First ladies and gentlemen of North Carolina

First Lady of North Carolina
First Lady of North Carolina
	Incumbent; Anna Harris Stein ; since January 1, 2025
Style	First Lady ; First Gentleman
Residence	Executive Mansion (primary); Western Residence (secondary)
Inaugural holder	Sarah Heritage Caswell
Formation	1776
Website	governor.nc.gov/first-lady-scheduling-request

Last updated February 02, 2025

The spouse of the governor of North Carolina is given an honorary position, styled as First Lady or First Gentleman of the State of North Carolina. They are the official hosts at the North Carolina Executive Mansion in Raleigh and the Governor's Western Residence in Asheville.^[1] To date, there has been one woman governor of the State of North Carolina, Bev Perdue, and therefore her husband, Bob Eaves, was the state's first and only first gentleman.^[2] Two of the state's first ladies were daughters, not wives, of governors: Helen Whitaker Fowle served as first lady during the administration of her widowed father, Governor Daniel Gould Fowle,^[3] and Angelia Lawrance Morrison served as first lady during the term of her widowed father, Governor Cameron A. Morrison, until his marriage to Sara Virginia Ecker Watts on April 2, 1924.^[4]

Lists

Lists of colonial first ladies

The following are lists of the first ladies of North Carolina during the Colonial period under British rule.

Roanoke Colony

The following is a list of the wives of governors of the Roanoke Colony at Fort Raleigh.^[7]

Name	Image	Term in office	Birth-Death	Governor	Notes
vacant		1585–1586		Sir Ralph Lane	Sir Ralph Lane never married
Tomasyn Cooper White		1587–1590		John White

Albemarle Settlements

The following is a list of the wives of governors of the Albemarle Settlements.^[7]

Name	Term in office	Birth-Death	Governor	Notes
Sarah Prescott Drummond	1664–1667		William Drummond
Frances Culpeper Stephens	1667–1669	circa 1634 – circa 1690	Samuel Stephens
vacant	1670–1672		Peter Carteret	no record of Carteret's marriage
Johanna Gerald Jenkins	1672–1675		John Jenkins	husband's first term
Name unknown	1675–1676		Thomas Eastchurch	Name left off records
Johanna Gerald Jenkins	1676–1677		John Jenkins	husband's second term
vacant	1677		Thomas Miller	no record of Miller's marriage
Dorothy Tooke Harvey	1679	died 1682	John Harvey
Johanna Gerald Jenkins	1680–1681		John Jenkins	husband's third term
Anna Willix Riscoe Blount Sothel	1682–1689	died before May 1695	Seth Sothel

Province of Carolina

The following is a list of the wives of governors and deputy governors of the Province of Carolina.^[7]

Name	Term in office	Birth-Death	Governor	Notes
Frances Culpeper Stephens Berkeley Ludwell	1689–1691	circa 1634 – circa 1690	Philip Ludwell	her second marriage to a NC governor
Name unknown	1691–1694		Thomas Jarvis
Ann Dobson Archdale	1694–1696		John Archdale
Sarah Catherine Laker Harvey	1696–1699	died circa 1730	Thomas Harvey
Ann Lillington Walker	1699–1704	1679–1732	Henderson Walker
Martha Wainwright Daniel	1704–1705		Robert Daniell
Name unknown	1705–1708		Thomas Cary
Mary Davis Glover	1706–1706	died before 1707	William Glover	died in office
Catherine "Catalina" Atwood Glover	1706–1708		William Glover	Glover's second wife, married in office
Name unknown	1708–1711		Thomas Cary	husband's second term
Catherine Rigby Hyde	1711–1712	died 1738	Edward Hyde

Province of North Carolina

The following is a list of the wives of governors of the Province of North Carolina.^[7] The last three provincial governors and their wives resided at Tryon Palace in New Bern.

Name	Term in office	Birth-Death	Governor	Notes
Esther Wilkinson Pollock	1712–1714	died 1716	Thomas Pollock
Penelope Golland Eden	1714–1716	1677–1716	Charles Eden	died in office
vacant	1722		Thomas Pollock	second term, widowed
Jane Reed	1722–1724		William Reed
Name unknown	1724–1725		George Burrington
Susannah Kidder Everard, Lady Everard	1725–1731	1683–1739	Sir Richard Everard, 4th Baronet
Name unknown	1731–1734		George Burrington
Mary Bursey Rice	1734		Nathaniel Rice
Penelope Golland Maule Lovick Phenney Johnston	1734–1741	died 1741	Gabriel Johnston	died in office
Frances Button Johnston	1741–1752	died 1768	Gabriel Johnston	Johnston's second wife
Mary Bursey Rice	1752–1753	died 1753	Nathaniel Rice	husband's second term
Elizabeth Rowan Rowan	1753–1754		Matthew Rowan
Justina Davis Dobbs	1754–1765	1745–1771	Arthur Dobbs
Margaret Wake Tryon	1764–1771	c.1732 – 1819	William Tryon
no record	1771		James Hasell
Elizabeth Martin Martin	1771–1776	1732–1778	Josiah Martin	went into exile during the American Revolution

