Clelia Peronneau McGowan (1865-1956) of Charleston was a pioneer woman suffragist in South Carolina. After the 19th Amendment was passed giving women the right to vote, she became the first woman public officeholder in the state when Governor Robert A. Cooper appointed her to the State Board of Education. In 1923, she ran for election to the Charleston City Council on a ticket supporting Thomas P. Stoney for mayor, and was elected as Charleston's first city councilwoman. In 1955, at the age of 90, she was still an active member of the Charleston Housing Authority.
Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.
