Worthington awarded family history book honor

Doris Jordan Worthington was honored recently at a North Carolina Society of Historians annual meeting in Morehead City for a family history book she edited.

A copy of the book, “The Ties that Bind ... The John E. Todd and Rosa Lee Matthews Family Story” has been placed in the Iredell County Library.

Worthington accepted the honor on behalf of her family, some of whom were in attendance, including two of the sons of Joyce Todd Arnold and her brother. So impressed was the society’s President Elizabeth Sherrill, that she presented Worthington with a framed copy of a poem that included a picture of Joyce Arnold. She had written the poem in response to the death of her brother.

At the annual meeting, some 84 awards, chosen from 777 entries, were announced.

The society was organized in 1941 for the purpose of collecting and preserving North Carolina history, traditions and folklore on not only a statewide basis, but on local and county levels; and to aid in and encourage the exchange of information between members.

In the Family History Book category, Worthington was one of the three winners from 17 entries for the book written by the late Joyce Todd Arnold, Worthington’s aunt. Worthington completed and edited the book, which was printed for the family and distributed at a family reunion in June 2009. The letter of notification to Worthington stated: “It is indeed an honor for me to inform you that 'The Ties That Bind ... the John E. Todd and Rosa Lee Matthews Family Story,’ written by the late Joyce Todd Arnold, and superbly edited by Doris Jordan Worthington, has been chosen by one of our distinguished panels of judges to receive a prestigious Robert Bruce Cook Family History Book Award.”

In her nomination to the Society, Dr. Lynn Veach Sadler said:

“What strikes me about this work is its richness: ancestry charts, innumerable photographs (e.g., people, even animals: a mule, a dog; homes and other structures; records; graves), family facts (and compelling 'lore,’ of course!), and range – not just the past but the present (through December, 2008). Indeed, Joyce, who died suddenly in 2005, has dedicated it to her grandchildren, and one of her sons wrote the epilogue (June 2009). Poignancy, too, is here, for Editor Worthington reports in her Preface: 'On more than one occasion, Joyce said to me, “If something should happen to me before this book is finished, you will see that it gets done, won’t you?’” Doris has also 'learned a good lesson [for all of us] from this work. If we do not ask questions and share memories with those who are alive and can remember now, we will have lost a valuable opportunity.’ This book reveals how we can and do support one another. Joyce went on to authenticate her lineage for the Daughters of the American Revolution and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, history that graces this book. In turn, she 'wanted her nieces to know that they, too, could join by proving their relationship to her.’ 'The Ties that Bind...The John E. Todd and Rosa Lee Matthews Family Story’ is perhaps the fullest testament to that passion.”