The Weston Democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1875-current, 1879-11-22
"The Three Sisters oftho South,'

Since there has been much dis
cussion in print about the will OF
the late Mrs. Dorsey, Of Mississippi,
making 50 large . bequest to JEFF
fcrson Davis, | think your readers
may be interested TO hear more Of
the donors family and their ..cc-
ccntricitics. | have known and
now l know several members oE
this very talented family, whose
talent in two or thrco instances
have been mis,lircctcd by IN orratic
tendency, which was skillfully
portrayed. by one ofthc family, Mrs.
Warticld, in the we'll known novel,
"The Household of Bouverio." !
rns assured by ono Of the family
not long after tho novel appeared
that, strange as its characters seem,
the story was really founded on a
family history, and that Mrs. War
fields father, tho grandfather of the
recently deceased Mrs. Dorsey, was
tho eccentric old man Of tho story.
It is easy to see how thinly "Beau-
voir," tho name OF tho family resi-
dencc, is disguised in "Bouverio.'
There were three Misses Pcrcy,who
were, many years ago, greatly adj
mired bellies in Mississippi, and
who also had literary tastes. They
published their poetry jointly as
the production Of tho "'rhree Sis
tcrs of the South" as nearly as
can remember tho wording of the
title US repeated to me, for | never
saw one Of the volumes. One sis.
ter became first Mrs. Ellis 1.-THE
mother of Mrs. Dorsey and of Mr..
Percy Ellis, of Brooklyn, and Mrs.
Inez Perkham, OF louisiana, and
subsequently married General
Charles Dahlgren, who was tho
brother Of the late Rear Admiral
Dahlgren. She also had other
children than those named. Anoth-
cr sister became Mrs. Wariield, to
whose novel I hayo alluded. Sho
died two or three years ago at her
country place near Louisville, ken-
lucky.
The third sister, though whether
the Youngest or not cannot say,
was so fully persuaded Of her pow
ers Of conquest rs to declare sho
would never marry until sho had
refused one hundred offers, and l
have been assured she kept her
word. She declined that number,
but must have had at least a sem
.iment in favor Of Number 100, for
| have been informed that she al
ways kept his portrait hanging
over her bed oven after marriage 10
Number l0l, which must have
been q comfort to the latter.
think Number 100 diedyoung, and
before Miss Percy had her roman.
tic meeting with her fate. That
rencounter occurred after the FASH
ion so favored in novels. The fair
picrccr of tho ono hundred hearts
rode forth on her spirited steed
alone one day from her fathers
plantation, near Jackson, Misssis-
sippi. Her horse became unman-
aCeablo when she was urging him
to cross 4 bayou, and forthwith n
hero in the shape OF solitary
horseman" appeared 10 rescue the
maid, and rode beside her after the
horse became disobcdient to his
mistress. The stranger gave a
good account of himself, and being
4 handsome man made such good
use Of his time that the courtship
began before they reached her
fathcrs's house. lie was invited
to he guest there, and honorably
confessed that he was too poor to
ask Miss Percy to we'd him. But
she said she had enough for both,
and her father gave them his bless
ing and u plantation near Green
vile, Mississippi, whore they re.
sided after Miss Percy welded
Major Lee for that was tho nane Of
the ono hundred and first who
sought her hand. fused to know
two of the children of this mar
riagc. One, Kate, married, about
the time the war broke out, South
Carolinian, who became colonel OF
OF a calvary regiment Of the Con-
federacy. His wife,..as spirited an
equestrienne as her mother, used
to ridc beside her husband when
his regiment was marching. Her
mother Mrs. Lee, died long before
the war. | attended, as a school
girl in Louisville, the second wed.
ding of Major Lee, who was then
married to Miss Emma Knight, o
woll-known bello of that city.
Both arc now dead, but left chill
dren.-Niss Grandy in the Phila'tsI-
phia Times.