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Abby House By John T. Marck Of all the cantankerous, cussing, belligerent women in North Carolina, easily one of the best known was Abby House, known (actually affectionately) as "Aunt Abby."
Never intimidated, and always bold, she would confront commanding officers and ask to care for any soldier from Franklin County who was sick or wounded. So determined was she, that following the Battle of Fredericksburg, she searched the battlefield for twelve days, trying to find one of her relatives. After the war, during Reconstruction, Abby lost her house and property, but was taken in by some Confederate veterans who gave her a cottage near Raleigh. At Raleigh she would frequently attend political meetings where she would give the Democrats advice, whether they wanted it or not, and no one had the nerve to ask her to leave. In 1876 she attended the Democratic State Convention, uninvited, and nominated Zebulon B. Vance for governor. There was one delegate absent, and when the presiding officer made a motion that Abby take the absent delegates place, the motion was passed unanimously. Occupying this seat, she then cast her vote for Vance, and became the first woman to cast an official vote for a political office. Abby House died in 1881 and on her gravestone was written, "Angel of Mercy to Confederate Soldiers." Copyright © 1990-2022 by John T. Marck. All Rights Reserved. This article and their accompanying pictures, photographs, and line art, may not be resold, reprinted, or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior written permission from the author. |
