United Daughters of the Confederacy
by Sibyl Creasey

The Jesse Miller Foster Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy will hold a special memorial service and tombstone dedication for Confederate Private Elijah Milton Vinson on Saturday, May 19 at 9 a.m. at the Old Bethel Cemetery. Descendants and the public are invited to attend.

Members of the Captain James P. Douglas SCV Camp No. 124 of Tyler and the Order of the Confederate Rose Society will take part in the ceremony honoring the Confederate veteran.

Elijah Milton Vinson was born April 10, 1817 in North Carolina. During the Civil war, he served with honor with the 2nd Alabama Reserves. He was paroled at Montgomery, AL on June 7, 1865. At that time he was 48 years old with a wife and seven children, ranging in age seven to 23. In 1877, he sold his farm near Saville, AL and later moved to Van Zandt County. His wife was Dorcas Salena Vinson who was born November 30, 1818, and died in 1916. Elijah Vinson died April 1, 1893. They are both buried at Old Bethel Cemetery.

Jesse Miller Foster Chapter member Benja Mize is a descendant of Elijah M. Vinson. Other Van Zandt County surnames related to the family include Rozeman, Durell, Welch, Garner, Fuller, Dozier, Pittman, McCord, Reed, Wages, Sanders, Poole and Murry.

Pastor Jim Leach of Canton will give the invocation and the benediction. Chapter members who will take part in the ceremony include Cheryl Vaughn, Ruth Abbott, Benja Mize, Sherrie Archer, Sylvia Barbee, all of Canton, Sibyl Creasey of Ben Wheeler, JoAnn Barr of Van and Marjorie Tarver of Edgewood. Vida Durell Sloan will provide the family tribute.

For further information on this local UDC event, call Sibyl Creasey, 903-833-1013.