Chapter History
2003-2021
The Major General Patrick R. Cleburne UDC Chapter was organized by Lynda Lowery and chartered by the United Daughters of the Confederacy on June 1, 2003 with 30 charter members.
This Chapter has grown to the size of more than 190 members. It has been recognized at every Alabama Division UDC Convention from 2003 to the present as the Chapter having gained the most new members each year. At UDC General Conventions, this Chapter has earned the annual Huey Award for “Chapter with the Greatest Increase in Membership” an unprecedented seven times. As of end of the 2015-2016 UDC year, the Major General Patrick R. Cleburne Chapter is the largest Chapter in the United States!
The Chapter consistently supports the five objectives of the United Daughters of the Confederacy: Historical, Educational, Benevolent, Memorial and Patriotic.
HISTORICAL
This Chapter raised funds to erect a marker to honor the Chapter’s namesake, Major General Patrick R. Cleburne. The historic marker, formally dedicated with a ceremony on Confederate Memorial Day in April 2008, stands prominently on the front lawn of the Cleburne County Courthouse.
In 2008, following several months of research by a Chapter committee, this Chapter published a book entitled Confederate Veterans Buried in Cleburne County, Alabama. This book identifies the marked gravesites of 398 Confederate Soldiers buried in Cleburne County. Books were donated to various libraries.
In 2015, this Chapter erected a second historic marker. It is located in Talladega County, in the town of Munford, at the site where the last Confederate soldier was killed in battle east of the Mississippi. A marker dedication program and reception were hosted by the Chapter.
EDUCATIONAL
Every year this Chapter endorses several students of Confederate lineage for scholarship funds. Also, the Chapter has provided funds to establish Alabama Division Scholarships: a Major General Patrick R. Cleburne Scholarship at Jacksonville State University; a Dr. Lynda T. Lowery Scholarship at The University of Alabama; a Major General Patrick R. Cleburne Scholarship at Auburn University; and two Patricia P. Killian Scholarships at The University of Alabama and a Patricia P. Killian Scholarship at Auburn University. Also, a scholarship was established at The University of Alabama in 2012 to honor Dr. Lynda T. Lowery who served as Alabama UDC President 2010-2012. Chapter member Joan McLeod Lovvorn established a UDC scholarship in memory of her father, Mr. William Posey McLeod, at The University of Alabama in 2013. In 2016, the Chapter established another Dr. Lynda T. Lowery Scholarship at The University of Alabama.
A fourth grade Confederate Coloring Contest has been conducted annually since 2007, beginning with the four elementary schools in Cleburne County and then expanding into Oxford City School System. The Chapter provides certificates for students’ winning entries at each school plus a monetary prize for each school’s winner and an additional prize for the overall winner. In 2016, a student entry submitted by this Chapter earned 1st prize in the entire Alabama Division UDC.
Monetary donations, a very large number of reels of microfilm and a large quantity of books have been given to the Anniston-Calhoun Library including in 2004 a multi-volume set of Broadfoot’s Alabama State Confederate Rosters.
BENEVOLENT
Annually gifts are donated to veterans who are residents of nursing homes. From 2003 through 2012, gifts were given at Veterans Day to men at the Cleburne County Nursing Home in Heflin, and in 2013 and 2014 gifts were delivered on Valentine’s Day to the residents at the State Veterans Home in St. Clair County. In 2016 through 2019 toiletries, games, slippers, and lap robes were delivered to the Cleburne County Nursing Home in Heflin as Valentine Gifts.
Each year this Chapter holds a canned food drive in which a large quantity of food items are collected from members and donated to a worthy cause. For example, in 2012 the donation was given to the Salvation Army in Anniston and in 2013 through 2016 the donation was given to the Community Enabler in Calhoun County. In 2014 through 2016, donations were delivered to a soup kitchen in Randolph County. Between 2017 - 2020 canned foods and non-perishable foods were donated to HEARTS (Helping Every Area Resident To Succeed).
For several years toiletries and makeup were collected for the abused women located at the Salvation Army. Since these women were required to find jobs and subsequently learn to be on their own, the items helped to restore their confidence. In recent years the toiletries have been given to the Second Chance for abused women.
During its first several years, this Chapter mailed Easter cards to Randolph Relief recipients who were real daughters of the Confederacy. The mailed cards contained monetary donations and/or gift certificates. This Chapter has given Christmas gifts to the CofC’s Toys for Tots drive.
MEMORIAL
This Chapter memorializes its deceased members and makes a donation to the Chapter Scholarship Fund in each deceased member’s name. Deceased members of this Chapter are also memorialized at the annual District meeting and sometimes at the annual Memorial Service at the Division Convention.
This Chapter was always represented at the Alabama Division UDC Memorial Day ceremony at the State Capital in Montgomery and at the Alabama Children of the Confederacy’s Memorial Day service at the old Confederate Soldiers home site at Mt. Creek during many years.
