# First Lady of West Virginia

The spouse of the Governor of West Virginia is given an honorary position, styled as First Lady or First Gentleman of the State of West Virginia. To date there have been no female governors of the State of West Virginia, and all first spouses have been first ladies.
The current first lady of West Virginia is Denise Morrisey, the wife of incumbent Governor Patrick Morrisey.

## Role

The position of the first lady is not an elected one, carries no official duties, and receives no salary. However, the first lady holds a highly visible position in state government. Since 1893, the role of the first lady includes serving the host of the West Virginia Governor's Mansion. She organizes and attends official ceremonies and functions of state either along with, or in place of, the governor. It is common for the governor's spouse to select specific, non-political, causes to promote.

## List

| | Name | Took office | Left office | Spouse | Notes |
| 1 | Laurane Tanner Bullock Boreman | 1864 | 1869 | Arthur I. Boreman | |
| 2 | Mary Ireland Farnsworth | 1869 | 1869 | Daniel D. T. Farnsworth | Served only five days in office as First Lady |
| 3 | Sarah Clotworthy Stevenson | 1869 | 1871 | William E. Stevenson | |
| 4 | Jane Baird Jacob | 1871 | 1877 | John J. Jacob | |
| 5 | Lucy Fry Mathews | 1877 | 1881 | Henry M. Mathews | |
| 6 | Maria Willard Jackson | 1881 | 1885 | Jacob B. Jackson | |
| 7 | Henrietta Cotton Wilson | 1885 | 1890 | Emanuel Willis Wilson | |
| 8 | Carrie Watson Fleming | 1890 | 1893 | Aretas B. Fleming | |
| 9 | Belle Goshorn MacCorkle | 1893 | 1897 | William A. MacCorkle | |
| 10 | Myra Horner Camden Atkinson | 1897 | 1901 | George W. Atkinson | |
| 11 | Agnes Ward White | 1901 | 1905 | Albert B. White | |
| 12 | Maude Brown Dawson | 1905 | 1909 | William M. O. Dawson | First governor's wife who was born in West Virginia after statehood |
| 13 | Mary Miller Glasscock | 1909 | 1913 | William E. Glasscock | |
| 14 | Carrie Bronson Hatfield | 1913 | 1917 | Henry D. Hatfield | |
| 15 | Edna Brady Cornwell | 1917 | 1921 | John J. Cornwell | |
| 16 | Alma Bennett Morgan | 1921 | 1925 | Ephraim F. Morgan | While in office, actively campaigned for women's suffrage in the United States |
| 17 | Roxie C. Bailey Gore | 1925 | 1928 | Howard Mason Gore | Died in 1907, years before husband's term in office |
| 18 | Bertie Ison Martin Conley | 1929 | 1933 | William G. Conley | |
| 19 | Edna Hall Scott Kump | 1933 | 1937 | Herman G. Kump | |
| 20 | Isabel Wood Holt | 1937 | 1941 | Homer A. Holt | |
| 21 | Alberta Ramage Neely | 1941 | 1945 | Matthew M. Neely | |
| 22 | Nancy Massie Meadows | 1945 | 1949 | Clarence W. Meadows | |
| 23 | Lee Hawse Patteson | 1949 | 1953 | Okey Patteson | Obtained a pilot's license while serving as First Lady |
| 24 | Valerie Allen Marland | 1953 | 1957 | William C. Marland | |
| 25 | Hovah Hall Underwood | 1957 | 1961 | Cecil H. Underwood | 25th and 33rd First Lady of West Virginia during husband's non-consecutive terms |
| 26 | Opal Wilcox Barron | 1961 | 1965 | William Wallace Barron | |
| 27 | Mary Alice Tieche Smith | 1965 | 1969 | Hulett C. Smith | |
| 28 | Shelley Riley Moore | 1969 | 1977 | Arch A. Moore Jr. | 28th and 30th First Lady of West Virginia during husband's non-consecutive terms. Mother of U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito |
| 29 | Sharon Percy Rockefeller | 1977 | 1985 | Jay Rockefeller | Later served as chief executive officer of WETA-TV in Washington, D.C., chairwoman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and chairperson of the National Gallery of Art |
| 30 | Shelley Riley Moore | 1985 | 1989 | Arch A. Moore Jr. | |
| 31 | Dee Caperton Kessel | 1989 | 1989 | Gaston Caperton | Divorced husband while in office. Also served as member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and ran for West Virginia State Treasurer in 1990 |
| 32 | Rachael Worby | 1990 | 1997 | Gaston Caperton | Married Governor Capterton while in office. Conductor who currently serves as the Artistic Director, Conductor and Founder of MUSE/IQUE |
| 33 | Hovah Hall Underwood | 1997 | 2001 | Cecil H. Underwood | |
| 34 | Sandra Casber Wise | | | Bob Wise | |
| 35 | Gayle Conelly Manchin | 2005 | 2010 | Joe Manchin | Served as President of the West Virginia Board of Education, West Virginia Secretary of Education and the Arts, and Federal Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission |
| 36 | Joanne Tomblin | 2011 | 2017 | Earl Ray Tomblin | |
| 37 | Cathy Justice | 2017 | 2025 | Jim Justice | |
| 38 | Denise Morrisey | 2025 | Incumbent | Patrick Morrisey | |