List of First Ladies and Gentlemen of the State of North Carolina

The following is a list of first ladies and gentlemen of the U.S. state of North Carolina.^[7]

Name	Term in office	Birth-Death	Governor	Notes
Sarah Heritage Caswell	1776–1780	1740–1794	Richard Caswell
Mary Whiting Jones Nash	1780–1781	1754–1800	Abner Nash
Mary Freeman Burke	1781–1782		Thomas Burke
vacant	1782–1785		Alexander Martin
Sarah Heritage Caswell	1785–1787	1740–1794	Richard Caswell	husband's second term
Frances Cathcart Johnston	1787–1789	1751–1801	Samuel Johnston
vacant	1789–1792		Alexander Martin
Mary Jones Leech Spaight	1792–1795	1765–1810	Richard Dobbs Spaight
Elizabeth Jones Merrick Ashe	1795–1798	1735–1815	Samuel Ashe
Sarah Jones Davie	1798–1799	1762–1802	William Richardson Davie
Elizabeth Chauncey Jones Williams	1799–1802	1762–1817	Benjamin Williams
Elizabeth Montfort Ashe	1802		John Baptista Ashe	husband died before taking office
Ann Cochran Turner	1802–1805	died 1806	James Turner
Margaret Polk Alexander	1805–1807	circa 1764–1806	Nathaniel Alexander
Elizabeth Chauncey Jones Williams	1807–1808	1762–1817	Benjamin Williams	husband's second term
Hannah Turner Stone	1808–1810	1776–1816	David Stone
Sarah Rhett Dry Smith	1810–1811	circa 1762–1821	Benjamin Smith
Ann Swepson Boyd Hawkins	1811–1814		William Hawkins
Lydia Anna Evans Miller	1814–1817	died 1818	William Miller
Elizabeth Foort Branch	1817–1820	1787–1851	John Branch
Maria Perkins Franklin	1820–1821	1765–1834	Jesse Franklin
Mary Smith Hunter Holmes	1821–1824	died 1838	Gabriel Holmes
Sarah Wales Jones Burton	1824–1827		Hutchins Gordon Burton
Frances Johnston Treadwell Iredell	1827–1828	1797–1865	James Iredell Jr.
Lucy Ann Brown Owen	1828–1830	1793–1853	John Owen
Rachel Montgomery Stokes	1830–1832	(1776–1862)	Montfort Stokes
Eleanor White Swain	1832–1835	1800–1883	David L. Swain
vacant	1835–1836		Richard Dobbs Spaight Jr.	never married
Elizabeth Henry Haywood Dudley	1836–1840	1796–1840	Edward Bishop Dudley	died in office
Ann Eliza Lindsay Morehead	1841–1845	(1804–1868)	John Motley Morehead
Susannah Sarah Washington Graham	1845–1849	1816–1890	William Alexander Graham
Charity Hare Haywood Manly	1849–1851	1799–1881	Charles Manly
Henrietta Williams Settle Reid	1851–1854	1824–1913	David Settle Reid
vacant	1854–1855		Warren Winslow	widower
Isabella Cuthbert Bragg	1855–1859	1820–1877	Thomas Bragg
Mary McKinley Daves Ellis	1859–1861	1835–1916	John Willis Ellis	North Carolina secedes from the Union and joines the Confederate States of America
Mary Weeks Parker Hargrave Clark	1861–1862	1822–1896	Henry Toole Clark	Confederate States of America
Harriett Newell Espy Vance	1862–1865	1832–1878	Zebulon Vance	Confederate States of America
