History of SC Political Women
Charlotta Bass (1874-1969)
Mrs. Bass was born in Sumter, South Carolina and was a civil rights activist before she moved to California to become the editor of The California Eagle. She became a member of the Progressive Party and in 1952 she was the first African-American woman to run at the national level for Vice President.
Photo courtesy of Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research.
Carol Connor (1950-2004)
Born in Kingstree, South Carolina Connor received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina in 1976. She became an Assistant South Carolina Attorney General and was elected to the South Carolina Family Court in 1983. After serving for five years, Connor became the first woman to serve as a South Carolina Circuit Judge and the first woman to serve as an acting member of the South Carolina Supreme Court.
Photo courtesy of the South Carolina Judicial Department
Mary Gordon Ellis (1890-1934)
As a native of Gourdin, South Carolina, Mary Gordon Ellis moved to Rock Hill to attend Winthrop College and to become an educator. After becoming a teacher and principal in the Jasper County School System, she became the first woman superintendent in 1924. She hired a black woman to oversee black children in the school system but was quickly fired for doing this. Four years later, she successfully ran for the SC Senate to become the first woman in the state senate.
Photo courtesy of the South Carolina State Museum.
Elizabeth Hawley Gasque Van Exem (1886-1989)
A native of Blythewood, SC, Mrs. Gasque became the first woman in the
US Congress from South Carolina after her husband's death in 1939. She
graduated from Greenville Female College in 1907. After her husband's
death she was elected to fill the position in Congress as a Democrat.
She was not reelected but became an author and lecturer.
Photo courtesy of the Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives.
Maggie Wallace Glover (1948- )
Maggie Glover was the first African-American woman to be elected to the SC State Senate. Born in Florence, Glover graduated from Fayetteville State University and received her Masters in Education from Francis Marion College. She was elected to the state senate in 1993 and was previously a member of the House of Representatives from 1989-1992.
Photo courtesy of the South Carolina Legislature.
Janie Glymph Goree (1921- )
South Carolina's first African-American female mayor was Janie Glymph Goree. Born in Newberry County to a family of 11, she worked hard in order to receive an education. She had to attend multiple high schools and despite admission, could not afford to attend South Carolina College. After earning enough money to pay for school, she attended Benedict College and became a teacher. Later Goree received her Masters in Basic Sciences and Mathematics from the University of Colorado. In 1978 she was elected mayor of Carlisle, SC.
Photo courtesy of the South Carolina African American History Calendar
Barbara Stock Nielsen, Ed.D.
Dr. Barbara Nielsen served South Carolina from 1990 – 1998 as South Carolina State Superintendent of Education, the second woman to be elected to statewide office in her own right. Her two terms at Chief Executive Officer for the State Department of Education followed many years directly in the classroom in Kentucky as well as playing lead roles in curriculum, career education and as coordinator of educational improvement. Dr. Nielsen earned degrees from the University of Dayton and University of Louisville, completing her doctorate in Education with specialization in administration and planning. Since leaving the Department of Education, Barbara has served South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford as advisor on K-12 education, as a senior fellow at the Strom Thurmond Institute at Clemson University and as Interim Superintendent to the SC Public Charter School District.
Liz Johnston Patterson (1939- )
Liz Johnston Patterson, daughter of the late Olin D. Johnston, served South Carolina's Fourth Congressional District from 1987-93 as the second female ever elected to federal office from the State. Prior to her terms in Congress, Liz was a member of Spartanburg County Council (1974-76) and the South Carolina State Senate representing Spartanburg County (1979-86). Her service career is long and diverse, beginning with the Peace Corps and moving to VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), the South Carolina Office of Economic Opportunity with Head Start and later in multiple roles with Converse College, including Director of Continuing Education.
Anita Pollitzer (1894-1975)
As a native of Charleston, Pollitzer was an activist for women's suffrage. She attended Columbia University and after graduation she became the national secretary of the National Woman's Party. Pollitzer was the youngest officer and the youngest lobbyist in the National Women's Party as well as a key member of the party to help pass the 19th amendment.
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, photograph by Harris & Ewing, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USZ62-123456]
Lena Springs (d. 1942)
Once women achieved the right to vote in 1920 Lena Springs, from Lancaster, SC, became the first women nominated for Vice-President of the United States in 1924. She had been a suffragist since WWI and had worked with the Red Cross, been a chairwoman in the English Department at Queens College in Charlotte, and was the district director of the SC League of Women Voters. Though she had an unsuccessful campaign she continued to be a Democratic National Committeewoman.
Nancy Stevenson (1929-2001)
Ms. Stevenson was South Carolina's first woman lieutenant governor serving from 1979-1983. Once she graduated from Smith College, Stevenson became a reporter for the New York-Herald Tribune. Later she became a state representative from Charleston and finally served as the first and only female lieutenant governor.
Photo courtesy of Josephine Oakley
Inez Tenenbaum (1951- )
Inez Moore Tenenbaum was sworn in on June 23, 2009 as the ninth Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The term expires in October 2013. Tenenbaum served as South Carolina's State Superintendent of Education from 1998-2007. During her tenure, student achievement in South Carolina improved at the fastest rate in the nation, with scores increasing on every state, national, and international test administered. At the end of Ms. Tenenbaum's tenure, the prestigious journal Education Week ranked South Carolina number one in the country for the quality of its academic standards, assessment, and accountability systems. Tenenbaum received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Education degrees from the University of Georgia. She received her law degree in 1986 from the University of South Carolina Law School and practiced with the law firm of Sinkler & Boyd, P.A. from 1986–92 in the areas of public interest, health, and environmental law.
Juanita Willmon-Goggins (1934-2010)
As a graduate of SC State University, University of South Carolina, and Winthrop University Ms. Willmon-Goggins became the first African-American woman to be elected to the SC General Assembly. Born in Pendleton, SC she would also become the first African-American woman to serve on the United States Civil Rights Commission. To add to her list of firsts, she was also the first African-American woman to serve as a state delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Currently she is the President of the Juanita W. Goggins School of Excellence.
Photo courtesy of the South Carolina African American History Calendar
Kate V. Wofford (1894-1954)
First woman elected to public office in SC. She wrote the book Modern Education in the Small Rural School. Wofford became the first woman county superintendent of education in South Carolina and the first president of the S.C. Teacher Association (later S.C. Education Association). She was also among the first women to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces in World War I, joining the Navy as a yeoman.