In 2009, a pin to be worn on members’ UDC ribbons was created by Lynda Lowery, featuring Patrick R. Cleburne’s distinctive blue flag with a white circle to honor the Chapter’s namesake. In 2014, the Chapter began the annual practice of placing a memorial wreath at its historic maker in Heflin to honor Major General Cleburne. In addition, the Chapter also places a memorial wreath at its historic marker in Talladega County during Confederate History and Heritage Month.
PATRIOTIC
This Chapter has awarded more than 200 UDC Military Service Awards to honor men for their service in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Global War on Terror. The Chapter has hosted five events at the auditorium of the Anniston-Calhoun County Library at which a large number of Military Service Awards were bestowed. During 2012 to present, the Chapter has placed high priority on bestowing Crosses of Military Service to living World War II veterans.
Previously, several hundred dollars was donated to purchase phone calling cards for active-duty military personnel. This Chapter framed two display sets of UDC Military Service Awards to present to area museums. In 2013 and again in 2014 donations were made to the Wounded Warrior Project.
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In addition to accomplishments to support the five objectives of the United Daughters of the Confederacy -- Historical, Educational, Benevolent, Memorial and Patriotic, the Major General Patrick R. Cleburne Chapter also provides opportunities for camaraderie among members, provides positive public relations information, and supports the Letitia Ross District and the Alabama Division UDC.
To celebrate its new charter, the Chapter hosted a tea in June 2003 at the lovely antique-filled Anniston home of a Chapter member. Chapter Christmas teas have been hosted: 2006 and 2008 at the historic Anniston Inn Kitchen; 2010 at the historic Clardy Mansion in Oxford; 2012 at the 100-year-old home of a Chapter member in Talladega; and in 2014 and 2016 at the historic Parker Mansion in Anniston.
This Chapter has taken group trips: In April 2004, this group traveled to the Patrick R. Cleburne Cemetery and other Confederate sites in Jonesboro, Georgia. In April 2005, members visited Janney Furnace Park and Confederate Museum followed by a shared picnic lunch on the grounds. In April 2006, members took a self-guided walking tour of the historic Jacksonville City Cemetery. In April 2007, members visited Confederate sites in Gadsden including the Emma Sansom Monument. In November 2014, members visited Franklin, Tennessee for special Sesquicentennial events including a presentation by Irish author and historian, Damian Shiels, titled "Patrick Cleburne at the Battle of Franklin".
This Chapter consistently has submitted articles and photos to the UDC Magazine, to the Division newsletter The Ties that Bind, and to several area newspapers resulting in several hundred inches of press each year to submit to the Division press book. In 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, this Chapter maintained its own separate press book. Chapter newsletters are produced monthly, and this Chapter produces yearbooks and scrapbooks annually. Members submit essays, book reviews, poems and narratives to the Division, and two Chapter members have submitted Historical Articles published in the UDC Magazine.
This Chapter is a member of the Letitia Ross District. The Chapter has hosted the annual District meeting four times in eleven years. Members of this Chapter have been elected to serve as Letitia Ross officers: Lynda Lowery, District Director (3 terms); Pat Killian, District Director; Carolyn Skinner, Chaplain; Jo Howard, Secretary (2 terms); and Joan Lovvorn, Secretary. This Chapter donated in 2014 toward purchase of a Real Daughter Grave Marker for the gravesite of the District’s namesake in Auburn.
As a member of the Alabama Division United Daughters of the Confederacy, this Chapter has always given its full support to the Division 2003 to 2020. It hosted a reception at the 2003 Division Convention, was co-hostess for the 2006 Southern Regional Meeting and was hostess for the 2005 and 2012 Winter Board Meetings. The Chapter provided decorations for a luncheon at the 2008 Division Convention and for a banquet at the 2011 Division Convention. In 2015, the Chapter made a monetary donation for luncheon table decorations. The following Chapter members have served as Officers: Lynda Lowery, Division Corresponding Secretary, Division Registrar, and Division President; Carolyn Skinner, Division Recorder of Military Service Awards; Pat Killian, Division Assistant Registrar, Division Registrar, and Division Treasurer; Martha Wilkinson, Division Second Vice President. This Chapter and its members have donated more than $7500.00 toward the Division Flag Conservation Fund from 2010 to 2018 to conserve Confederate flags at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. A huge milestone for this Chapter was presenting a $12,500 check to the ADAH to fund conservation of the Chapter's adopted flag, the 5th Alabama Batt'n Co. A "Calhoun County Sharpshooters" Confederate flag. In 2018 the chapter was awarded a First place certificate with a $25.00 gift for the chapter with the Largest Donation to the Alabama Division Flag Preservation Fund.