vacant	May 13, 1865 – May 29, 1865		vacant	Office vacated after the American Civil War
Louisa Virginia Harrison Holden	1865	1830–1900	William Woods Holden	provisional appointment by President Woodrow Wilson
Martitia Daniel Worth	1865–1868	1808–1874	Jonathan Worth
Louisa Virginia Harrison Holden	1868–1871	1830–1900	William Woods Holden	husband's second term
Minerva Ruffin Cain Caldwell	1871–1874	1820–1890	Tod Robinson Caldwell
vacant	1874–1877		Curtis Hooks Brogden	never married
Harriett Newell Espy Vance	1877–1879	1832–1878	Zebulon Vance	husband's second term
Mary Woodson Jarvis	1879–1885	1842–1924	Thomas J. Jarvis
Catherine Bullock Henderson Scales	1885–1889	1845–1930	Alfred Moore Scales
Helen Whitaker Fowle	1889–1891	1869–1948	Daniel Gould Fowle	daughter of Governor Fowle
Louisa Moore Holt	1891–1893	1833–1899	Thomas Michael Holt
Eleanor Kearny Carr	1893–1897	1840–1912	Elias Carr
Sarah Amanda Sanders Russell	1897–1901	1844–1913	Daniel Lindsay Russell
Cora Lily Woodard Aycock	1901–1905	1868–1952	Charles Brantley Aycock
Cornelia Deaderick Glenn	1905–1909	1854–1926	Robert Broadnax Glenn
Musette Satterfield Kitchin	1909–1913	1874–1956	William Walton Kitchin
Annie Burgin Craig	1913–1917	1873–1955	Locke Craig
Fanny Neal Yarborough Bickett	1917–1921	1870–1941	Thomas Walter Bickett
Angelia Lawrance Morrison Harris	1921–1924	1912–1983	Cameron A. Morrison	daughter of Governor Morrison
Sara Virginia Ecker Watts Morrison	1924-1925	1868–1950	Cameron A. Morrison	married in office
Margaret French McLean	1925–1929	1879–1959	Angus Wilton McLean
Fay Webb-Gardner	1929–1933	1885–1969	Oliver Max Gardner
Tillie Ehringhaus	1933–1937	1890–1980	John C. B. Ehringhaus
Margaret Gardner Hoey	1937–1941	1875–1942	Clyde R. Hoey
Alice Willson Broughton	1941–1945	1889–1890	J. Melville Broughton
Mildred Stafford Cherry	1945–1949	1894–1971	R. Gregg Cherry
Mary White Scott	1949–1953	1897–1972	W. Kerr Scott
Merle Davis Umstead	1953–1954	1901–1988	William B. Umstead	husband died in office
Martha Blakeney Hodges	1954–1961	1897–1969	Luther H. Hodges
Margaret Rose Sanford	1961–1965	1918–2006	Terry Sanford
Jeanelle Coulter Moore	1965–1969	1911–1999	Dan K. Moore
Jessie Rae Scott	1969–1973	1929–2010	Robert W. Scott
Patricia Hollingsworth Holshouser	1973–1977	1939–2006	James Holshouser
Carolyn Hunt	1977–1985	born 1937	Jim Hunt
Dottie Martin	1985–1993	born 1937	James G. Martin
Carolyn Hunt	1993–2001	born 1937	Jim Hunt	husband's second term
Mary P. Easley	2001–2009		Mike Easley
Bob Eaves	2009–2013		Bev Perdue	First Gentleman
Ann McCrory	2013–2017	born 1956	Pat McCrory
Kristin Cooper	2017–2025	born 1956	Roy Cooper
Anna Harris Stein	2015–present		Josh Stein

