Chapter Attends 2013 District Meeting

Stonewall Jackson 667 hosted this year’s District meeting on February 23 at Colby’s in Ozark. The Thomas Randolph Thomasson chapter is a member of the General Henry D. Clayton District of the Alabama UDC. Other member chapters are Gen. William C. Oates 1342, Dothan; Gen. Edmond Winchester Rucker 2534, Enterprise; Capt. Stouten Hubert Dent 2669, Eufaula; and Stonewall Jackson 667, Ozark. Representatives from each chapter were present.
This term’s District officers are Mrs. Tammie Evans, director; Miss Brandi Evans, co-director; Mary Williams, chaplain; and Holly Muller, recording secretary.

Eufaula Hosts District Meeting

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A special thanks goes out to the Captain Stouten Hubert Dent Chapter 2669 of Eufaula for hosting the Gen. Henry D. Clayton District Meeting this year.  After the business portion of the meeting, attendees visited Fendall Hall, which is owned and run by the Alabama Historical Commission.

Beauvoir at Christmas

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Beauvoir, President Davis’s last home, is now a National Historic Landmark that is open to the general public every day of the year except Thanksgiving and Christmas.  After President Jefferson’s death and his wife’s move to New York two years later, the estate went on to serve as the Jefferson Davis Soldiers Home until 1940.  After two years of restoration, it became the 51-acre site of the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and the Beauvoir Estate.  Although they are still recovering from the damages of Hurricane Katrina, the museum has much to offer and is well worth the trip.

www.beauvoir.org

November History Program

November Historical Program

This month’s history program analyzes a side of President Jefferson Davis that is often overlooked, his role as a husband and father.  The PowerPoint attached accompanies this month’s history presentation; there is a great article in the October UDC Magazine that goes into more detail.

Mollitor and Castleberry Honor Their Ancestors

Lisa Mollitor joins the UDC and the TRT Chapter 2471 under the service of her great-great grandfather Hezekiah P. Smithson (Co. H, 9th Regiment, CSA).  Mollitor was welcomed to the chapter by President Tammie Evans at the special meeting on Saturday,  August 6, held at Cedar Grove Church of Christ.

Each year, the chapter meets in conjunction with the Thomasson Family Reunion in honor of the chapter’s namesake Thomas Randolph Thomasson. All 56 charter members of the chapter were direct descendants of T. R. Thomasson.

Linda Castleberry, a TRT chapter member since 2009, also received her supplemental certificates that recognize the contributions of her great-great grandfathers Daniel A. Henderson and Samuel Alexander Tart.

Charter Member Celebrates 101st

Sue Cowger (FL Division UDC), Margie Thomasson, Martha Richey, Wylene Kelley, Delano Gillian, Linda Castleberry, Tammie Evans, Eleanor Williamson, and Lisa Mollitor

A charter member of the Thomas R. Thomasson Chapter celebrated her 101^st birthday this month.  Delano Cumi (Drake) Gillian, who resides in Greenville, Alabama, marked her monumental birthday with many friends and relatives gathered at the Drake family home in the Burnout Community near Opp, Alabama.  Suzanne (Grumbine) Norton, Delano’s niece, baked a three-tiered cake –each tier being a different recipe—to commemorate the occasion.

Delano is one of four daughters who were the only ones to reach adulthood and were children of Colburn “Col” Drake and wife, Mary Elizabeth “Sugar” Thomasson. All of the Drake sisters– Delano, Edith Susannah (Drake) Grumbine, Collyer Imogene (Drake) Grider, and Ollie Jo (Drake) Meeks–  were among the 56 charter members of the chapter that consisted solely of direct descendants of Thomas Randolph and Sarah (Roach) Thomasson, for which the chapter was named.  This couple furnished eight sons to the Confederacy, and three lost their lives in service. Their one future son-in-law also served in the same company with two of the sons.

Both of the Drake sisters’ grandfathers, (paternal) James Talton Drake and (maternal)Jefferson Sylvanus Thomasson were Confederate Veterans.  Delano was especially close to her Grandfather Thomasson and enjoyed hearing about his experiences during the War.  They lived near each other and visited often.  All of the Drake sisters have been supportive members of the UDC.

Delano with her Grandfather Thomasson in 1939

June/July History Programs

The history programs for this month focus on two Confederates whose contributions after the War were as impressive as their service to the South during the War.  Click here to view the PowerPoint on Norman V. Randolph and Moses J. Ezekiel.  The full stories can be read in your May and June editions of the UDC Magazine.