February 2015 Newsletter

 

February 2015

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!

Happy Birthday!!

Louise English Lisa English Terri Tompkins Martha Bynum Julia Phifer

Mar. 3 Mar. 8 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 24

‘Yal Come!!!

Our February program will be on Caring for our 4 Legged Friends. After the meeting we will fellowship with a good meal at the Rose Hill Resturant.

In the yearbook there was a date wrong for our April meeting. We changed it at our Nov. meeting to April 21, 2015 which is the third Tuesday. This was agreed by the chapter.

A Quote:

“Over the 12 years between the end of the French and Indian War and the outbreak of fighting at Lexington and Concord, the colonists clarified their beliefs and articulated them in language that was meant to build a broad base of support for opposition to the authority of the king, .... It took nothing less than a year of civil war to convince most colonists that they were in fact not Britons, but Americans.” ---- Fred Anderson

Indian Minute....A Chief that may be new to you.

Ouray ---- A chief of the Ute Indians, [he was] noted for his friendship with the whites.

Ouray was born in Colorado in 1920, and after he became chief of his tribe, he always kept faith

with the white man.
------Grant, Bruce, A concise Encyclopedia of the American Indian, Wings Books, Avenel, N.J., 1994, p.231

You’re invited.....

The Sons of the American Revolution have invited us to a Grave Marking for Lt. David Williams (the Goldsboro Chapter’s Namesake). This will be taking place January 24, 2015 at
2 p.m. in the Rockfish Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Wallace.

Flag Note...

FLAG PRESENTATION
Presentation of the Flag should be preceded by a brief talk

emphasizing the importance of the occasion. The following is suggested: “May the Flag that is being presented to you always be displayed

proudly.
“Guard and respect this Flag at all times, for it is the symbol of

every high ideal in the American way of life.
“The red in our nation’s Flag is made more brilliant by the heroism

and sacrifices of our brave defenders; the white more stainlessly pure because of the motives which impelled them; and the blue in the starry field of our banner is made more beautiful by the loyalty and unity of all our peoples – for liberty and justice.”

Following the presentation all present should salute the Flag, recite the pledge of allegiance and sing the national anthem.

Volunteer Services..... may include participation in activities such as Meals-on-Wheels, tutoring, monitoring tests at schools, driving neighbors to appointments,

community fund raisers (example...fire dept., etc.). Turn in hours by or before December meeting. You can submit your hours yourself but if you are uncomfortable with doing this I will be glad to do it for you, all I ask is to be given these hours all along so it will not be last minute thing.

Patriot Ancestors...

You may give your written patriot ancestor reports to Winifred Jenkins. We need to keep these on file. A possible use may be to include them in an anniversary celebration. Some of us only have a sentence or two and others may have much more.

Ancestral Tidbit...... Isiah Warren

Isiah Warren, Private, N.C. Militia. Isiah Warren was born 1749 in Johnston County, N.C., the son of Richard Warren.

The North Carolina standard published at Raleigh, N.C. carried the following obituary in the 13 Sept 1848 issue “In Sampson County, on the 11th, Mr Isiah Warren, a soldier of the Revolution in the 99th year of his age.”

Early land deeds from his father Richard show that he was living in Sampson County as early as 1793. He is said to have married three wives. The first, Susanna Wood, the mother of Richard and Needham. For the 2nd wife, Isaiah went to Wilmington, NC, to meet his bride Nancy McAlphin. Their known children were 1- Needham born 1773 who married twice, 1st to Rebecca Daughtry and 2nd to Fanny Holt. 2- Richard was born 1775 and married 1st to Polly Turley and 2nd to Minty Weeks. 3- Phereby born 1777 who married Duncan C. McPhail. 4- Blake (1778- 1848) who married Nancy Weeks. 5- Nancy born 1787 who married Wm. I. Jackson. 6- Mary born 1790 who married Thomas Williford. 7- Wright born 1797 who married Rachel ________. 8- Handy born 1800 who married Mary “Polly” Weeks. And 9- Isaiah Jr. born 1810 who married Elizabeth _________.

A stone marker along US Highway 421 near Herring’s old school honors the memory of Isaiah Sr. by a multitude of descendants

Those that used Isiah Warren as their patriot were: Elizabeth Warren Hepler and Elizabeth Hepler Harvell.

Conservation......

"Conservation is the preservation, protection, and restoration of the natural environment, natural resources, natural ecosystems, vegetation, and wildlife; the preservation, repair, and prevention of deterioration of archaeological sites and artifacts; the prevention of excessive or wasteful use of a resource." ~ Oxford Dictionary

Did you know?....

General Willaim T. Sherman and his ravenous troops left behind one chicken after besieging Raleigh in 1865 --- and you can still see it today! It’s a brass chicken, atop the weather vane on the roof of Christ Episcopal Church, downtown.

