Not Your Mother’s DAR….or is it?

What a busy few days I have had! Mom and Dad stopped by to visit us on their way after spending a week in Colorado with my brother and his family. We had a nice visit catching up on what is new with the family and the ‘who is doing what’ news from back home. I managed to sneak in a few little tidbits about family history and this time I think I actually saw a little ‘spark’ of interest! I did, however, push it a bit far….their eyes began to glaze over when I started talking about Mom’s ‘2^nd cousin 3x removed’ being Morris Harvey, great grandson of James Jarrett. I find this little tidbit of information exciting news but, alas, I had gone too far and lost them. I tried to reel them back in with more info but to no avail… I’d lost them. For those who may not know, the University of Charleston used to be called ‘Morris Harvey’ after the man (Mom’s 2^nd cousin 3x removed) who donated a ton of money to the college. Many people around Charleston still refer to UC as Morris Harvey.

Brief History of the University of Charleston

UC was founded in 1888 by the Southern Methodist church in Barboursville, WV and named Barboursville Seminary. In 1901 the name was changed to Morris Harvey College in honor of a ‘prominent donor’.  The college relocated to Charleston sometime during the Great Depression to take advantage of the larger city. When the Methodist church North and South merged Morris Harvey disaffiliated itself from the church and became independent in 1942. Construction began on the current location along the Kanawha River in 1947 to accommodate the growth of the college. December 13, 1979 the name of the college was changed from Morris Harvey to the University of Charleston.

Pictures of Morris and Rosa Harvey can be found on the UC website.

Seems I have once again wondered a bit off topic! 

So, as I was saying.... 

We had a nice time catching up and then on Saturday I took Mom along with me to my DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) meeting. We had a nice afternoon and the best part…she wants to become a member, YEAH!  I’m pretty excited. Even though Mom lives in WV she can join the Nathan Edison chapter in KS. As Mom put it, “I’m not much of a joiner” so joining a chapter 16 hours away gives her an excuse not to attend all the meetings, haha, that's my mom! I know that the DAR has a reputation of being highfalutin and only for the snooty and big-feeling. That may have been true in the past but it is not true today. We do not wear white gloves and hats to meetings. We do not sip tea and eat little sandwiches!  We are not your mother’s DAR!

My Known Patriots:

Patrick Board (my DAR Patriot)

James McDade

Samuel Rae (Ray)

Bland Ballard

Henry Flesher

Abednego Hodges

Edward Richards

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More thoughts on Carnes in Kansas

I have been thinking more about why Jane and her sons came to Kansas...I have a hunch that the new railroad had something to do with Jane and her sons moving to Marshall County. The Central Branch of the Union Pacific was completed about 1870 and ended in Waterville. From what I have read there was a lot of advertising about Kansas and all of the opportunities. Plus, there was the Homestead Act. It's like they got on the train and rode as far as they could, haha. Another factor may have been the aftermath of the Civil War. I know they fought for the Union but if I remember correctly they were drafted. Jane's father owned a very large plantation near Lewisburg so I wonder if the family really supported the Union. If they were Southern Sympathizers life would not have been fun in WV following the Civil War. Of course that just my thoughts... no way to prove such a theory.
I would also love to know why they left KS. I know life was not easy but I don't think that it was all that easy in WV at that time either. Jane had other children and grandchildren in Charleston, maybe she missed them and wanted to go home. I think one son died while she was in KS. It is possible that Jane died in KS and I just haven't found any record. Maybe they just wanted to move on to somewhere else... Goodness knows how those Carnes like to move around and travel.