Page:The part taken by women in American history.djvu/532

Rh S But it was after the war, when the contemplation of ruined homes and broad desolation was thrust upon the South, that the real test came. The men met the awful responsibility and their hideous trials with amazing courage, and to the glory of the Southern woman be it said that the women became equal sharers in courage and in work. They have never faltered and never shown any weariness. Those left penniless, who were once wealthy, took up whatever work came to hand. Not a murmur escaped their lips. They cheered each other as they strengthened the energies of the men, and they kept up their work for the Confederate soldiers and keep it up till this day. Memorial associations were organized all over the South. The two great societies of Richmond, the Hollywood, and the Oakwood, each look after thousands of graves, the names of whose occupants are unknown. But probably the most noble work for the support of charity as well as of loyal sentiment has been done through the United Daughters of the Confederacy. A foremost worker in this noble society is Mrs. Cornelia Branch Stone, for several years president of the Texas Division, and whose biography will well illustrate the strength of character and the executive ability for which the leading ladies among Southern womanhood were distinguished.

A wise counsellor, of clear judgment and indefatigable energy, remarkable administrative ability, tact, high literary attainments, loyal to duty, and a gracious and charming personality — these are the characteristics which make Mrs Cornelia Branch Stone one of the most admired and influential women of the South. She has been and is an active worker in every organization which stands for the good of the people and the uplift of mankind.

She was born in Nacogdoches, Republic of Texas, in February, 1840. Her father, Edward Thomas Branch, a native of Chesterfield County, Virginia, went to Texas in the fall of 1835. He enlisted in the army of Texas, under General Sam Houston and participated in the battle of San Jacinto, which victory decided the independence of Texas from the Republic of Mexico. He was a member of the first and second sessions of the Congress of the Republic of Texas, was district and supreme judge of that republic and was a member of the first legislature of Texas. From this distinguished father, Mrs. Stone undoubtedly inherited her keen virile mind, though her mother, Ann Wharton Cleveland, was a woman of rare culture and intellect.

At fifteen years of age Cornelia Branch was married to Henry Clay Stone, a Virginian by birth. After his death in 1887 Mrs. Stone devoted her time to the education of her only son and when he had graduated in medicine she took up her active work in the organization which she has since pursued with such distinctive success. Her first official position was president of the Texas Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. While Mrs. Stone was president, the Texas Division increased twenty-six chapters in two years. She served as president-general of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and during that administration she kept in touch through correspondence with all the daughters and the heads of departments, writing every letter with her own hand. Any one reading her decisions and rulings while presiding over this body cannot but realize the excellency of Mrs. Stone's mind.

She was later first vice-president of the Texas Federation of Woman's Clubs,