RALEIGH — The 95th annual North Carolina Debutante Ball was held June 4 at Carolina Country Club in Raleigh. The event, sponsored by the Terpsichorean Club, was delayed due to COVID restrictions that prevented large gatherings during 2020 and 2021. The Ball is traditionally held in early September. The 2022 Ball will return to that traditional date.
The Terpsichorean Club is comprised of young gentlemen from the Raleigh area and was formed in the 1920s to sponsor the annual statewide Debutante Ball to present many of North Carolina’s prominent young ladies and to honor their families. The Ball was held every year since 1923 — with the exception of the World War II years — until it was interrupted by COVID.
Young ladies are selected by more than 200 nominators from across the state. The final selection of the Debutantes is made by the Terpsichorean Club members. The invitations are extended to the young ladies in recognition of the contributions their families have made to the economic, cultural, social and civic life of North Carolina. The Leader of the Ball is chosen from Wake County’s Debutantes and other young ladies from throughout the state are also honored by being named Assistant Leaders.
This year’s Leader was Frances Belle Williams of Raleigh, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joel Thomas Cheatham Williams. The Assistant Leaders were: Miller Elizabeth Andrews of Snow Hill, daughter of Mr. Roland Brent Andrews and Mrs. Susan Miller Andrews; Virginia Katherine Logan Eagles of Wilson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Logan Eagles; Carolyn Pierson Fuller of Winston-Salem, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Wood Fuller III; Elizabeth Hewitt Johnson of Smithfield, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Scott Norris Johnson; Anna Ruth Morrison of Concord, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Holt Morrison, Jr.; Elizabeth Weaver Poole of Charlotte, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walker Lynch Poole; Elizabeth Trevey Ragsdale of Jamestown, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Gannaway Ragsdale IV; Margaret Murchison Sprunt of Wilmington, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Harriss Sprunt; Ashley Clayton White of Manteo, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brian William White; and Sara McFarland Wood of Shelby, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Thomas Wood.
During the Ball weekend several events were held in honor of the Debutantes, their families and their escorts. A father-daughter luncheon was held at the Angus Barn. The focal point of the weekend was the presentation of the debutantes on a grand runway on the tent-covered front lawn of the Carolina Country Club. Surry Cowper Wood served as chairman of the Ball. Christopher Lee Woody II is the current president of the Terpsichorean Club and Carolina Hampton Williams Hofer served as chairman of the Girls’ Committee.
Officers of the Terpsichorean Club, in addition to Woody, are John Frederick Nash, Jr., Vice-President, Isaac Alexander Brown, Secretary-Treasurer, and John Dailey Lyon III, Assistant Secretary-Treasurer.
This year’s debutante class included 176 women from as far west as Asheville and east as Manteo. The 2021 North Carolina Debutantes are:
Tucker Blair Adkins, Raleigh
Kennedy Deaton Andrews, Siler City
Miller Elizabeth Andrews, Snow Hill*
Corina Jain Argiry, Raleigh
Mary Madeline Arrington, Pinehurst
Anne Doolan Asbill, Raleigh
Annabelle Gray Averette, Farmville
Lauren Bryant Baddour, Chapel Hill
Sarah Brooke Baker, Raleigh
Julia Estelle Barefoot, Charlotte
Lilly Virginia Barrow, Raleigh
Ellison Ruth Beaver, High Point
Helen Reynolds Berry, Greenville
Anne Hunter Blake, Raleigh
Mary Margaret Bromhal, Raleigh
Leslie Grace Brooks, Raleigh
Charlotte Winborne Broughton, Winston-Salem
Elizabeth Spotswood Broughton, Winston-Salem
Carson Ellen Browder, Rocky Mount
Hannah Elle Brown, Wilson
Anna Grace Call, Raleigh
Ella Lee Carr, Raleigh
Lila Maria Casey, Raleigh
Hannah Scott Chamblee, Greenville
Frances Elizabeth Coleman, Wilmington
Kendall Taylor Conger, Raleigh
Alice Carter Connor, Raleigh
Nancy Stewart Cornelius, Greensboro
Eloise Farnell Cowan, Greensboro
Mary Wesley Craft, Farmville
Margaret Grace Crone, Raleigh
Kennedy Blaylock Dean, Winston-Salem
Payton Leigh Dean, Winston-Salem
Madelynne Winsloe Deaner, Wake Forest
Anne Carter Dehnert, Greensboro
Caroline Ballard Dixon, Southern Shores
Henrietta Rand Dunnigan, Raleigh
Jane Randolph Durden, Charlotte
