Lily Connally Morehead Mebane (August 13, 1869 – June 15, 1943) was an American relief worker, politician, and heiress. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, she chaired the Rockingham County Committee of the North Carolina Division of the Woman's Committee of the

Council of National Defense The Council of National Defense was a United States organization formed during World War I to coordinate resources and industry in support of the war effort, including the coordination of transportation, industrial and farm production, financial s ...

. She worked in France and Romania with the

American Committee for Devastated France American Committee for Devastated France (1919-1924) also known as C.A.R.D. ''(Comité Américain pour les Régions Dévastées de France)'', from the French translation of the name of the organization, was a small group of American women who vo ...

, where she met

Queen Marie of Romania Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938) was the last Queen of Romania as the wife of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I. Marie was born into the British royal family. Her parent ...

. She remained friends with the Queen Marie until the queen's death in 1938. For her relief work during the war, Mebane was awarded the Cross of Mercy by King Peter I of Serbia and was made

Knight of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

by the French government. In 1930, Mebane organized the first public library in Rockingham County. Later that year she ran for public office, and is considered the first woman to seek public office in Rockingham County. In 1931, she was elected to the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

, representing Rockingham County in the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

. She served in the house of representatives for two terms and, after her re-election in 1933, she chaired the Committee on Public Welfare. She was also a registered member of the Conference for Education in the South. Mebane was unanimously endorsed by the North Carolina House of Representatives and the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

to succeed her brother,

John Motley Morehead III John Motley Morehead III (November 3, 1870 – January 7, 1965) was an American chemist, politician, and diplomat. As a chemist, his work provided much of the foundation for the business of Union Carbide Corporation. The Union Carbide and Ca ...

, as the

United States Ambassador to Sweden The United States Ambassador to Sweden ( sv, Förenta Staternas ambassadör i Sverige) serves as the official diplomatic representative of the President and the Government of the United States of America to the King and the Government of the King ...

, but was not appointed to the position. In 1934, she ran an unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. Mebane was married to Benjamin Franklin Mebane Jr., who worked as a textile industry executive with her father, James Turner Morehead. She and her husband were formally presented to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

and Queen Mary at the

Court of Saint James The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

. After her husband's death in 1926, Mebane inherited his entire estate, estimated to be worth $2,000,000. A collection of her diaries and notes are archived in the Morehead-Mebane Collection at

Rockingham Community College Rockingham Community College is a public community college in Wentworth, North Carolina, in Rockingham County. It is part of the North Carolina Community College System The North Carolina Community College System (System Office) is a statewid ...

. Ten years after her death, Rockingham County celebrated "Lily Morehead Mebane Day" to recognize her role in founding the county library system. Due to her life in public service, she has been called "Rockingham County's First Lady".

Early life

Lily Connally Morehead was born in Spray, North Carolina, the daughter of James Turner Morehead and Mary Lily Connally Morehead. Her father, a textile manufacturer, was a veteran of the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and the founder of the Leaksville Cotton and Woolen Mill Company and the Spray Water Power and Land Company. Her grandfather,

John Motley Morehead John Motley Morehead (July 4, 1796 – August 27, 1866) was an American lawyer and politician who became the 29th governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina (1841 to 1845). He became known as "the Father of Modern North Carolina." Early and ...

, was governor of North Carolina and the owner of the Blandwood Estate. Her younger brother,

, was a founder of

Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation is an American chemical corporation wholly owned subsidiary (since February 6, 2001) by Dow Chemical Company. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers befor ...

and the

in the early 1930s."Minister to Sweden?"
''Mason City Globe Gazette'' (March 9, 1933): 18. via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

She grew up in the family home, a large brick mansion built by her grandfather, that overlooked the family's milling operations in Spray. Lily Morehead attended Peace Institute, a Presbyterian girls' school in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

Career

After the outbreak of

, Mebane became the Rockingham County Committee Chairwoman of the North Carolina Division of the Woman's Committee of the

. In 1918, she joined the

, providing aide in France. She left France and visited in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, before going to Romania to continue her relief effots. While working in Romania, she befriended Slavko Grujić and

. Queen Marie gave Mebane a traditional embroidered "peasant" costume from her personal collection. "The queen deeply deplored the loss of the exquisitely spun fabrics, the bright-hued embroideries and the other hand work that was peculiarly the work of the Roumanian peasants," she wrote of their acquaintance and a friendship began that lasted until the Queen's death in 1938. In 1922, she was awarded the Cross of Mercy by the

King of Serbia This is an archontological list of Serbian monarchs, containing monarchs of the medieval principalities, to heads of state of modern Serbia. The Serbian monarchy dates back to the Early Middle Ages. The Serbian royal titles used include Knya ...

for her "support of the sick, wounded, prisoners of war, refugees, children of the men killed in the war, and aged war mothers." She was also made

Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

by the French government after the war. Mebane and her husband were registered members of the Conference for Education in the South. In 1930 she organized the first public library in Rockingham County. In 1930, she was considered the "first woman ever to seek public office in Rockingham County" when she filed as a candidate. In 1931, Lily Morehead Mebane was elected to the North Carolina state legislature. She served two terms, after being re-elected in 1933, and chaired the Committee on Public Welfare in the state house of representatives. As a house representative, she advocated for legislation affecting state roads, divorce laws, education, child labor laws and pensions for Confederate veterans and war widows. Due to her life in public service, she was dubbed the "First Lady of Rockingham County." In 1934, Mebane ran an unsuccessful campaign for a U.S. Congressional seat. She was unanimously endorsed by both the North Carolina House of Representatives and the

to succeed her brother as the American Minister to Sweden. Had she been selected, Mebane would have been the first American woman ambassador to Sweden. Ultimately, President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

did not appoint her to the position.

Personal life

Lily Morehead married Benjamin Franklin "Frank" Mebane Jr., her distant cousin, in 1893. Frank Mebane was a textile industry executive with her father. In 1935, Mebane and her husband were presented at the

, where they met

and Queen Mary. She was widowed when Frank died suddenly in 1926, while she was in England. On his death, she inherited his entire estate, estimated to be worth $2,000,000. She died in 1943, aged 74 years. Her diary and other notes are archived in the Morehead-Mebane Collection at

, which also holds a parasol belonging to Lily Morehead Mebane. Ten years after her death, Rockingham County celebrated "Lily Morehead Mebane Day" to recognize her founding of the county library system. The Morehead-Mebane House in

Eden, North Carolina Eden is a city in Rockingham County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Eden is the largest city in Rockingham County and is part of the Greensboro-High Point Metropolitan Statistical Area of the Piedmont Triad metro region. As of the 2020 ...

, which she renamed "As You Like It", was razed following a fire in the 1970s. There is a stained-glass window at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Eden, given by Lily Morehead Mebane in memory of her mother.Resurrection window
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
Eden, North Carolina.

References

Works cited

External links

*
A photograph of Lily Morehead Mebane in her relief worker uniform
c. 1921, in Rockingham County Legacy: A Digital History Project. *Getty Images ha
a photograph of Mebane in her Romanian peasant costume
c. 1921. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mebane, Lily Morehead 1869 births 1943 deaths 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American politicians American humanitarians American women civilians in World War I Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives

Lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in mu ...

People from Eden, North Carolina Recipients of the Legion of Honour William Peace University alumni Women humanitarians Women state legislators in North Carolina