Helping another chapter with a project:

I received the following email asking us for help with a project. They are planning to mark the grave of a James Gillespie in Washington. They have a member that used him as a Patriot. Mr. Gillespie was originally from Duplin County and a member of Congress. If you would like to help let me know either by email (wjenkins1@embarqmail.com) or phone (910) 285-2153.

HI,
I am the Regent of Stamp Defiance Chapter. We are investigating the

possibility of marking the grave of a NC patriot who is buried in Washington, DC this summer while at Congress. His name is James Gillespie. He is from Duplin county. We have one member who is a descendant of Mr. Gillespie
and don't know if anyone in your chapters also has him as a patriot. He is /buried in the Congressional Cemetery and I have some information about him * at the end of this email.

I am writing you to find out if you would be willing be a part of this marking, financially and/or supportively with us. I am waiting to find out
what type of marker we are allowed to place on the tombstone and if we are actually allowed to do so. The type of marker will determine the price.
We know that it can run up to $450 for the marker. If we can attach it to
the tombstone it will be less. We are still in the planning stage but
wanted to know if we had any other chapter that would want to partner with us. If you need more information let me know. Jackie, Gwen has some information that she sent me from National.

I know that you will have to check with your boards and members but maybe you could give me an interest level. We have to get the paper work in because it takes up to 6 months to process everything.

Thanks,
Judy Caison

Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, 1921
Cenotpahs and Epitaphs in Congressional Cemetery, page 201
by Nelson McDowell Shepard
"James Gillespie, a member of Congress from North Carolina, is another whose Revolutionary service is noteworth. He died January 11, 1805, and his body was transferred from the old Presbyterian Cemetery in Washington and placed in Congressional Cemetery April 14, 1892, with appropriate honors. He was the last Congressman buried there."

BLACK WOMAN RISES TO LEADERSHIP IN

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN

REVOLUTION

By Donovan X. Ramsey (May 26, 2013) Internet: TheGrio

Allen-Craft(right) with, Gloria Williams, the only other African-American member of the Connecticut DAR, at their state conference in 2012. (Photo: Autier Allen-Craft)

In the month of May, Autier Allen-Craft was elected to the position of regent in the Norwalk-Village Green Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in Connecticut. Allen-Craft, a black woman, says the organization has come a long way since its years of controversy related to racial exclusion,

Allen-Craft rose up the ranks in the organization, serving as vice regent of her Connecticut chapter two years ago before being elected to her current, high-level position. Just a few decades prior, she began the search into her family tree that would eventually lead her to membership in DAR.

“I attended Benedict College in South Carolina and I while I was there I lived with my maternal grandmother,” Allen-Craft told theGrio. “I was always interested in why my older ancestors looked they way they did. They were very fair. So I began to ask her questions about who her parents were, and who her grandparents were, and she would tell me as far back as she could remember.”

Before long, Allen Craft’s curiosity led her to the South Carolina archives in Columbia.

An amazing ancestral discovery

After years of research, in about 1990, she stumbled upon records of her great-great- grandfather --- a white plantation owner, who was her third-great grandfather. She says after getting over the initial shock, she looked deeper into his ancestry and found that his grandfather, her fifth-grandfather, had fought in the American Revolution. “He was one of the few plantation owners that would claim his offspring with a black woman,” she said of her great-great grandfather. “Because of that, I’ve been able to trace back as far as I have.”

According to historical record, blacks played a significant role the American Revolution. One of the first “martyrs” of the American Revolution was Crispus Attucks, a man of African Descent who was killed in the Boston Massacre. Black Minutemen fought at the battles of Lexington and Concord as early as April 1775. And when Rhode Island needed soldiers, the state legislature passed a law in 1778 that said “every able-bodied Negro, mulatto, or Indian man- slave” could fight. An estimated 200 men enlisted with the promise of freedom as a reward.

The need for diversity in heritage organizations

Marvin-Alonzo Greer, an educator and historian at the Atlanta History Center, understands the winding path experienced by Allen-Craft. As the descendant of a Civil War soldier and member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War --- a fraternal order similar to DAR --- he believes the historic exclusion of people of color from such organizations is a byproduct of systemic racism and the “whitewashing” of American history.

“There were a little more than 5,000 blacks that fought for the colonies in the American Revolution, and on the British side there were many more,” Greer told theGrio. He calls the election of Allen-Craft “significant” because of DAR’s history of racism --- but says more should be done. “It’s a major step forward, but it hasn’t gone far enough. I think there should be more diversity in all of these organizations. They’re about teaching history and commemorating our ancestors. That’s important to all Americans.”

PRESIDENTS’ DAY

(from the Internet)

Presidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birthday” by the federal government. Traditionally celebrated on February 22 --- Washington’s actual day of birth --- the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.

PRESIDENTS’ DAY: ORIGIN AS WASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY

The story of Presidents’ Dar date begins in 1800. Following President George Washington’s death in 1799, his February 22 birthday became a perennial day of remembrance. At the time, Washington was venerated as the most important figure in American history, and events like the 1832 centennial of his birth and the start of construction of the Washington Monument in 1848 were cause for national celebration.

