Lillian Exum Clement, called Brother Exum by her fellow legislators, was the first woman in the South to hold legislative office, taking her seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1921.
Famous heroine Flora MacDonald immigrated to North Carolina after her imprisonment in Scotland for her involvement in a plot to help usher Prince Charles Edward Stuart of Scotland to safety after the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.
Abby House, known widely as “Aunt Abby,” was born around 1796 and lived much of her life near Franklinton. House dedicated herself to care for Confederate soldiers in need during the Civil War. Described by Governor Zebulon Vance as “the ubiquitous, indefatigable and inevitable Mrs. House,” House often paid visits to various leaders of the Confederacy, including Jefferson Davis.
Rose O’Neal Greenhow, a widowed Washington socialite turned Confederate spy, drowned near Fort Fisher.
“Tiny” Broadwick, remembered as the “First Lady of Parachuting,” holds a place in The Guinness Book of World Records for her achievements as a parachutist.
All this month we’re bringing you stories from North Carolina women’s history. Check back here each week day for a new tidbit on the women of our state’s past.