The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1905-08-03
Daughters Of the Confod0racy.
A Brief History of the Organization
and Work in Henderson.
BY MRS. ". s. PARKER.

that SO touches the great Southern
heart as does that of the United
Daughters OF the Confederacy.
Its founder, Mrs. NJ. G. Goodlett, OF
Nashville, Tenn, impoverished her
self in helping needy Confederate sol
diers.
Prior to 1892 the patriotic women
of the South worked through the va
rious Memorial Associations without
any concerted plan OF action as to
States, and it was during this year
that the first State Division OF the
[. D. c. THAT of Tennessee) was
formed.
In the following years, a network
of the order spread itself over the en-
tire South, extending into several OF
the Western and Northern States.
The North Carolina Division was Or
gained April 2Sth, 1897, Mrs. VIM.
Parsley, of Wilmington, president.
These State Divisions were sub-dl-
vided into chapters.
The Vance County Chapter 1.-THE
fifth in the State) was chartered Oct.
18th, 1897, with membership OF
twenty.
The roster of presidents up to the
present has been as follows:
1S97-19OO-Mrs. W. S. Parker.
19OO-19O1-Mrs.M Maria Parham.
9O1-19O3-Mrs c. NJ Cooper.
19O3-Mrs. E. G. Davis.
19O4-19O5-Mrs. W. B. Shaw.
The members of the Vance County
Chapter have always held important
positions in the North Carolina Di-
vision of the L. ID. C. The late Mrs.
Maria Parham was for four years,
Registrar OF the State Division. She
did splendid work during this period,
devOting almost her entire time to
the order She was also historian of
the Vance County Chapter, and her
gifted pen has enshrined many inter
esting bits of Confederate history in
matchless English
The little history that belongs to
the Vance County Chapter would be
an addition to any literature. Other
members of the Chapter have been
also of invaluable assistance in the
State work
Mrs. W. O. Shannon, Mrs. Hill Par
ham and Mrs. W. S. Parker have
served as chairman, and Mrs. j. Il.
Alderman, Mrs. E. G. Davis, Mrs. c.
NJ. Cooper, Mrs T. r. Manning, Mrs.
Nj. Parham. Mrs.T. NJ. Pittman, Mrs.
W. II. S. Burgwyn, Mrs. Henry Perry,
Mrs. F. R. Harris and possibly Others,
have served as members of some OF
the most important State commit
tees.
In 1897 Mrs. Parker served as one
of the State vice presidents and again
in 1904 and 1905. Since its organ
ization the Chapter has doubled in
numbers and every member is de-
| voted to the work. In the death of
| Mrs. Maria Parham and Mrs. E. g.
| Davis, our Chapter sustained a great
loss.
The first charity undertaken was
that of sending an old soldier with
cancer to Johns Hopkins for treat
ment. Later, boxes of clothing and
money were sent to the Soldiers
| Home A beautiful curbing of stone
placed around the soldiers square in
| the cemetery room furnished in the
Soldiers Home and one of the largest
contributions to the Davis MOnu-
ment came from this Chapter. This
is only part of the splendid work
accomplished.
In 1899 the two CHAPTERS, the
Vance County and the W. A. Gloss
entertained the State convention.
The W. A. Gloss Chapter was organ
lied by Mrs. Hill Parham, December
10Th, 1899. Mrs. Parham, Miss
Leah Perry Miss Magdalene Lands
and Others have served on some of
the State committees. The
work of this Chapter has been done
in memory of Lieut.. W. A. Gloss, one
OF the ten thousand school boys that
North Carolina gave to the Confed-
eracy. Lieut.. Gloss spent his life for
his country. and "greater love hath
no man than this, that he lay down
his life for his friend"
This Chapter, when possible, has
contributed to various worthy OBJ
jects. Especially has it given aid
time and again to the Soldiers Home
and not single home charity that
has come within its knowledge but
that it has been it's especial care.
Sometimes it has been sick and
dying soldier, sometimes the con-
sumptive daughter, or perhaps the
widow of an old soldier that has been
sought out and aided, and it has ever
been a labor of love-
At a recent entertainment money
was raised to remove an old soldier
from the paupers' to the soldiers
square, there to sleep his last long,
sleep. Every member of this Chap
ter has the interest of the work deep
ly at heart. Such is the work of the
[. DC.
1t has at times been said that 1.-THE
war between the States is over, then
why not let the dead past bury it's
dead? Why keep alive sectional feel
ing and strife with such an order as
the L. d. C?'' The object of this So
ciety has never been to engender I'M
kind feeling between the North and
the South. Long ago we arose
Ph9nlx-llke from amid the dead
ashes of our shattered hopes. old
wounds have been healed, old losses
forgotten and old prosperity re-
gained. and we cherish Ionly kindly
feeling for the North, but so long as
there remains one old Confederate
soldier there is work to do.
| When the last Of these battle-scar-
red veterans shall have passed away,
there will still remain a dutv-that
=, = teaching coming generations the
. lth of history and the vindication
g. noble race.
"A land without memories is a land without
| history
And ours is
| land with grave in each spot.
And names in the graves that shall not he
forgot