Elizabeth Delia Dixon-Carroll

Elizabeth Delia Dixon was born in Shelby, North Carolina, to Thomas Dixon Sr., a Baptist preacher, and Amanda McAfee Dixon.[2] Her four surviving siblings included author and white supremacist Thomas Dixon Jr. and pastor and evangelist A. C. Dixon.

After attending public school in her hometown of Shelby, Dixon attended Cornell University. This was followed by graduate work at Women's Medical College, from which she graduated first in her class in 1895.[1]

Following her graduation, Dixon met Dr. Norwood G. Carroll, a dentist; both began practicing in Raleigh. They were married in approximately 1900; the couple had no children.[1]

Dixon-Carroll, now using the hyphenated last name by which she would be best known, became a physician of Meredith College upon its 1899 opening. She remained in this position until her death. One of her most celebrated achievements was guiding Meredith through the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918–19 without a single student dying of the disease.[1]

Dixon-Carroll was a leading figure in the women's suffrage movement in North Carolina. She helped found both the Raleigh Women's Club and the North Carolina State Federation of Women's Clubs, serving as the first president of each; directed the Samarcand Manor State Industrial Training School for Girls upon its opening; and was a regular speaker at state suffrage conventions.[2]

On May 15, 1934, Dixon-Carroll was involved in a serious automobile accident. She died in Rex Hospital in Raleigh the next day, May 16, 1934. She was survived by her husband, who lived until 1942.[1]

Dixon-Carroll left a complex legacy. Her work as a pioneering female physician and suffrage advocate is tempered by her white supremacist views; in 1920, she wrote, "Not only would women suffrage give white control in [Southern] states a more permanent footing than now, but white supremacy will continue to grow, since the increase of white population is more rapid than the increase of colored population."[1]

Her leadership of Samarcand Manor was also controversial, as allegations of squalor and abuse dogged the institution in the 1930s; Dixon-Carroll publicly dismissed the allegations despite their being verified by investigation.[1]