A Descendant of Jefferson Davis? A Question For Jenny Anderson Horne

It was the speech that attracted national attention and galvanized South Carolina legislators, propelling the state House of Representatives to vote to remove the Confederate Battle Flag from the grounds of the state house in Columbia, South Carolina.

It’s a powerful speech. One comment that stood out, however, was the claim at the 3:00 mark where Representative Jenny Anderson Horne declared that she was a descendant of Jefferson Davis, the only president the Confederate States of America ever knew.

Now comes word that perhaps Representative Horne misspoke.

Here’s Jefferson Davis’s genealogy, as presented by the Papers of Jefferson Davis, based at Rice University. A shorter version of Davis’s genealogy that circulated earlier and that includes some helpful explanations is here.

On The Flag Coming Down: A Personal Note

I’ve seen some recent commentary elsewhere about the balance between activism and scholarship, commentary that I think easy to question if not to dismiss almost altogether. But it’s always a good idea to check how one’s personal feelings and sentiments play into one’s scholarship and commentary. Now that the Confederate Battle Flag no longer flies on the grounds of the South Carolina state house, let me share some personal observations.