Louisa Moore Holt

Louise Matilda Moore Holt (October 15, 1833 – December 9, 1899), also known as Louisa Holt, was an American political hostess who, as the wife of Thomas Michael Holt, served as the Second Lady of North Carolina from 1889 to 1891 and as the First Lady of North Carolina from 1891 to 1893. Early life, marriage, and family Holt was born Louise Matilda Moore on October 15, 1833, in Caswell County to Samuel Holt, a wealthy planter, and his wife, Mary A. Bethel Holt. Her parents, who were from Rockingham County, owned Mount Pleasant Plantation. On October 17, 1855, she married Thomas Michael Holt, a wealthy industrialist, in a ceremony held at her family's plantation. The couple first resided at Lindwood Plantation, the Holt family's estate in Davidson County. They later moved to Haw River, where her husband owned textile mills. The Holts built a large, ornate mansion on their estate that had seven bedrooms, two bathrooms, a connected kitchen, and numerous outbuildings. Their estate included more than four-hundred acres of land which included a lawn, vegetable gardens, forests, and orchards. Holt gave birth to six children: Alice Linwood Holt in 1856, Charles Thomas Holt in 1858, Cora May Holt in 1859, Louisa "Daisy" Moore in 1861, Ella Moore Holt in 1862, and Thomas Michael Holt Jr. in 1871.