The Patrick County Historical Society & Museum will hold its annual General Membership Meeting at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 13, at the museum, located at 116 West Blue Ridge Street in Uptown Stuart. All members are urged to attend. Anyone interested in learning more about local or regional history is
welcome at the meeting.
A short business meeting will be followed by a special guest speaker from the local Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) chapter. Stuart resident, Ann McConnell, the Regent (equivalent to “president” or chairperson) of the Patrick organization. McConnell will talk about Colonel Abram Penn, the Revolutionary War hero for whom the chapter was named.
Col. Penn led troops from our area to the aid of General Nathaniel Greene at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse (now Greensboro, NC) in March of 1781 and was very active in the formation of both Patrick and Henry Counties, as recounted in the “History of Patrick County, Virginia” published by the
Historical Society and written primarily by the late Mr. O. E. Pilson, noted genealogist and historian.
Mrs. McConnell will provide more information about Penn with pictures and illustrations related to his life but will add to some general information about the DAR and its mission as well.
Ann McConnell lives in Stuart and is a retired registered nurse who dedicated many years of service to the people of our area in that challenging profession. She and her husband, Nelson, a teacher and coach at Patrick County High School for many years, moved to Patrick County in 1972 and soon became
active and respected members of the community. Ann started her local career at the former R. J. Reynolds – Patrick County Memorial Hospital, then worked as a health nurse for the J. P. Stevens factories in the area. After a second stint with the hospital, she served at a local home health agency until her retirement in 2016. That’s when she says she was “bitten by the genealogy
bug” and discovered her Revolutionary War ancestry.
Please come out and enjoy what should be a most interesting program. It will be followed by a reception in the lobby of the library-museum building.
For more information, call the museum at (276) 694-2840. It is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Leave a message at other times.