Related Research Articles

The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since its inception in 1776. The governor serves a term of four years and chairs the collective body of the state's elected executive officials, the Council of State. The governor's powers and responsibilities are prescribed by the state constitution and by law. They serve as the North Carolina's chief executive and are tasked by the constitution with faithfully carrying out the laws of the state. They are ex officio commander in chief of the North Carolina National Guard and director of the state budget. The office has some powers of appointment of executive branch officials, some judges, and members of boards and commissions. Governors are also empowered to grant pardons and veto legislation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Gould Fowle</span> American politician

Daniel Gould Fowle was the 46th governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1889 until his death in 1891. He had served as a state superior court judge from 1865 to 1867.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Carolina Executive Mansion</span> Historic house in North Carolina, USA

The North Carolina Executive Mansion is the official residence of the governor of North Carolina and their family. The First Lady of North Carolina is the mansion's official hostess. Building began in the year 1883 and it was designed by architects Samuel Sloan and A.G. Bauer. The first occupants, Governor Daniel G. Fowle and his daughter, Helen Whitaker Fowle, moved into the unfinished building in January 1891. It is an example of Queen Anne style architecture.

Robert Wendell Eaves, Jr. is an American accountant and businessman. As the husband of Bev Perdue, he served as the Second Gentleman of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009 and as the First Gentleman of North Carolina from 2009 to 2013. Eaves's wife was the first female lieutenant governor and governor, making him the first second gentleman and first gentleman of the state.

Alice Harper Willson Broughton was an American civic leader who served as the First Lady of North Carolina from 1941 to 1945 as the wife of Governor J. Melville Broughton. She and her husband were the first governor and first lady from Wake County to live in the North Carolina Executive Mansion. During World War II she was active in the war effort, promoting victory gardens across the state and establishing one at the governor's mansion, christening liberty ships including the SS Zebulon B. Vance and the SS Donald W. Bain, and donating rubber to the armed forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary P. Easley</span> First Lady of North Carolina

Mary Pipines Easley is an American attorney, academic, and former university administrator who, as the wife of Governor Mike Easley, served as First Lady of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first woman to maintain her own career while serving as first lady, and also the first Catholic and first Greek American to serve in this position.

Dorothy Ann "Dottie" Martin is an American educator and real estate broker who, as the wife of Governor James G. Martin, served as the First Lady of North Carolina from 1985 to 1993. As first lady, she supported protections for children and substance abuse prevention efforts. Martin also relandscaped the grounds of the North Carolina Executive Mansion and contributed to the establishment of a program within the North Carolina Department of Transportation for planting wildflower beds along state highways. She also served as the chairwoman of the North Carolina Commission on Child Victimization and the North Carolina Commission on the Family.

Margaret Rose Sanford was an American civic leader, teacher, and philanthropist who, as the wife of Terry Sanford, served as First Lady of North Carolina from 1961 to 1965. Prior to entering public life, she worked as a teacher in North Carolina and Kentucky. As first lady, Sanford hosted the first annual North Carolina Symphony Ball in 1961, established a library of North Carolinian books at the North Carolina Executive Mansion, and planted a rose garden on the mansion's grounds. She was the first governor's wife to decorate the Governor's Western Residence in Asheville. Sanford sent her children to the first racially integrated public elementary school in Raleigh, North Carolina, while the family lived in the executive mansion. She served on the board of the Methodist Home for Children, the North Carolina School of the Arts, the Stagville Plantation Restoration Board, and East Carolina University. She was also a member of the Education Commission of the States and the Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. While Sanford's husband served as president of Duke University, she was appointed by Governor Jim Hunt to serve on a delegation of university faculty and administrators to China in 1975.

Matilda Bradford "Tillie" Ehringhaus was an American civic leader who, as the wife of John C. B. Ehringhaus, served as First Lady of North Carolina from 1933 to 1937. Since her time in the North Carolina Executive Mansion was marked by the Great Depression, she made budget cuts and adaptations around the mansion to save money for the state, including having the wattage of the chandeliers lowered so that the electric bill would not exceed monthly expenses. As first lady, she hosted musical salons and was noted for her beauty and charm. After her husband's death, Ehringhaus co-edited the North Carolina Almanac and State Industrial Guide and, in 1952, served as an alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Helen Whitaker Fowle Knight was an American political hostess. When her widowed father, Daniel Gould Fowle, became Governor of North Carolina in 1889, she served as the state's First Lady. She was the first North Carolinian first lady to live in the North Carolina Executive Mansion.

Cora Lily Woodard Aycock was an American political hostess, farmer, and railway executive. As the second wife of Governor Charles Brantley Aycock, she served as First Lady of North Carolina from 1901 to 1905. While her husband was an outspoken white supremacist and segregationist, she was known to be rather apolitical but staunchly supported her husband's educational reforms for public schools. Aycock spent her time as first lady entertaining guests at small gatherings at the North Carolina Executive Mansion, raising her seven children and two surviving stepchildren, and instructing her children in music. Aycock was the first North Carolinian first lady to give birth at the executive mansion.

Fanny Neal Yarborough Bickett was an American social worker, public official, lawyer, and lobbyist. She served as the First Lady of North Carolina from 1917 to 1921, as the wife of Governor Thomas W. Bickett, and used her influence in his administration to enact social reforms and support women's suffrage. During World War I, she maintained a victory garden at the North Carolina Executive Mansion and promoted home gardens to support the war effort. Bickett was the commandant of the Southeastern District of the U.S. Training Corps and visited American troops in France as a representative of the YMCA.

Louise Matilda Moore Holt, also known as Louisa Holt, was an American political hostess who, as the wife of Thomas Michael Holt, served as the Second Lady of North Carolina from 1889 to 1891 and as the First Lady of North Carolina from 1891 to 1893.

