II, retiring then as a major in 1945, and from the Air Force Reserves as a colonel in 1968. Creekmore died on May 26, 1970.