Cora Lily Woodard Aycock

Aycock was born Cora Lily Woodard on October 11, 1868, in Wilson, North Carolina to Elder William Woodard, a Primitive Baptist lay preacher and farmer, and Delphia Rountree Woodard. She was educated at the Wilson Collegiate Institute and attended Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia. == Public life ==

Aycock became First Lady of North Carolina upon her husband's election as governor. She was dressed in a lavish gown from the House of Worth in Paris for the inauguration ball. Upon moving into the North Carolina Executive Mansion in 1901, Aycock found that the governor's annual salary of $3,000 was not enough to cover the elaborate entertaining expected from a first lady. She spent her time at the mansion cutting costs and budgeting for social events. Instead of extravagant dinners and balls, Aycock hosted small dinners for friends and colleagues. She refused to undertake many large events at the mansion for lack of funding. Aycock maintained a low profile while acting as first lady, and focused much of her attention toward raising her children and stepchildren and keeping house at the mansion. She was an accomplished musician and instructed her children in piano, as well as playing at the house for guests. While her husband was a vocal Democrat and outspoken white supremacist and segregationist, she was known to be rather apolitical. Despite her lack of interest in politics, she encouraged her husband's interest in education and supported his reforms for public schools. In the 1930s, Aycock was appointed as president of the North Carolina Railroad Company by Governor John C. B. Ehringhaus. == Personal life ==

Cora Lily Woodard married Charles Brantley Aycock, an attorney, on January 7, 1891. She became the stepmother of her sister's three children, Ernest Aycock, Charles Brantley Aycock Jr., and Alice Varina Aycock. The Aycock family was of modest means and they left public office in debt, largely in part because of personal expenses associated with being the state's first family. in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her funeral, held at her daughter's house in Lakewood Gardens, was officiated by a minister from Pullen Memorial Baptist Church. Aycock was buried beside her husband in Historic Oakwood Cemetery. == References ==