Margaret Elizabeth Hoey (néeGardner; January 21, 1875 – February 13, 1942) was an American civic leader and political hostess who served as the First Lady of North Carolina from 1937 to 1941. She was part of the "Shelby Dynasty" and is the only North Carolinian first lady to be the wife of one governor, Clyde R. Hoey, and the sister of another governor, Oliver Max Gardner. While serving as first lady, Hoey focused on issues related to women's roles and children's welfare, advocated for highway beautification across the state, and established a green house for exotic plants at the state penitentiary.
She was known to be an eloquent and passionate orator, giving speeches across the state. Prior to serving as first lady, she acted as a political hostess while her husband served in the North Carolina General Assembly and the U.S. House of Representatives.
Hoey was born Margaret Elizabeth Gardner in Shelby, North Carolina, on January 21, 1875, to Oliver Perry Gardner and his second wife, Margaret Young Gardner.[1][2] Her father was a respected physician, prominent civic leader, and farmer who served in Company I of the 38th North Carolina Regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.[1] Her maternal great-great grandfather, George Blanton, was the common ancestor of many of the old families in Shelby including the Gardners, Youngs, and Webbs.[2][3]
After her mother's death when she was sixteen years old, Hoey helped her father raise her younger brothers and send them to school.[1][2][4] She was the sister of Governor Oliver Max Gardner.[1][5] Her brother's wife, Fay Webb-Gardner, was their distant cousin through the Blanton line.[2]
She was educated at Shelby Female College.[1] Upon finishing her schooling, Hoey worked as a teacher.[1]
Marriage and public life
First Lady Hoey (3rd from the left) with Mrs. Padgett, Lieutenant Sampson, Governor Hoey, Isabel Hoey, Lieutenant de Metropolis, Mrs. Robinson, and Lieutenant Myers at the launch ceremony for the USS North Carolina (BB-55) in 1940 at the New York Navy Yard.
Hoey and her husband built a Colonial Revival mansion as their primary residence in Shelby in 1920.[6]
Her husband was elected as the Governor of North Carolina in 1936, and took office on January 7, 1937. She and her family moved to the North Carolina Executive Mansion in Raleigh.[1] She was an active and political first lady, and had a reputation as a passionate and eloquent orator.[7][1] She spoke publicly about highway beautification, women's roles in society, and child welfare and volunteered for a variety of civic organizations.[1] In 1937, the Raleigh Times remarked, "North Carolina's new first lady, Mrs. Clyde Roark Hoey, graciously gay, witty and sympathetic, brings with her to the Executive Mansion a multiplicity of interests and experiences. Her popularity in the western part of the state-her home-is due to her exceptional love for people, her hospitality and her outstanding personality."[1] Hoey hosted many teas, receptions, and dinners at the executive mansion while serving as first lady and she often shared her duties with her daughter, Isabel, who lived with them.[1] She was seen as a warm and welcoming hostess, often preparing meals for the guests herself. The Charlotte Observer said in 1942 that Hoey ran "a plain, old-fashioned, homey household in which the humblest were heartily welcomed and quickly came to feel at ease in its congenial and affable fellowships. It was Mrs. Hoey who carried to, and made to preside in the Mansion, the spirit of the common people, the social democracy of the common wealth."[1] A talented gardener, she oversaw the executive mansion's grounds and created a greenhouse for exotic flowers at the state penitentiary.[1][7]
She died of a heart attack on February 13, 1942, in Shelby and was buried in Sunset Cemetery.[10][11][12] Her husband, who outlived her, wore a red rose or carnation in his lapel daily to honor her.[1] Upon his death, the Bess Gardner Hoey Memorial Fund was established as a trust for charitable, educational, and religious purposes.[1]
^ abHam, Marie Sharpe, Debra A. Blake, and C. Edward Morris. 2001. North Carolina's First Ladies, 1891-2001. Raleigh, N.C.: Executive Mansion Fine Arts Committee and Executive Mansion Fund.