This Chapter has grown to the size of more than 190 members. It has been recognized at every Alabama Division UDC Convention from 2003 to the present as the Chapter having gained the most new members each year. At UDC General Conventions, this Chapter has earned the annual Huey Award for “Chapter with the Greatest Increase in Membership” an unprecedented seven times. As of end of the 2015-2016 UDC year, the Major General Patrick R. Cleburne Chapter is the largest Chapter in the United States!
The Chapter consistently supports the five objectives of the United Daughters of the Confederacy: Historical, Educational, Benevolent, Memorial and Patriotic.
HISTORICAL
This Chapter raised funds to erect a marker to honor the Chapter’s namesake, Major General Patrick R. Cleburne. The historic marker, formally dedicated with a ceremony on Confederate Memorial Day in April 2008, stands prominently on the front lawn of the Cleburne County Courthouse.
In 2008, following several months of research by a Chapter committee, this Chapter published a book entitled Confederate Veterans Buried in Cleburne County, Alabama. This book identifies the marked gravesites of 398 Confederate Soldiers buried in Cleburne County. Books were donated to various libraries.
In 2015, this Chapter erected a second historic marker. It is located in Talladega County, in the town of Munford, at the site where the last Confederate soldier was killed in battle east of the Mississippi. A marker dedication program and reception were hosted by the Chapter.
EDUCATIONAL
Every year this Chapter endorses several students of Confederate lineage for scholarship funds. Also, the Chapter has provided funds to establish Alabama Division Scholarships: a Major General Patrick R. Cleburne Scholarship at Jacksonville State University; a Dr. Lynda T. Lowery Scholarship at The University of Alabama; a Major General Patrick R. Cleburne Scholarship at Auburn University; and two Patricia P. Killian Scholarships at The University of Alabama and a Patricia P. Killian Scholarship at Auburn University. Also, a scholarship was established at The University of Alabama in 2012 to honor Dr. Lynda T. Lowery who served as Alabama UDC President 2010-2012. Chapter member Joan McLeod Lovvorn established a UDC scholarship in memory of her father, Mr. William Posey McLeod, at The University of Alabama in 2013. In 2016, the Chapter established another Dr. Lynda T. Lowery Scholarship at The University of Alabama.
A fourth grade Confederate Coloring Contest has been conducted annually since 2007, beginning with the four elementary schools in Cleburne County and then expanding into Oxford City School System. The Chapter provides certificates for students’ winning entries at each school plus a monetary prize for each school’s winner and an additional prize for the overall winner. In 2016, a student entry submitted by this Chapter earned 1st prize in the entire Alabama Division UDC.
Monetary donations, a very large number of reels of microfilm and a large quantity of books have been given to the Anniston-Calhoun Library including in 2004 a multi-volume set of Broadfoot’s Alabama State Confederate Rosters.
BENEVOLENT
Annually gifts are donated to veterans who are residents of nursing homes. From 2003 through 2012, gifts were given at Veterans Day to men at the Cleburne County Nursing Home in Heflin, and in 2013 and 2014 gifts were delivered on Valentine’s Day to the residents at the State Veterans Home in St. Clair County. In 2016 through 2019 toiletries, games, slippers, and lap robes were delivered to the Cleburne County Nursing Home in Heflin as Valentine Gifts.
Each year this Chapter holds a canned food drive in which a large quantity of food items are collected from members and donated to a worthy cause. For example, in 2012 the donation was given to the Salvation Army in Anniston and in 2013 through 2016 the donation was given to the Community Enabler in Calhoun County. In 2014 through 2016, donations were delivered to a soup kitchen in Randolph County. Between 2017 - 2020 canned foods and non-perishable foods were donated to HEARTS (Helping Every Area Resident To Succeed).
For several years toiletries and makeup were collected for the abused women located at the Salvation Army. Since these women were required to find jobs and subsequently learn to be on their own, the items helped to restore their confidence. In recent years the toiletries have been given to the Second Chance for abused women.
During its first several years, this Chapter mailed Easter cards to Randolph Relief recipients who were real daughters of the Confederacy. The mailed cards contained monetary donations and/or gift certificates. This Chapter has given Christmas gifts to the CofC’s Toys for Tots drive.
MEMORIAL
This Chapter memorializes its deceased members and makes a donation to the Chapter Scholarship Fund in each deceased member’s name. Deceased members of this Chapter are also memorialized at the annual District meeting and sometimes at the annual Memorial Service at the Division Convention.
This Chapter was always represented at the Alabama Division UDC Memorial Day ceremony at the State Capital in Montgomery and at the Alabama Children of the Confederacy’s Memorial Day service at the old Confederate Soldiers home site at Mt. Creek during many years.
