THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 9, 1995 TAG: 9508090443
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
DATELINE: WANCHESE LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
Like returning Capistrano swallows, flocks of Daniels family members will come home to Wanchese on Aug. 19 for the annual reunion of the far-flung clan.
Roanoke Island has been the ancestral home of the Daniels family since 1736.
``This year our guest of honor will be Dr. William Friday, former president of the University of North Carolina and now the host of UNC-TV's `North Carolina People,' said Melvin R. Daniels Jr., an Elizabeth City banker who helps arrange the annual reunions.
The father of former state Sen. Melvin Daniels Jr. was a longtime Dare County Register of Deeds and a co-founder with the late Josephus Daniels. Josephus Daniels was a U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and the founder-publisher of the Raleigh News & Observer in Raleigh.
As is customary, the Daniels' reunion will be held at Bethany United Methodist Church, in Wanchese.
Many members of the Daniels clan had a hand in building the big white church on the road between Manteo and Wanchese.
One of them was a slightly deaf old sea captain who would only agree to help build the church if the pews were installed fore-and-aft instead of athwartships along the long axis of the church.
To this day, the Bethany pews run up and down the length of the church with the pulpit on one side in the middle. Old Capt. Daniels felt this arrangement made it easier for him to hear because he could sit closer to the preacher.
Dr. Friday will be introduced by state Sen. Marc Basnight, a Roanoke Island resident who is a member of the Daniels family. In the genealogy of Roanoke Island, Basnights are almost as numerous as Danielses, but 250 years of history has not yet worked out which clan salutes first.
``Our reunion is always open to the public,'' said Melvin Daniels Jr., ``and everyone is invited to pack a basket and join us in an old fashioned picnic on the church grounds.'' The picnic starts at 4:30 p.m. a week from Saturday, Daniels said. by CNB