Wayne County, NC - Heritage Series Reprinted with permission of the Mount Olive Tribune and cannot be reproduced without permission. Transcribed by Barbara Kawamoto. The James Kenan UDC "Our Heritage" By Claude Moore On Saturday, December 14, I spoke at a luncheon of the James Kenan Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy at Josef’s near Kenansville. It was an appropriate setting with elegant food and service which brought back memories of the Old South. The subject of my talk was the Sampson County Camp of Sons of Confederate Veterans. This occasion prompted me to write about this organization in Duplin, but all are now inactive except this one. The James Kenan Chapter was organized and chartered on December 9, 1901, with 33 charter members. It was named for Captain James Kenan, who was an officer in the 43rd N. C. Regiment along with his two brothers, Thomas and William Rand Kenan. They were sons of the Honorable Owen Rand Kenan (1804-1887), a member of the Confederate Congress and the builder of Liberty Hall. The first president was Mrs. William L. Hill (Mary Lou Brown of Clinton) of Warsaw, whose husband’s sister, Annie Elizabeth Hill was the wife of Captain James Kenan. Mrs. Hill served as president for 21 years. All the charter members are now deceased, but the present membership is around 35. The later presidents who have served are: Mrs. L. P. Best, Mrs. J. W. Farrior, Mrs. R. E. Wall, Mrs. J. S. Fleming, Mrs. R. C. Pridgen, Mrs. Earl Best, Mrs. John M. Peirce, Mrs. Henry L. Stevens, Jr., Mrs. L. S. Huie, Mrs. Paul Potter, Mrs. N. B. Boney and Mrs. Robert L. West (1970), Mrs. Fred J. Barrs, Mrs. Hugh Wells, Mrs. Woodrow Blackburn, Mrs. Lucy Graham, Mrs. R. T. Holland, Mrs. Celestial Colwell, Mrs. W. M. Ingram, Mrs. Marian Jeski, and the present president is Mrs. Bettie Howell Arthur of Rocky Mount, but formerly of Garland. On all occasions the U.D.C. gives the pledge of allegiance to the United States flag, and I salute the Confederate flag. The Sons of Confederate Veterans follow the same custom in their ritual. The principal objectives of the United Daughters of the Confederacy are: to honor the memory of those who served in the military services of the Confederate States; to preserve the true history of the War Between the States and to remind descendants of the heroic deeds of their Confederate forebears; and to instill principles of patriotism in the coming generations. The U.D.C. provides a number of scholarships for descendants of Confederate Veterans. They now award military crosses of honor to veterans of the recent wars who are lineal descendants of a Confederate veteran. The local chapters often promote historical programs in schools and send gifts to the Veteran’s hospitals. The local chapters usually have some kind of patriotic program on Confederate Memorial Day, which is May 10 in North Carolina, the day on which General Stonewall Jackson died. The James Kenan Chapter has three real daughters of Confederate Veterans; Mrs. Ruby Ange, Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson McLamb, and Mrs. Hortense Honecutt Hunter. The National U.D.C. publishes an excellent magazine, which carries fine articles on Confederate history. The present President-General of the United Daughters of the Confederacy is Mrs. Frank S. Leake, Jr., of Fountain Inn, South Carolina. Any lady who is either lineally or collaterally descended from a Confederate Veteran or from a high-ranking civil officer may present an application for membership. Then it must be approved by the local chapter. The qualification for membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans is the same except it is exclusively for men. ============================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Barbara Kawamoto ==============================================================