Memorial

Transylvania | Henderson Family Memorial Celebration of October 12, 1935

Transylvanian Officers

President

Dr. Archibald Henderson, Chapel Hill, N. C.

Honorary Presidents

Ambassador Robert Worth Bingham American Embassy, London

Mrs. Samuel Wilson Lexington, Ky.

Vice-Presidents

Dr. Daniel Griffith Owensboro, Ky.

Mrs. Henry Burnett Louisville, Ky.

Mr. Barnard S. Alves Henderson, Ky.

Chairman of the Board

Miss Susan Starling Towles Henderson, Ky.

Recording Secretary

Miss Virginia Lockett Henderson, Ky.

Corresponding Secretary

Mrs. Harry Thixton Henderson, Ky.

Treasurer

Mrs. William Neel Henderson, Ky.

Registrar

Mrs. Julia Alves Clore Henderson, Ky.

Custodian

Mrs. Theo. Posey, Henderson, Ky.

Committee on Celebration

Chairman: Mr. Tom Wallace, Louisville, Ky.

Vice Chairman: Miss Susan Starling Towles, Henderson, Ky.

Mr. Charles Alves, Kansas City, Mo.

Mrs. Barbara T. Anderson Louisville, Ky.

Mrs. Keene Arnold Versailles, Ky.

Mr. Barry Bingham Louisville, Ky.

Mrs. Henry Burnett Louisville, Ky.

Mrs. Lyman A. Cotten Chapel Hill, N. C.

Dr. J. T. Dorris Richmond, Ky.

Mr. William Boone Douglass Washington, D. C.

Mr. J. H. French Winchester, Ky.

Dr. D. M. Griffith Owensboro, Ky.

Miss Mary Ferrand Henderson Chapel Hill, N. C.

Dr. W. R. Jillson Frankfort, Ky.

Mrs. G. K. Lilly Richmond, Ky.

Miss Laura Luttrell Knoxville, Tenn.

Mr. H. V. McChesney Frankfort, Ky.

Mrs. Samuel Orr Nashville, Tenn.

Dr. W. A. Provine Nashville, Tenn.

Mr. Otto A. Rothert Louisville, Ky.

Miss May Stone Louisville, Ky.

Mr. Henry Soaper, Harrodsburg, Ky.

Mr. Fred Wallis Paris, Ky.

Mrs. Samuel Wilson Lexington, Ky.

Sponsors

Governor Ruby Laffoon of Kentucky.

Governor J. C. B. Ehringhaus of North Carolina.

Governor George C. Peery of Virginia.

Governor Hill McAlister of Tennessee.

Commissioners for Kentucky

Presidents of Kentucky State Colleges

Dr. Frank L McVey, University of Kentucky.

Dr. H. H. Cherry, Western Ky. State Teachers College.

Dr. H. L. Denovan, Eastern Ky. State Teachers College.

Dr. J. Howard Payne, Morehead State Teachers College.

Dr. Rainey T. Wells, Murray State Teachers College.

Dr. Arthur Braden, Transylvania College.

On Local Arrangements: Boonesborough Chapter, DAR. Richmond, Kentucky

Chairman: Mrs. James Caperton.

V. Chm.: Mrs. Charles A. Keith, Madison County Historical Society

Dr. J. T. Dorris, President.

Mr. B. S. Alves, Henderson, Ky.

A Proposed Transylvania Memorial

The Transylvanians, a patriotic society founded October 11, 1929, at Henderson, Kentucky, is arranging a celebration at Boonesborough, Kentucky, October 12, 1935. Many other patriotic societies will assist in the celebration. The governors of Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee are sponsoring the celebration, which is being promoted by a committee of distinguished men and women.

Five historic events, interlinked in the history of this epochal movement of expansion and colonization in the opening of the West, will be celebrated on this occasion. These are:

1—The founding of the Transylvania Company at Hillsborough, North Carolina, January 6, 1775.

2—The Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, March 14–17, 1775, by which the Transylvania Company acquired of the tribe of Cherokee Indians title to upwards of twenty millions of acres of land, covering much of Tennessee and the greater part of present Kentucky.

3—The cutting of the Transylvania Trail from the Long Island of Holston River, Tennessee, to Otter Creek, Kentucky, site of later Boonesborough—the first great pathway to the West.

4—The convening of the Legislature of Transylvania at Boonesborough, May 23, 1775, the first legislative body of Americans to assemble west of Cumberland Gap.

5—The founding of the State of Transylvania and its capital, Boonesborough, April—May, 1775.

This celebration is being held this year, since it is the bicentennial of the birth of Richard Henderson, President of the Transylvania Company, April 20, 1735. It is planned to unveil four large tablets, set in a giant granite boulder on the site of the meeting of the Transylvania Legislature, to commemorate the events mentioned. On the tablets will appear, with suitable inscriptions:

1—The names of the Proprietors of Transylvania: Richard Henderson, John Williams, Thomas Hart, Nathaniel Hart, David Hart, James Hogg, William Johnston, Leonard Henley Bullock and John Luttrell.

2—The names of the axemen who cut out the Transylvania Trail: Daniel Boone, Squire Boone, James Bridges, William Bush, Samuel Coburn, Richard Callaway, Crabtree, Benjamin Cutbirth, David Gass, John Hart, William Hays, William Hicks, Edmund Jennings, Thomas Johnson, John Kennedy, John King, William Miller, William Moore, James Nall, James Peeke, Bartlett Searcy, Reuben Searcy, Michael Stoner, Samuel Tate, William Twitty, Felix Walker, Thomas McDowell, Jeremiah McPheeters.

3—The names of the officials and legislators of Transylvania: Proprietors: Richard Henderson, Nathaniel Hart, John Luttrell. Representatives: for Boonesborough, Squire Boone, Daniel Boone, William Cocke, Samuel Henderson, William Moore, Richard Callaway; for Harrodsburg, Thomas Slaughter, John Lythe, Valentine Harmon, James Douglass; for Boiling Spring, James Harrod, Nathan Hammond, Isaac Hite, Azariah Davis; for St. Asaph's, John Todd, Alexander Spotswood Dandridge, John Floyd, Samuel Wood. Robert McAfee, Sergeant at Arms, Matthew Jouett, Clerk.

4—A design in relief showing the Legislature of Transylvania in session.

The form of the memorial will depend upon the readiness and generosity of the response to the present appeal. The minimum cost of an appropriate memorial is estimated at $2500.00. All descendants, direct or collateral, of the persons commemorated, and all patriotic citizens interested in the pioneer history of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky, are especially requested to contribute. Contributions may be sent to the undersigned, to the Secretary, Miss Susan S. Towles, or to the Treasurer, Mrs. William Neel, both of Henderson, Kentucky. The repository of the fund will be the Ohio Valley National Bank of Henderson, Henderson, Kentucky. All contributions will be recorded in a memorial volume and promptly acknowledged.

ARCHIBALD HENDERSON, President The Transylvanians Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Source: Library of Congress