Harriett Newell Espy Vance (1832–1878) was an American heiress and letter writer who twice served as the first lady of North Carolina.

[1] She was raised by her uncle, Brigadier General Charles McDowell, at Quaker Meadows, his plantation in Burke County, North Carolina.

[7] Her husband served as Governor of North Carolina under the Confederacy during the American Civil War, making her the first lady.

[9] Her husband was arrested by the Union Army and taken under guard to Washington, D.C., leaving her to raise the children alone.

[9] In October 1878, the Vance family moved into a house, formerly the home of Kemp P. Battle, on Fayetteville Street in Raleigh.