The spouse of the Governor of Virginia is given an honorary position, styled as First Lady or First Gentleman of the State of Virginia.[1] To date there have been no female governors of the State of Virginia, and all first spouses have been first ladies.[2]
First Lady of Virginia | |
---|---|
Residence | Executive Mansion |
Inaugural holder | Dorothea Dandridge Henry |
Formation | July 5, 1776 |
Website | Official website |
The current first lady of Virginia is Suzanne Youngkin, the wife of incumbent Governor Glenn Youngkin, who assumed office in 2022.[3]
Role
editThe position of the first lady is not an elected one, carries no official duties, and receives no salary. However, the first lady holds a highly visible position in state government. Since 1813, the role of the first lady includes serving as the host of the Executive Mansion.[4] She organizes and attends official ceremonies and functions of state either along with, or in place of, the governor. It is common for the governor's spouse to select specific, non-political, causes to promote.
List
editPicture | Name | Took office | Left office | Spouse of | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dorothea Dandridge Henry | 1777 | 1779 | Patrick Henry | 1st and 6th First Lady of Virginia | |
2 | Martha Jefferson | 1779 | 1781 | Thomas Jefferson | Died at age 33, twenty years before husband's election as U.S. President | |
3 | Anne Christian Fleming | 1781 | 1781 | William Fleming | ||
4 | Lucy Grymes Nelson | 1781 | 1781 | Thomas Nelson Jr. | ||
5 | Elizabeth Bassett Harrison | 1781 | 1784 | Benjamin Harrison V | ||
6 | Dorothea Dandridge Henry | 1784 | 1786 | Patrick Henry | ||
7 | Elizabeth Nichols Randolph | 1786 | 1788 | Edmund Randolph | ||
8 | Martha Cocke Randolph | 1788 | 1791 | Beverley Randolph | ||
9 | Anne Hill Carter Lee | 1793 | 1794 | Henry Lee III | Mother of general-in-chief of the Confederate States of America, Robert E. Lee | |
10 | Mary Ritchie Hopper Brooke | 1794 | 1796 | Robert Brooke | ||
11 | Jean Moncure Wood | 1796 | 1799 | James Wood | ||
12 | Elizabeth Monroe | 1799 | 1802 | James Monroe | 12th and 15th First Lady of Virginia, served as First Lady of the United States (1817–1825) | |
13 | Margaret Lowther Page | 1802 | 1805 | John Page | ||
14 | Agnes Sarah Bell Cabell | 1805 | 1808 | William H. Cabell | ||
None | 1808 | 1811 | John Tyler Sr. | Tyler was a widower | ||
15 | Elizabeth Monroe | 1811 | 1811 | James Monroe | ||
16 | Jane Reade Smith | 1811 | 1811 | George William Smith | ||
17 | Lucy Johnson Barbour | 1812 | 1814 | James Barbour | ||
18 | Margaret Smith Nicholas | 1814 | 1816 | Wilson Cary Nicholas | ||
19 | Ann Barraud Taylor Preston | 1816 | 1819 | James Patton Preston | ||
20 | Martha Jefferson Randolph | 1819 | 1822 | Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. | Daughter of 3rd U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, served as Acting First Lady of the United States for father (1801–1809) | |
21 | Susanna Lawson Pleasants | 1822 | 1825 | James Pleasants | ||
22 | Letitia Christian Tyler | 1825 | 1827 | John Tyler | Served as Second Lady (1841) and First Lady of the United States (1841–1842) | |
23 | Frances Ann Gwynn Giles | 1827 | 1830 | William Branch Giles | ||
24 | Letitia Preston Floyd | 1830 | 1834 | John Floyd | ||
25 | Anne Stratton Tazewell | 1834 | 1836 | Littleton Waller Tazewell | ||
26 | Maria Hamilton Campbell | 1837 | 1840 | David Campbell | ||
27 | Anne Baker Gilmer | 1840 | 1841 | Thomas Walker Gilmer | ||
28 | Susanna Smith Preston McDowell | 1843 | 1846 | James McDowell | ||
29 | Elizabeth Bell Smith | 1846 | 1849 | William Smith | ||
30 | Sally Buchanan Preston Floyd | 1849 | 1852 | John B. Floyd | ||
31 | Sarah Johnson | 1852 | 1855 | Joseph Johnson | ||
32 | Mary Elizabeth Lyons Wise | 1856 | 1860 | Henry A. Wise | ||
33 | Susan Holt Letcher | 1860 | 1861 | John Letcher | ||
34 | Julia Augusta Robertson Pierpont | 1861 | 1868 | Francis Harrison Pierpont | Early founder and adopter of "Decoration Day" (now known as Memorial Day) in the United States | |
35 | Olive E. Evans | 1869 | 1874 | Gilbert Carlton Walker | ||
None | 1874 | 1878 | James L. Kemper | Kemper was a widower | ||
None | 1878 | 1882 | Frederick Holliday | Holliday was a widower | ||
36 | Louisa Cameron | 1882 | 1886 | William E. Cameron | ||
37 | Ellen Bernard Fowle Lee | 1886 | 1890 | Fitzhugh Lee | ||
38 | Annie Clay McKinney | 1890 | 1894 | Philip W. McKinney | ||
