Home named for Civil War chaplain to be auctioned

Times Daily ^ | September 5, 2004 | Associated Press

[yonif]

Biloxi home named for Civil War chaplain Abram J. Ryan, who was known as the Poet Laureate of the Confederacy, will be sold at auction on Oct. 5.

The owners, Dr. Jefferson McKenney and Rosanne McKenney, are missionaries in Honduras. Money raised from the sale will be invested in Hospital Loma de Luz, which the McKenneys founded.

"It's quite an opportunity," said William Bone, president of the National Auction Group. "It sells, no matter what. Regardless of price, it sells.

"These people don't owe any money on it and don't care what it brings," Bone said. "They just want money for the hospital. They are not money oriented. They are so nice and very personable people. They live three hours from the nearest telephone and the nearest place to pick up mail. We have to communicate by e-mail."

The property, which the McKenneys bought in 1989, is one of Biloxi's best-known landmarks because of the tall palm tree that grows through its front steps. The house was built in 1840 and 1841 by Judge W.C. Wade but is named after a later tenant.

Ryan, a poet and chaplain who was friends with Jefferson Davis, lived there periodically after the Civil War. In more recent years, the house and an adjacent property called the Sea Reverie have been used as a bed and breakfast. The McKenneys used profits from the business to fund their missionary work.

Ryan, who died in 1886, became a folk hero of the post-Civil War period with poetry admired in both the North and the South. A collection of his poetry published in 1879 went through 40 editions and earned as much as $1.6 million before 1920.

His most noted work is "The Conquered Banner," a postwar salute to the Confederate flag. Margaret Mitchell incorporated the popular poem and its author into "Gone With The Wind."

Ryan is also known as Mobile's "Poet Priest of the Confederacy."

The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Biloxi Historical and Architectural Review Commission would have to approve any major changes to the property because it is a city protected site.

"We've had people contact us and say they would like to take it and move it real close by and build condominiums," Bone said. "We certainly couldn't tell them what they could or couldn't do with it."

[mtbopfuyn]

Egads, the headline reads as if it's the Civil War chaplain that's to be auctioned!

[mrsmel]

I live in Biloxi,and I've never been to see the house. But I've been to Beauvoir(Jefferson Davis' home) a lot. It's beautiful,especially the grounds in spring. Actually,in winter too-the camellias are in bloom then.

[Martin Tell]

Roman Catholic high school in Nashville is named after him, Father Ryan High. He was wounded at the Battle of Franklin (he was a chaplain and insisted on going into battle with his boys). With all the PC anti-Confederate hysteria these days, I am surprised they have not renamed the high school. Suppose it's only a matter of time before someone asks, "Who is this Father Ryan dude?"

[Morgan's Raider]

But-but-but I thought we Southrons were supposed to be anti-Catholic, anti-semitic (see Judah P. Benjamin) bigots.

[Martin Tell]

...anti-semitic (see Judah P. Benjamin) bigots.

That's right. I'm sure you know the story of how Grant loved Jewish people so much he barred all of them from his army camp.

I always use Judah (Brains of the Confederacy) on my Jewish friends. It really freaks them out.

[DixieOklahoma]

Yes! WHAT about THAT!

[onyx]

The Father Ryan House Bed & Breakfast Inn is on the National Historic Registry, located in Biloxi, Mississippi. Built circa 1841, it is one of the oldest remaining structures on the Gulf Coast and the one time home of Father Abram Ryan, Poet Laureate of the Confederacy.

It was here that Father Ryan wrote some of his best known poetry such as "Sea Rest" and "Sea Reverie". The house and the grounds have been painstakingly restored and furnished according to that period.

The house is situated on the beautiful white sand beach of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Guests may visit the nearby historic home of Jefferson Davis at Beauvoir, or Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island. Enjoy great fishing off our beautiful coastal islands, experience trolling on a working shrimp boat, visit the George Ohr and Walter Anderson museums, both minutes away, or golf on one of the Gulf Coast's 18 golf courses.

Each room and suite has its own unique character and charm. You may choose to enjoy the spectacular view from the Jefferson Room and pamper yourself with a whirlpool bath or relax in the stately elegance and romance of the Father Ryan Rooms which are furnished with exquisitely hand crafted beds and antiques dating back to the early 1800s.

All accommodations include a full complimentary breakfast, a private bath, cable television and a beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico, the gardens or the courtyard and pool.

For a more reflective time, guests may prefer to swim in the pool, take a walk on the beach, stroll in the quiet landscaped grounds, or sit in the shade of the historic Father Ryan Palm and enjoy the Southern hospitality and peaceful ocean view that Father Ryan once enjoyed.

Dang, now I find out it's on the auction block! LOL!

[DixieOklahoma]

Somebody please close this thread before more people read the word 'confederate'!

[Martin Tell]

Oh, and another one: Scarlet O'Hara was Catholic. Not too sure about Rhett Butler, however.

[onyx]

Absolutely NOT!

[cyborg]

Why?

[AmericanVictory]

Furl that flag,
unfold it never,
let it droop
above the dead.

[mrsmel]

Lots of Catholic Southerners on the Gulf Coast and Louisiana-the Cajun and Creole history there,and in my area,the Yugoslavian and Cajun ancestry. We also now have a pretty large Vietnamese Catholic community. There are Masses said in Vietnamese.(Not that I go,I was raised up-country in the Souhtern Baptist tradition,but I went to Mass too a lot when growing up).

[mrsmel]

>dang now I find out it's on the auction block>

I hope it will remain a bed-and-breakfast,now that I see the pictures I'd like to stay a weekend. It's weird seeing a picture of the beach here on FR,when I can walk a block from home and see the same beach :)

[onyx]

I hope it remains standing.
I'd hate to see it tore down for some new highrise.
I'd love to spend a weekend there. The rooms (suites)
are reasonable. I just checked. Now to sell husband
on my grand idea. :)

[mrsmel]

Make sure first that we're not in the path of the next hurricane ;)

[onyx]

I'd be next year before we'd get down to Biloxi.

[mrsmel]

It won't be a high-rise, we have very few of those here. I think there's a few in Gulfport.

I hope you come down,and I hope you enjoy it:)

[onyx]

Oh, we will for sure.
Y'all aren't that far from Vicksburg.