Among the earliest women registering to vote in Mathews in the fall of 1920 was Emma Lee Smith White, wife of Dr. C. C. White. Five years later, she set her ambitions higher, attempting to win the Democratic nomination for the local seat in the House of Delegates. White lost that primary but tried again in 1929, winning the nomination and subsequent election to the General Assembly. She represented Gloucester and Mathews counties for a pair of two-year terms, losing the nomination in 1933 and in two subsequent tries during the 1930s. Off and on for the remaining years of her life … she died in 1983 after living a century … White announced for local or state office, sometimes running and losing, sometimes withdrawing, and not serving again. The Dictionary of Virginia Biography, published by the Library of Virginia, states that White was the only woman in the General Assembly in the 1930 session. Bills introduced dealt with boundaries of oyster grounds, water pollution, regulations of ha...