Two Saint Joseph School students who penned essays about an imagined lunch with Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, took top state honors in the American history essay contest sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
After placing first for their grades in the local contest hosted by the Pack Horse Ford Chapter of the DAR, fifth-grader Clark Middlemiss and sixth-grader Charlotte Smith captured first place in the West Virginia State Society Daughters of the American Revolution competition. Their writings advanced to the district/regional level, winners at which qualify for the national competition.
Smith described an encounter with Carroll in a modern 24-hour cafe, where he was clearly out of place dressed in attire from the late 1700s. He didn’t know how he ended up in the eatery in 2026, since he died in 1832.
The essay expressed Smith’s excitement about meeting him, since she did a project about Carroll for history class. He told her that being a U.S. senator and president of the Maryland State Senate was a big responsibility and commitment. When asked what might not be commonly known about him, he told the inquisitive girl that he was fluent in English, Spanish, Latin, French and Italian.
Middlemiss imagined himself as a journalist for the Pennsylvania Evening Post who met Carroll, a childhood friend, for a meal at a tavern in Philadelphia. The friends discussed how Carroll helped the United States gain independence “by convincing others to be in favor of our fight for freedom.” Asked if he was concerned about his safety after signing the landmark 1776 document, he replies: “Since I am a Catholic, I put my trust in the Lord.”
Smith and Middlemiss were invited to attend the state DAR luncheon and awards ceremony on March 14 at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs. They also were invited to attend the Pack Horse Ford Chapter’s ceremony and reception honoring contest winners on March 28 at the Shepherdstown (WV) train station. Other invitees to the Shepherdstown event are the following Saint Joseph School students, whose works placed at the local level, for which 98 were submitted for judging:
Fifth grade: Owen McCreery, second place
Sixth grade: Preston Atkins, second; Charles Henry Stephen-Hassard, third
Seventh grade: Jacob Severance, first; Rhea Rawat, second; Khyla Huynh, third
Eighth grade: McCoy Williams, first; Reston Barrow, second; Lorelei Oligmueller, third
