Florence Kidder Memorial Scholarship

Scholarship Sponsored by National Society of the Colonial Dames of America

Florence Kidder Memorial Scholarship — overview
The Florence Kidder Memorial Scholarship honors Florence Hill Kidder, the first president of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in North Carolina. It supports high school seniors who plan to attend a post‑secondary institution in North Carolina.

Key facts
- Number and amounts of awards in one year: 1st — $3,000; 2nd — $1,000; 3rd — $800; three 4th places — $400 each (six scholarships total).
- Scholarships are not renewable.
- Eligible applicants: graduating high school seniors who intend to enroll in a post‑secondary institution in North Carolina.

2026 essay topic
Title: Exploring the Voices of Early Carolina: Life, Hardship and Settlement Through Primary Sources

Overview and purpose
You will analyze firsthand accounts written by people who experienced the earliest years of English exploration and settlement in Carolina. Primary sources let us see what contemporaries noticed, feared, hoped for, and left out. Your task is to use the assigned documents to describe daily life, the hardships faced, and how those hardships affected both European settlers and the Indigenous peoples of the region.

Assigned primary sources (from the anthology)
All materials come from:
Salley, Alexander S., Jr., ed. Narratives of Early Carolina, 1650–1708. Original Narratives of Early American History. J. Franklin Jameson, gen. ed. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1911.

- Robert Horne, A Brief Description of the Province of Carolina (1666), pp. 62–73.
- William Hilton, A Relation of a Discovery (1664), pp. 31–61.
- Samuel Wilson, An Account of the Province of Carolina (1682), pp. 160–175.
- Thomas Newe, Letters of Thomas Newe (1682), pp. 176–186.

What your essay should do
- Use these primary texts as your main evidence. Ground your analysis in what the authors actually say.
- Describe life in early Carolina, emphasizing hardships and challenges. Talk about experiences affecting both settlers and Indigenous communities rather than treating either as a single, uniform group.
- Show how the sources’ language, perspective, and omissions shape our understanding of the period.

Suggested angles and specific issues to address
Consider some or all of the following as you develop your argument:
- The physical environment: landscape, climate, and natural resources, and how these affected survival and settlement choices.
- Interpersonal dynamics: relationships within settler groups and between settlers and Indigenous peoples (trade, conflict, alliances, misunderstandings).
- Disease: its prevalence and impact on communities and settlement plans.
- Material life: access to food, tools, supplies, and how shortages or abundance influenced daily life.
- Recruitment and promotion: efforts to attract new settlers and how writers described the colony to distant audiences.

Research and citation guidance
- You may consult general reference sources (e.g., Wikipedia, Google Maps) for context, but your analysis must be primarily grounded in the assigned documents.
- Clearly cite any specific facts, quotations, or page references you use. A standard citation style (MLA, Chicago, or APA) is fine; at minimum, include author, title, date, and page numbers as shown above.
- When you quote, keep quotations purposeful and follow each with analysis: explain what the quotation reveals and why it matters. Consider authors’ perspective, intended audience, and possible biases.

A few brief tips from a teacher
- Start with a clear thesis: take a position about what the documents collectively reveal about life and hardship in early Carolina.
- Use specific evidence: point to particular passages and connect them to your claims.
- Compare perspectives: note agreements and contradictions among the writers.
- Pay attention to silences: what do these writers leave out or gloss over, and why might that be important?

If you have questions about citing the anthology, interpreting a passage, or organizing your essay, ask early—this is a historical thinking exercise as much as a writing one. Good luck.