In 2009, a pin to be worn on members’ UDC ribbons was created by Lynda Lowery, featuring Patrick R. Cleburne’s distinctive blue flag with a white circle to honor the Chapter’s namesake. In 2014, the Chapter began the annual practice of placing a memorial wreath at its historic maker in Heflin to honor Major General Cleburne. In addition, the Chapter also places a memorial wreath at its historic marker in Talladega County during Confederate History and Heritage Month.
PATRIOTIC
This Chapter has awarded more than 200 UDC Military Service Awards to honor men for their service in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Global War on Terror. The Chapter has hosted five events at the auditorium of the Anniston-Calhoun County Library at which a large number of Military Service Awards were bestowed. During 2012 to present, the Chapter has placed high priority on bestowing Crosses of Military Service to living World War II veterans.
Previously, several hundred dollars was donated to purchase phone calling cards for active-duty military personnel. This Chapter framed two display sets of UDC Military Service Awards to present to area museums. In 2013 and again in 2014 donations were made to the Wounded Warrior Project.
*******************
In addition to accomplishments to support the five objectives of the United Daughters of the Confederacy -- Historical, Educational, Benevolent, Memorial and Patriotic, the Major General Patrick R. Cleburne Chapter also provides opportunities for camaraderie among members, provides positive public relations information, and supports the Letitia Ross District and the Alabama Division UDC.
To celebrate its new charter, the Chapter hosted a tea in June 2003 at the lovely antique-filled Anniston home of a Chapter member. Chapter Christmas teas have been hosted: 2006 and 2008 at the historic Anniston Inn Kitchen; 2010 at the historic Clardy Mansion in Oxford; 2012 at the 100-year-old home of a Chapter member in Talladega; and in 2014 and 2016 at the historic Parker Mansion in Anniston.
This Chapter has taken group trips: In April 2004, this group traveled to the Patrick R. Cleburne Cemetery and other Confederate sites in Jonesboro, Georgia. In April 2005, members visited Janney Furnace Park and Confederate Museum followed by a shared picnic lunch on the grounds. In April 2006, members took a self-guided walking tour of the historic Jacksonville City Cemetery. In April 2007, members visited Confederate sites in Gadsden including the Emma Sansom Monument. In November 2014, members visited Franklin, Tennessee for special Sesquicentennial events including a presentation by Irish author and historian, Damian Shiels, titled "Patrick Cleburne at the Battle of Franklin".
This Chapter consistently has submitted articles and photos to the UDC Magazine, to the Division newsletter The Ties that Bind, and to several area newspapers resulting in several hundred inches of press each year to submit to the Division press book. In 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, this Chapter maintained its own separate press book. Chapter newsletters are produced monthly, and this Chapter produces yearbooks and scrapbooks annually. Members submit essays, book reviews, poems and narratives to the Division, and two Chapter members have submitted Historical Articles published in the UDC Magazine.
This Chapter is a member of the Letitia Ross District. The Chapter has hosted the annual District meeting four times in eleven years. Members of this Chapter have been elected to serve as Letitia Ross officers: Lynda Lowery, District Director (3 terms); Pat Killian, District Director; Carolyn Skinner, Chaplain; Jo Howard, Secretary (2 terms); and Joan Lovvorn, Secretary. This Chapter donated in 2014 toward purchase of a Real Daughter Grave Marker for the gravesite of the District’s namesake in Auburn.
As a member of the Alabama Division United Daughters of the Confederacy, this Chapter has always given its full support to the Division 2003 to 2020. It hosted a reception at the 2003 Division Convention, was co-hostess for the 2006 Southern Regional Meeting and was hostess for the 2005 and 2012 Winter Board Meetings. The Chapter provided decorations for a luncheon at the 2008 Division Convention and for a banquet at the 2011 Division Convention. In 2015, the Chapter made a monetary donation for luncheon table decorations. The following Chapter members have served as Officers: Lynda Lowery, Division Corresponding Secretary, Division Registrar, and Division President; Carolyn Skinner, Division Recorder of Military Service Awards; Pat Killian, Division Assistant Registrar, Division Registrar, and Division Treasurer; Martha Wilkinson, Division Second Vice President. This Chapter and its members have donated more than $7500.00 toward the Division Flag Conservation Fund from 2010 to 2018 to conserve Confederate flags at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. A huge milestone for this Chapter was presenting a $12,500 check to the ADAH to fund conservation of the Chapter's adopted flag, the 5th Alabama Batt'n Co. A "Calhoun County Sharpshooters" Confederate flag. In 2018 the chapter was awarded a First place certificate with a $25.00 gift for the chapter with the Largest Donation to the Alabama Division Flag Preservation Fund.
The name ‘United Daughters of the Confederacy’ is a registered trademark of the General Organization and may not be used outside the
Organization without the express written consent of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The official UDC insignia is a registered trademark of the General Organization and may not be used without the express written consent of the President General.
Organization without the express written consent of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The official UDC insignia is a registered trademark of the General Organization and may not be used without the express written consent of the President General.