Zoe Alexandra Durland, Raleigh
Catherine Summerlin Eagles, Goldsboro
Virginia Katherine Logan Eagles, Wilson*
Edie Lenoir Echols, Warrenton
Isabella Reeves Faison, Clinton
Claire Wakefield Feeney, Raleigh
Carolyn Pierson Fuller, Winston-Salem*
Elizabeth Warren Gilchrist, Raleigh
Elizabeth Bowen Gordon, Charlotte
Katherine May Grant, Burlington
Elizabeth Emerson Gravely, Greensboro
Elizabeth Forbes Greene, Greenville
Catherine Reynolds Grice, Wilmington
Grace Batson Haile, Raleigh
Elizabeth Haddon Hartzog, Raleigh
Hannah O’Reilly Harvey, Raleigh
Charlotte Kincaid Harwell, Gastonia
Claire Marie Healy, Southern Pines
Sydney Hannah Herschelman, Raleigh
Allison Rose Hiersteiner, Winston-Salem
Amelia Claire Holdstock, Raleigh
Lilly Catherine Holt, Fayetteville
Anne Houston Crenshaw Huffman, Raleigh
Linden Smith Hundley, Wilmington
Anne Grayson Jeffreys, Goldsboro
Jane Alexander Jeffreys, Goldsboro
Caroline Elizabeth Johnson, Raleigh
Elizabeth Hewitt Johnson, Smithfield*
Margaret Ivy Johnston, Raleigh
Martha Luck Johnston, Raleigh
Ella Tyler Jones, Greenville
Gwyn Katherine Jones, Raleigh
Emily Matteson Keenhold, New Bern
Hannah Ferguson Keller, Sanford
Isabel Pearce Kempson, Raleigh
Elizabeth Parris Kerr, Raleigh
Deborah Hall Kitchin, Scotland Neck
Lynn Riley Kluttz, Winston-Salem
Elizabeth Danielle Lamm, Wilson
Lilly Hastings Lancaster, Wilmington
Caroline Elizabeth Landry, Pinehurst
Elizabeth Holt Langston, Raleigh
Mia Kleberg Larkin, Charlotte
Madeline Katherine Lee, Raleigh
May Parker Leutze, Raleigh
Anna Adger Lewis, Raleigh
Pearce Elizabeth Lewis, Wilmington
Brighton Ashley Lindsay, Raleigh
Laura Katherine Lindstrom, Wilmington
Avery Alexandra Love, Greensboro
Emma Katherine Lyon, Raleigh
Mary McKinley Lyons, Raleigh
Megan McBane Mahoney, Raleigh
Ann-Wallis Cox Mancuso, Morehead City
Emily Chris Manning, Washington
Matilda Mills Marlowe, Raleigh
Lindsay Anne McCall, Raleigh
Elizabeth Carr Montague, Raleigh
Catherine Sinclair Moorman, Raleigh
Katherine Perry Morgan, Wilmington
Anna Katherine Morris, New Bern
Madeleine May Morris, Raleigh
Mary Elizabeth Morris, Hookerton
Anna Ruth Morrison, Concord*
Anna Charles Mudge, Morehead City
Eliza Douglas Myers, Rocky Mount
Claire Daniels Nemeth, Raleigh
Eleanor Louise Nordeen, Wilmington
Jacqueline Allsbrook Norsworthy, Rocky Mount
Margaret Ellison Painter, Raleigh
Grace Meredith Palmer, Raleigh
Corinna Bailey Parker, Raleigh
Mary Grace Parrish, Raleigh
Mary Livingston Peatross, Raleigh
Gray Bailey Perry, Washington
Reagan Elizabeth Perry, Kinston
Catherine Wynn Pickett, Raleigh
Elizabeth Weaver Poole, Charlotte*
Clara Linton Pope, Greensboro
Claibourne Anne Porter, Greensboro
Grace Leigh Powell, Raleigh
Abigail Jane Pugh, Raleigh
Elizabeth Trevey Ragsdale, Jamestown*
Ashley Caroline Rhoades, Winston-Salem
Hannah Caroline Riley, Clayton
Lindsey Katherine Rittenmeyer, Raleigh
Anne-Hunter Collins Roane, Raleigh
Sophia Anne Roberts, Raleigh
Grayson Claire Rosser, High Point
Mary Charles Evans Rouse, Matthews
Elizabeth Hall Rucker, Greensboro
Lane Garrett Russell, Raleigh
Sara Mosby Sandridge, Raleigh
Anne Pemberton Schaefer, Fayetteville
Lillian Elizabeth Seck, Raleigh
Emily Merrick Semans, Winston-Salem
Mary Crawford Smallwood, Belmont
Caroline Wallace Smith, Raleigh
Elizabeth Tremont Smith, Raleigh
Sarah Suhrstedt Smith, Greensboro
Anna Carlyle Johnson Spears, Wilmington
Sydney Proctor Spoor, Raleigh
Anne Dixon Sprock, Charlotte
Margaret Murchison Sprunt, Wilmington*
Mason Anne Starling, Morehead City
Mary Martha Stokes, Raleigh
Anniston Marie Stovall, Roxboro
Martha Louise Wilson Stowe, Raleigh
Nancie Elizabeth Sylvester, Emerald Isle
Nelie Tahssili, Raleigh
Charlotte Sue Jett Taylor, Raleigh
Rachel Allen Thomas, Wilson
Augusta Ramsaur Trask, Wilmington
Caroline Christian Ullrich, Charlotte
Sydney Stratton Vermillion, Durham
Isabella Katherine Voos, Greenville
Laura Payton Walker, Charlotte
Margaret Staton Ward, Burlington
Adair Pittman Warner, Raleigh
Lillian James Warner, Kinston
Riley Caroline Watkins, Raleigh
Maida Catherine Watson, Raleigh
Leslie Forbes Weaver, Winston-Salem
Elizabeth Ann Weil, Raleigh
Anna Dahne White, Wilmington
Ashley Clayton White, Manteo*
Sara Grace White, Asheville
Mary Thomas Whittaker, Charlotte
Camilla Celeste Wilkerson, Greenville
Eleanor Davis Williams, Charlotte
Frances Belle Williams, Raleigh**
Mariana Thorp Winston, Emerald Isle
Mary Cathryn Wolfert, Winston-Salem
Sara McFarland Wood, Shelby*
Kennedy Jane Wordsworth, Raleigh
Hallie Andrews Worth, Raleigh
Margaret Ogburn Wright, Eden
Rachel Parker Zinn, Chapel Hill
