Elizabeth Henderson Cotten

Elizabeth Brownrigg "Bessie" Henderson Cotten (August 4, 1875 – February 3, 1975) was an American librarian, socialite, philanthropist, and women's rights activist. She served as the first curator of the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Cotten was an active member of the Democratic Party and campaigned for Al Smith during the 1928 United States presidential election. She was a member of the League of Women Voters, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Early life and family Cotten was born Elizabeth Brownrigg Henderson on August 4, 1875, in Salisbury, North Carolina, to Congressman John Steele Henderson and Elizabeth Brownrigg Cain Henderson. Her brother was the mathematician Archibald Henderson and her sister was the suffragist Mary Ferrand Henderson. From 1935 to 1939, she served as production supervisor of the Works Progress Administration and later authored John Paul Jones-Willie Jones Tradition and co-edited Old Homes and Gardens of North Carolina. They had two sons, Lyman Atkinson Cotten Jr. and John Henderson Cotten. During this time, Cotten was presented at royal courts in Europe and entertained foreign dignitaries, military leaders, and missionaries.

Following her husband's death in 1926, Cotten moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Shed died in Chapel Hill on February 3, 1975, and her funeral was held the following day at Chapel of the Cross. She was buried next to her husband in Arlington National Cemetery.