Daniel, Bessie Heath, 1886-1976.

Bessie Heath Daniel, farmer, teacher, and amateur historian, of Person County, N.C., was born to Lewis Heath Daniel, a tobacco farmer and distillery warehouse employee, and Sallie Barnett Daniel at the family home in Flat River, N.C. She had one sister, Bertha Daniel Cloyd, who married Edward Lamar Cloyd, dean of students at North Carolina State University for nearly 40 years, with whom she had two children, Edward Lamar Cloyd Jr., and Ann Daniel Cloyd. Bessie Heath Daniel attended the State Normal and Industrial College (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro) in Greensboro, N.C., and worked there in the office of the president. She also held positions as the treasurer of the Kanuga Club near Hendersonville, N.C., and as an administrative assistant in the Agricultural Extension Service of Roxboro, N.C., and Person County. Daniel held numerous clerical positions, taught at Roxboro High School and the Hillcrest School in Flat River, and from 1923 to her retirement managed the family tobacco farm. From 1957 to 1975, she hosted a weekly radio program on WRXO in Roxboro, N.C., devoted to Person County history.

From the description of Bessie Heath Daniel papers, 1723-1987. WorldCat record id: 25724726

Bessie Heath Daniel (1886-1976), was a farmer, teacher, and amateur historian of Person County, N.C. She was born to parents Lewis Heath Daniel (1850-1934) and Sallie Barnett Daniel (1860-1916) at the family homestead and farm in Flat River, N.C. She had one sister, Bertha Daniel, also known as Bertha Daniel Cloyd. Daniel's parents were tobacco farmers, farming the land that her paternal grandfather purchased in 1847. In addition to tobacco farming, Lewis Heath Daniel was employed at a distillery warehouse in Roxboro, N.C., from 1890 to 1900.

Bessie Heath Daniel attended the State Normal and Industrial College (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro) in Greensboro, N.C., and graduated in 1905. From 1905 to 1909, her sister Bertha attended the Normal College as well. During Daniel's undergraduate years and for four years after graduation, Daniel worked in the office of the college president, as an assistant to the campus librarian, and as a teacher in the business department. Upon leaving her position at the college, Daniel worked as the treasurer of the Kanuga Club near Hendersonville, N.C.; a teacher at Roxboro High School and the Hillcrest School; an administrative assistant in the Agricultural Extension Service in Roxboro and Person County; and held clerical positions in Statesville, N.C., Asheville, N.C., Rutherfordton, N.C., and Washington D.C. (during World War I). From 1923 to her retirement, Daniel managed the family farm at Flat River.

Bessie Heath Daniel's sister Bertha married Edward Lamar Cloyd, who served as dean of students at North Carolina State University for nearly forty years. They had two children, Edward Lamar Cloyd Jr., called Son, and Ann Daniel Cloyd, in whose lives Bessie Daniel was an active participant.

Daniel was an avid local historian and collected materials relating to the history of Person County and the genealogy and history of the her family. From 1957 to 1975, she hosted a weekly radio program on WRXO in Roxboro, N.C., which was devoted to Person County history and other items of relevance to the region.

Bessie Heath Daniel died at the age of 89 in February 1976.

From the guide to the Bessie Heath Daniel Papers, 1753-1987, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)