DID YOU KNOW?

President’s Day never falls on the actual birthday of any American President. Four chief executives---George Washington, William Henry Harrison, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan_ Were born in February, but their birthdays all come either too early or late to coincide with Presidents’ Day, which is always celebrated on the third Monday of the month.

While Washington’s Birthday was an unofficial observance for most of the 1800s, it was not until the late 1870s that it became a federal holiday. Senator Steven Wallace Dorsey of Arkansas was the first to propose the measure, and in 1879 President Rutherford B. Hayes signed it into law. The holiday initially only applied to the District of Columbia, but in 1885 it was expanded to the whole country. At the time, Washington’s Birthday joined four other nationally recognized federal bank holidays---Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Independence Day and Thanksgiving---and was the first to celebrate the life of an individual American. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, signed into law in 1983, would be the second.

PRESIDENTS’ DAY: THE UNIFORM MONDAY HOLIDAY ACT

The shift from Washington’s Birthday to Presidents’ Day began in the late 1960s when Congress proposed a measure known as the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. Championed by Senator Robert McClory of Illinois, this law sought to shift the celebration of several federal holidays from specific dates to a series of predetermined Mondays. The proposed change was seen by many as a novel way to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers, and it was believed that ensuring holidays always fell on the same weekday would reduce employee absenteeism. While some argued that shifting holidays from their original dates would cheapen their meaning, the bill also had widespread support from both the private sector and labor unions and was seen as a surefire way to bolster retail sales.

The Uniform Monday Holiday Act also included a provision to combine the celebration of Washington’s Birthday with Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday had long been a state holiday in places like Illinois, and many supported joining the two days as a way of giving equal recognition to two of America’s most famous statesmen.

McClory was among the measure’s major proponents, and he even floated the idea of renaming the holiday “President’s Day”. This proved to be a point of contention for lawmakers from George Washington’s home state of Virginia, and the proposal was eventually dropped. Nevertheless, the main piece of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed in 1968 and officially took effect in 1971 following an executive order from President Richard Nixon. Washington’s Birthday was then shifted from the fixed date of February 22 to the third Monday of February. Columbus Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day were also moved from their traditionally designated dates. (As a result of widespread criticism, in 1980 Veteran’s Day was returned to its original November 11 date.)

PRESIDENTS’ DAY: TRANSFORMATION

While Nixon’s order plainly called the newly placed holiday Washington’s Birthday, it was not long before the shift to Presidents’ Day began. The move away from February 22 led many to believe that the new date was intended to honor both Washington and Abraham Lincoln, as it now fell between their two birthdays. Marketers soon jumped at the opportunity to play up the three-day weekend with sales, and “Presidents’ Day” bargains were advertised at stores around the county.

By the mid-1980s Washington’s Birthday was known to many Americans as Presidents’ Day. This shift had solidified in the early 2000s, by which time as many as half the 50 states had changed the holiday’s name to Presidents’ Day on their calendars. Some states have even chosen to customize the holiday by adding new figures to the celebration. Arkansas, for instance, celebrates Washington as well as civil rights activist Daisy Gatson Bates. Alabama, meanwhile, uses Presidents’ Day to commemorate Washington and Thomas Jefferson (who was born in April).

Washington and Lincoln still remain the two most recognized leaders, but Presidents’ Day is now popularly seen as a day to recognize the lives and achievements of all America’s chief executives. Some lawmakers have objected to this view, arguing that grouping George Washington and Abraham Lincoln together with less successful presidents minimizes their legacies. Congressional measures to restore Washington and Lincoln’s individual birthdays were proposed during the early 2000s, but all failed to gain much attention. For its part, the federal government has held fast to the original incarnation of the holiday as a celebration of the country’s first president. The third Monday in February is still listed on official calendars as Washington’s Birthday.

PRESIDENTS’ DAY: CELEBRATIONS AND TRADITIONS

Like Independence Day, Presidents’ Day is traditionally viewed as a time of patriotic celebration and remembrance. In its original incarnation as Washington’s Birthday, the holiday gained special meaning during the difficulties of the Great Depression, when portraits of George Washington often graced the front pages of newspapers and magazines every February 22. In 1932 the date was used to reinstate the Purple Heart, a military decoration originally created by George Washington to honor soldiers killed or wounded while serving in the armed forces. Patriotic groups and the Boy Scouts of America also held celebrations on the day, and in 1938 some 5,000 people attended mass at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City in honor of Washington.

In its modern form, Presidents’ Day is used by many patriotic and historical groups as a date for staging celebrations, reenactments and other events. A number of states also require that their public schools spend the days leading up to Presidents’ Day teaching students about the accomplishments of the presidents, often with a focus on the lives of Washington and Lincoln.