Published: June 09, 2009 08:58 pm      

Club News

Samantha Daviss receiving Citizen of the Month award for her work with Corsicana Education Foundation. Left to right Crystal Richardson - Pres., Samantha Daviss - Executive Director of Corsicana Education Foundation, Susan Keen -Special Education Director of CISD.



Senior Circle Group of Navarro Regional Hospital visits the Homestead Heritage village, approximately five miles north of Waco. The group saw hands-on demonstrations of soap making, blacksmithing, how to mill flour, and more.



Senior Circle lunch bunch visits Caleb’s Diner in Corsicana. Pictured, left to right, are Tommie Gilliam, Frankie Hippard, Frank Martinez, Mary Biggers and Lucille Reffitt.



Woman’s Club House Association

The final program luncheon of the season at Kinsloe House will be held June 17 and will feature a book review by Gelene Duncan Simpson. The program will be sponsored by Thomas Meredith Chapter, Colonial Dames XVII Century.

The chapter was chartered on March 2 , 1973, to honor the memory of Thomas Meredith, emigrant to Virginia from Wales via England in 1626. He was granted land in what became part of Hanover County in 1720. Powys Castle in Wales was the stronghold of the Merediths. A picture of this castle hangs in the Texas Room of the National Headquarters in honor of the Thomas Meredith Chapter, the 21st in Texas.

The book to be reviewed is titled “Two Glass Buttons” by Marguerite Starr Crain. Crain is an honorary president general of the society, who resides in Midland, and who is one of the driving forces in the Texas delegation. The book is the story of the Texas Runaway Scrape based on the memoirs of Clarinda Pevehouse Kegans, Crain’s great-great-grandmother, whose family, along with hundreds of other Texas families, fled their homes in April 1836 to avoid the advancing armies of Santa Anna. Kegans’ memoirs, written for her grandchildren, vividly relate the experiences of her family on their terrifying flight to the Sabine River when she was a girl of 12.

The Hodge and Pevehouse families were led through the “runaway scrape” by 80-year-old Judge Alexander Hodge. Hodge had come to Texas in 1825 as one of Stephen F. Austin’s select “Three Hundred,” the first Anglo-Americans permitted to form a colony in Coahuila y Texas, Mexico. Austin gave Hodge one of the five leagues of land that he had reserved for himself. Hodge’s granddaughter (Kegans) was born during the journey.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear a real story of brave Texians who faced hardships in the early days of Texas history. Members of Kinsloe House should make reservations and/or cancellations by noon June 15 by calling (903) 874-5791. Non-Kinsloe members are welcome. Price for the luncheon will be $12. Non-members should call Gelene Simpson at (254) 578-1656 by June 12.

More information will be available soon about the Father’s Day lunch at Kinsloe House on June 21. A delicious menu sure to please the special man in your life is being planned.



Navarro County Genealogical Society

Navarro County Genealogical Society will present a “Native American Research Workshop” from 10 a.m. to noon June 13 at the Corsicana Public Library Civic Room. The public is invited and there will be no charge to attend. The workshop will be presented by Aaron Holt.

Holt is a native Texan who was reared in a small town outside Fort Worth and he has lived in the Dallas/Fort Worth area almost his entire life. Holt has worked for the National Archives for approximately 18 years, the last eight in the Archives Division at the Southwest Region National Archives and Records Administration in Fort Worth.

This workshop will provide historical information as well as instructions in effective approaches to researching the Five Civilized Tribes — the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole.

Holt will discuss the Native American citizenship enrollment cards, sometimes referred to as census cards prepared by the Dawes Commission (1898-1914). He will also include information about the 1909 Guion Miller Eastern Cherokee Rolls.

This workshop is designed to assist beginners as well as advanced researchers. For more information, call the Corsicana Public Library Genealogy Department at (903) 654-4810.



Corsicana Newcomers Club

Instead of a regular monthly meeting for June, Corsicana Newcomers Club will have its annual picnic. It will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. June 14 at the Halbert House, 1250 W. Third Ave. Cost will be $5 per person. Everyone should bring an appetizer or dessert. Drinks will be provided. If you want alcoholic beverages, you must bring your own.

The “Lunch Bunch” will go to The Other Place, 1607 W. Seventh Ave., at 11:30 a.m. June 11. This group always has a lot of fun talking and eating and getting to know each other. If you plan to attend, call Alice Kautz at (903) 874-0844 so she can reserve a table.

The “Roadrunners” will to Waxahachie June 18. They will meet at the parking lot across from First Baptist Church, 510 W. Collin St., at 10 a.m. and return at 4 p.m. “Roadrunners” enjoy shopping and lunch together. If interested in going, call Peggy Dixson at (903) 874-8316 so she can have transportation available.

Corsicana Newcomers Club, “Lunch Bunch” and “Roadrunners” are not planning to meet in July. The regular schedule will resume in August. For more information, call Jane Sanders at (903) 874-0808.