[B]Ever wonder were that phrase [I]a cup of Joe[/I] came from? Read on...[/B]
From The Daily Advance today:
[URL]http://www.dailyadvance.com/local/content/features/stories/2008/08/14/0814danielsfamilyreunion.html[/URL]
Daniels family reunites once again
Reunion celebrates patriarch Josephus Daniels, family
By [EMAIL="rkelly-goss@coxnc.com"][COLOR=#0000ff]Robert Kelly-Goss[/COLOR][/EMAIL]
Albemarle Life Editor
[B]Thursday, August 14, 2008[/B]
If you're drinking "a cup of Joe" right now - coffee, in case you were wondering - you have a North Carolina native to thank for that phrase. And that native, Josephus Daniels, who is famous for a number of reasons, has a long list of descendents who will gather for the 74th year on Roanoke Island for the annual Daniels Family Reunion.
On Roanoke Island - the village of Wanchese to be specific - the Daniels family has enjoyed a long history that goes back to the wild days of colonial North Carolina. Since 1736 the family name has been practically synonymous with Wanchese, Roanoke Island and the Outer Banks.
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Photo Courtesy North Carolina State Archive
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Josephus Daniels, one-time owner of the Raleigh News and Observer and Secretary of the Navy under Pres. Woodrow Wilson is pictured in his office. The 74th annual Daniels Family Reunion happens this weekend at the Bethany United Methodist Church in Wanchese.
According to a statement provided by Melvin Daniels, Jr., a descendent of Josephus Daniels, the family got its start in North Carolina after two brothers made their way to Massachusetts by way of England. After one winter in New England, the Daniels brothers made their way south to the warmer climate of Roanoke Island where they would eventually purchase land that today is known as Wanchese.
The Daniels family has lived in the village of Wanchese since those early days of colonial North Carolina.
The Daniels family history, North Carolina and the United States are tightly woven together. Made up of fishermen and boat builders, one family member eventually left the marshlands of Wanchese for Beufort County and eventually Raleigh. From that branch of the family Josephus Daniels was born.
Josephus Daniels eventually became the owner of the Raleigh News and Observer and was Secretary of the Navy under Pres. Woodrow Wilson during World War I. Future Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt was under-secretary of the Navy under Daniels.
In 1933 Roosevelt chose his old boss to be the ambassador to Mexico. It was during that time that Josephus Daniels and Melvin Daniels, Sr. made contact and decided to pull the Daniels family together for a first-ever reunion on Aug. 19 of that year.
Since the summer of 1933 the Daniels family has gathered in Wanchese for their reunion. But this is no ordinary reunion. On the unassuming south end of Roanoke Island in Wanchese, inside the Bethany United Methodist Church, history has unfolded over the years, not only celebrating one of this country's oldest European families, but hosting a parade of dignitaries that have included governors, senators, religious leaders and the like.
This year North Carolina Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight - a Daniels family member - will host University of North Carolina President Erskine Bowles. Local musicians, the Captain's Crew, headed by regional celebrity Ken Mann, will provide music. The event is an "old fashion picnic" and people are invited to bring their meals and join locals on the church lawn following the program.
This year the 74th annual Daniels Family Reunion will be held Sunday at the Bethany Methodist Church in Wanchese. The event starts at 3:30 p.m. and the public is invited to attend and celebrate, among other things, the memory of family patriarch Josephus Daniels.
By the way, U.S. Navy sailors who were forced to switch to coffee onboard ships after Josephus Daniels outlawed alcohol at sea, coined the phrase "cup of Joe."
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