Mishew Ellen Edgerton Smith (May 29, 1935 – September 1, 1981) was an American debutante and socialite. In 1953, she was selected by the Terpsichorean Club to lead the North Carolina Debutante Ball.
Early life and family
Smith was born Mishew Ellen Edgerton on May 29, 1935, in Raleigh, North Carolina, to Mishew Ellen Rogers Edgerton and Norman Edward Edgerton.[1] She grew up at Tatton Hall, her family's palatial mansion on Oberlin Road.[2][1] They were members of Carolina Country Club.[2][3] Her father was a prominent businessman who owned the Raleigh Bonded Warehouse and served as president of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, president of the Raleigh Kiwanis Club, and president of the Raleigh Shriners.[4] Her grandfather, Noah Edgerton, owned a cotton mill in Selma, North Carolina.[4] Her grandmother was a niece of the philanthropist Richard Stanhope Pullen of Pullen Plantation.[4]
She was a member of the Junior League of Raleigh and, prior to her marriage, was a member of the Spinster's Club of Washington, D.C.[1] Like her parents, she was a benefactor of Edgerton Memorial United Methodist Church in Selma.[7]
She had a son, Alton Battle Smith Jr., who inherited her father's company, and a daughter, Mishew Edgerton Smith, who followed in her footsteps as a lead debutante at the North Carolina ball.[8][4]