39 | Jennie Wickliff Knight O'Ferrall | 1894 | 1898 | Charles Triplett O'Ferrall | ||
40 | Sue Hammet Tyler | 1898 | 1902 | James Hoge Tyler | ||
41 | Elizabeth Lyne Hoskins Montague | 1902 | 1906 | Andrew Jackson Montague | ||
42 | Elizabeth Deane Lyons Swanson | 1906 | 1910 | Claude A. Swanson | Official hostess of the Jamestown Exposition | |
43 | Etta Edloe Donnan Mann | 1910 | 1914 | William Hodges Mann | ||
44 | Margaret Bruce Carter Stuart | 1914 | 1918 | Henry Carter Stuart | ||
45 | Marguerite Inman Davis | 1918 | 1922 | Westmoreland Davis | Served as a nurse during the 1918 influenza epidemic in Richmond, for which she was featured in The New York Times. President of the Women's Munition Reserve during World War I. | |
46 | Helen Ball Sexton Trinkle | 1922 | 1926 | Elbert Lee Trinkle | ||
47 | Anne Douglas Beverley Byrd | 1926 | 1930 | Harry F. Byrd | ||
48 | Grace Phillips Pollard | 1930 | 1932 | John Garland Pollard | Died in 1932 during husband's term | |
49 | Violet E. MacDougall | 1933 | 1934 | |||
50 | Nancy Bane Gillespie Peery | 1934 | 1938 | George C. Peery | ||
51 | Lillian Martin Price | 1938 | 1942 | James Hubert Price | ||
52 | Constance Simons Du Pont Darden | 1942 | 1946 | Colgate Darden | ||
53 | Eva Ellis Lovelace Dillard Tuck | 1946 | 1950 | William M. Tuck | ||
54 | Janie Lipscombe Battle | 1950 | 1954 | John S. Battle | ||
55 | Anne Bassett Stanley | 1954 | 1958 | Thomas B. Stanley | ||
56 | Josephine Katherine Minter Almond | 1958 | 1962 | J. Lindsay Almond | ||
57 | Lacey Barkley Harrison | 1962 | 1966 | Albertis Harrison | ||
58 | Katherine Godwin | 1966 | 1970 | Mills Godwin | 58th and 60th First Lady of Virginia | |
59 | Jinks Holton | 1970 | 1974 | Linwood Holton | Mother of 67th First Lady of Virginia, Anne Holton | |
60 | Katherine Godwin | 1974 | 1978 | Mills Godwin | ||
61 | Edwina P. Dalton | 1978 | 1982 | John N. Dalton | Served as a member of the Virginia Senate
from the 12th district (1988–1992), Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 1989 | |
62 | Lynda Bird Johnson Robb | 1982 | 1986 | Chuck Robb | Daughter of 36th U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, served as chairwoman of President's Advisory Committee for Women | |
63 | Jeannie Baliles | 1986 | 1990 | Gerald Baliles | Founder of the Virginia Literacy Foundation | |
None | 1990 | 1994 | Douglas Wilder | Wilder was divorced | ||
64 | Susan Brown Allen | 1994 | 1998 | George Allen | ||
65 | Roxane Gilmore | 1998 | 2002 | Jim Gilmore | Gilmore, a classics professor at Randolph-Macon College, was the first woman to actively maintain her own, independent job and career while serving as first lady.[5][6] | |
66 | Lisa Collis | 2002 | 2006 | Mark Warner | First woman to continue using her maiden name as First Lady | |
67 | Anne Holton | 2006 | 2010 | Tim Kaine | Daughter of Governor Linwood Holton and First Lady Jinks Holton, served as 17th Virginia Secretary of Education and acting president of George Mason University | |
68 | Maureen McDonnell | 2010 | 2014 | Bob McDonnell | Sentenced to 12 months in prison after a federal corruption trial. The conviction was overturned and charges dismissed after a Supreme Court decision. [7] | |
69 | Dorothy McAuliffe | 2014 | 2018 | Terry McAuliffe | Appointed as the U.S. State Department Special Representative for Global Partnerships by President Joe Biden | |
70 | Pamela Northam | 2018 | 2022 | Ralph Northam | ||
71 | Suzanne Youngkin | 2022 | serving | Glenn Youngkin |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "First Lady of Virginia - Suzanne S. Youngkin". www.firstlady.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
- ^ "Virginia". National Governors Association. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
- ^ "Suzanne Youngkin". National Governors Association. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
- ^ "Executive Mansion - Virginia's Executive Mansion". www.executivemansion.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
- ^ Weeks, Lindon (1998-07-16). "A Life of History". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2017-04-10. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
- ^ Stone, Gavin (2024-08-08). "Former Virginia First Lady Roxane Gilmore has died, family says". The Virginia Pilot. Archived from the original on 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- ^ https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-moves-dismiss-mcdonnell-charges