In 1877 former Confederate President Jefferson Davis was looking for a quiet retreat to write his books and papers. Through the generosity of a family friend, he rented and later inherited an 1852 house in Biloxi, Mississippi, named Beauvoir (French for beautiful view).

After his death in 1889, his daughter and then his wife inherited the property. His widow, Varina, later sold the property to the Mississippi Div. of the Sons of Confederate Veterans to be used for a Confederate Veterans' Home and memorial to Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Soldier.

Our speaker this month, Connie Moretti, has been a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy for 20 years, having also served as Past President of the California Div. and Historian General. She will be giving a wonderful slide presentation on the history of Beauvoir, the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina, and the restoration and re-opening of the museum.

Ms. Moretti is a third generation Californian whose Confederate great-great grandfather brought his entire family west in 1875. She is the author of Dixie Manor Days, telling the story of California's only Confederate Veteran's home in San Gabriel, which she spoke about to our CWRT in 2005. She is also the co-author of Brigadier General Tyree H. Bell: Forrest's Fighting Lieutenant, telling the life and wartime activities of her Confederate ancestor. Connie is retired after thirty years in education, and is now a professional genealogist specializing in American families.

Please join us in hearing about the history and restoration of one of America's historical landmarks.

Janet Whaley
Program Chair