Kick off February’s Black History Month with a presentation by Daisy Howard-Douglas on February 4, 2023 1-3 pm at the Westmoreland County Historic Courthouse. Ms. Daisy (dressed in full military uniform) will present the life, times, and legend of “Cathy Williams,” the first female “Buffalo Soldier” and will also share stories of the lives of eight famous Buffalo Soldiers who left their homes in Westmoreland County to join the 10th Calvary of Company M. Light refreshments available. This event is free and open to the public. An extensive exhibit highlighting the eight famous Buffalo Soldiers will be on display from February 1-15.
Daisy Howard-Douglas is an author, storyteller, and retired elementary teacher of 42 years. Ms. Daisy has traveled to Africa, Bahamas, Canada, China, and throughout the United States. She does research, composes and performs dramatic readings in costume, taking on the personas of the intriguing characters from African-American history. She performs at educational and senior facilities, family reunions, churches, and community events.
Meet Ms. Daisy and the Buffalo Soldiers
(Notes… from news articles and Mrs. Douglas)
Sunday afternoon storytelling is a tradition in Daisy Howard-Douglas’ family, one she fell in love with listening to her father as a child. Beyond the Louisiana of her childhood and her married life in Richmond and the Northern Neck, she combines her interest in history and her own dramatic talents for public storytelling as a way to celebrate her ancestors.
She is the founder/director of the Westmoreland Weavers of the Word Storytelling Guild since June 1, 1998. The guild has over 38 members.
Now retired from elementary school teaching after 42 years, the Sandy Point resident researches, composes, and performs stories in costume, taking on the personalities of intriguing characters from history, most often African-American history. Her interest was inspired by the sense of community between generations she experiences as a child in the island village of Morgan City, Louisiana.
It was also in Louisiana that she met her husband, James Douglas, a former oysterman and Menhaden waterman from Sandy Point, Virginia. He is trained and certified as a “Steel Rodman,” for bridges and tunnel construction. His work includes the Washington, D.C. Subway, and bridge in five major states.
She has been married to James Allen Douglas for over 59 years now. Ms. Daisy shares her research into his family history as a descendant of two 1830 Westmoreland residents, Mitchell Wilson and Sallie Elizabeth Crabbe.
After undergraduate and Masters degrees in education, Ms. Daisy, as she is known, honed her writing skills at the Hartford Connecticut Institute of Writers. In addition to composing her presentations of oral history, she has preserved her research in 20 books, ranging from Westmoreland African-American military history, to church histories of Hague’s St. Paul’s Catholic Mission and Louisiana’s Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church, and to bayou tales with Cajun recipes.
As an award-winning speaker and community activist, she has traveled as far as the Bahamas to share stories of the contributions of African-Americans to America’s growth as a nation. She has also traveled to Africa, China, Canada, and throughout the United States.
Her research has generated four highway markers in Virginia and most recently one for the 150-year-old church in her Louisiana hometown. Miss Daisy has received over 400 awards for her humanitarian efforts as well as the Pearls of Legacy award from the Girl Scouts for 60 years of service.
During her dramatization and performance, Miss Daisy proudly shares the experiences of three Buffalo Soldiers from the Civil War Era. Westmoreland County boasts eight Buffalo Soldiers. These African-American regiments received their nickname when Native Americans saw them in buffalo coats and caps. From 1866 on, Buffalo Soldiers served in ten major wars and conflicts. Ms. Daisy uses a variety of sources for her research. (She spoke to the grandson and other descendants. On rainy days, the grandson explored his grandfather’s attic trunk and played with the medals, swords, and boots. He told to Ms. Daisy his grandfather’s stories.)
Ms. Daisy’s latest research is the life, times and legends of a Missouri born slave woman who served with the cavalry. She changed her name, posed as a man, and lived the life of a Buffalo Soldier. Dressed in complete military uniform, Miss Daisy transports the audience back in time to the life of the brave Buffalo Soldiers. A book on her latest research was published in fall of 2020, entitled “The Legend of Cathay Williams, Female Buffalo Soldier.” Daisy is the author of 14 books, and the co-author of ten books on the childhood and life of her daughter, Jewel Linzy Douglas, of Williamsburg, Virginia.