Woman of the Century/Varina Anne Davis

VARINA ANNE DAVIS. DAVIS. Miss Varina Anne, born in Richmond, Va., 27th June, 1864. She is more generally known as Winnie Davis, the second daughter of Jefferson Davis, President of the Southern Confederacy. She is endeared to the South as the "Daughter of the Confederacy " Shortly before the evacuation of Richmond, Mr. Davis sent his wife and daughter to Charlotte, N. C., where they remained until he instructed them to go to Chester, S. C. At Abbeville they heard the news of Lee's surrender, and Mrs. Davis and her children went on to Washington, Ga., where Mr. Davis joined them and accompanied them to Macon After Mr. Davis had been taken to Fortress Monroe, Mrs. Davis took her children to Savannah. After Mr. Davis returned to his family, they visited Canada, Cuba, various parts of the South, and Europe, and then settled in Memphis. Tenn., where Winnie remained till 1877 In that year she went to Karlsruhe, Germany, where she remained until 1882. She next went to Paris, France, where she attended a boarding-school and was joined by her parents. Miss Davis studied drawing and the drama, and her experience convinced her that it is folly to send American children to Europe to be educated. Leaving Paris with her parents, they returned to New Orleans, La., where in the following spring Miss Davis made her entrance into society at the Mardi Gras Ball. The family were invited to visit Alabama and were received with distinction. They extended their tour to Atlanta, Ga., and there Governor Gordon presented Miss Davis to the people as "The Daughter of the Confederacy." She went to Paris, on the advice of her physicians, and was ill there at the time of her father's death. She has made her home with her mother in Beauvoir, Miss., the family residence since 1879. Miss Davis has recently shown literary talent of a high order and has contributed to a number of periodicals. She is an accomplished musician, a skilled linguist, a ready writer, and most attractive type of the southern woman of intelligence, culture and refinement.