On January 9, 1878, Tabitha Holton became the first woman licensed to practice law in North Carolina. Born in 1854 near Jamestown, she had three brothers, all of whom were attorneys. She is said to have gained her training in the law from having tutored her siblings.
Topics Related to Women
A portrait of Gertrude McKee.
On January 7, 1931, Gertrude McKee became the first female member of the North Carolina Senate.
On January 2, 1975, Susie Sharp took the oath of office as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina.
On January 5, 1921, Lillian Exum Clement took her seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives, becoming the first woman in the South to hold legislative office.
Clement was born in Black Mountain in 1886, and she worked in the Buncombe County sheriff’s office while studying law at night. In 1916, she passed the bar exam and the next year opened her own practice.