Angelia Lawrance Morrison Harris was an American heiress, political hostess, philanthropist, and businesswoman. She served as First Lady of North Carolina during the administration of her widowed father, Governor Cameron A. Morrison, from 1921 to 1924, until her father remarried to Sara Virginia Ecker Watts. She was the second daughter of a North Carolinian governor to serve as First Lady during his term, after Helen Whitaker Fowle Knight. Throughout the Morrison administration, she was known as the "little mistress of the mansion." In her later life, she lived at her Charlotte estate, Morrocroft, and operated an antique business. Harris was a benefactor of multiple institutions including Queens College, St. Andrews Presbyterian College, and the Mint Museum, and was appointed by Governor Dan K. Moore to serve on the North Carolina Executive Mansion Fine Arts Commission.

Merle Holland Davis Umstead was an American educator, political hostess, and civic leader. She worked as a school principal and as a high school teacher prior to her marriage. As the wife of Governor William B. Umstead, she served as First Lady of North Carolina from 1953 to 1954. Widowed after her husband died during his term as governor, she and her daughter had to vacate the North Carolina Executive Mansion and returned to Durham, North Carolina. Umstead also served as the President of the Durham American Legion Auxiliary and served on the board of trustees of East Carolina University.

Annie Burgin Craig was an American political hostess who, as the wife of Governor Locke Craig, served as the first lady of North Carolina from 1913 to 1917.

Martha Elizabeth Blakeney Hodges was an American educator and political hostess. As the wife of Governor Luther H. Hodges, she served as the Second Lady of North Carolina from 1953 to 1954 and as First Lady of North Carolina from 1954 to 1961.

The North Carolina Governor's Western Residence is the secondary official residence of the Governor of North Carolina, located in Asheville. It is managed by the First Lady of North Carolina. The governor's primary residence is the North Carolina Executive Mansion in Raleigh. The western residence is one of five or fewer state-owned second homes in the United States.

Sarah Heritage Caswell (1740–1794) was the first and fifth First Lady of the State North Carolina, as the wife of Governor Richard Caswell, from 1776 to 1780 and from 1785 to 1787.

References

↑ Williams, Heidi Coryell (2013-07-02). "NC Governor's Mansion in Asheville". Our State. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
↑ "Perdue's husband sure that he doesn't want to be 'first dude'". 26 December 2008.
↑ "Fowle, Helen Whitaker (Knight) | NCpedia". www.ncpedia.org. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
↑ Markovich, Jeremy (April 27, 2020). "North Carolina's 8-Year-Old First Lady". Our State . Mann Media. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
↑ "Mary Easley has active public life, but she's no Hillary Clinton". newsobserver.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2006.
↑ A. O. L. Staff (2025-01-01). "Josh Stein sworn in as North Carolina governor". www.aol.com. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
1 2 3 4 5 Ham, Marie Sharpe; Blake, Debra A.; Morris, C. Edwards (2000). North Carolina's First Ladies 1891-2001, Who Have Resided in the Executive Mansion At 200 North Blount Street. Raleigh, North Carolina: The North Carolina Executive Mansion Fine Arts Committee and the North Carolina Executive Mansion Fund, Inc. pp. 97–106. ISBN 0-86526-294-2.

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[1] Williams, Heidi Coryell (2013-07-02). "NC Governor's Mansion in Asheville". Our State. Retrieved 2025-01-12.

[journal-2] "Perdue's husband sure that he doesn't want to be 'first dude'". 26 December 2008.

[ncpedia-3] "Fowle, Helen Whitaker (Knight) | NCpedia". www.ncpedia.org. Retrieved 2022-01-30.

[ourstate-4] Markovich, Jeremy (April 27, 2020). "North Carolina's 8-Year-Old First Lady". Our State . Mann Media. Retrieved October 7, 2023.

[5] "Mary Easley has active public life, but she's no Hillary Clinton". newsobserver.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2006.

[aol-6] A. O. L. Staff (2025-01-01). "Josh Stein sworn in as North Carolina governor". www.aol.com. Retrieved 2025-01-05.

[ham-7] 1 2 3 4 5 Ham, Marie Sharpe; Blake, Debra A.; Morris, C. Edwards (2000). North Carolina's First Ladies 1891-2001, Who Have Resided in the Executive Mansion At 200 North Blount Street. Raleigh, North Carolina: The North Carolina Executive Mansion Fine Arts Committee and the North Carolina Executive Mansion Fund, Inc. pp. 97–106. ISBN 0-86526-294-2.

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