Ar Y History Baughtvrz Nf the Amvrimn
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
EA RLY H ISTORY Eaughtprfi nf the Amt ri ran ifit nnluti nn 920 MA NA M NT G . 1 0 E E 8 . B OARD O F , N OV , 9 In view of the fact that the authori ze d hi story o f th e a Nation l Society , Daughters of th e American Revolution , n 1 8 0 - 1 8 u n contained in the first Smithsonia Rep ort 9 97 , i s availabl e for gen eral distribution , and the refore unknown to the great maj o rity o f chapters , and in view o f the additional fact that letters have come to th e Librarian General during e a u the current year from chapt rs , asking for a condensed t h o r i t a t i v e history o f th e first years of the organi zation , th e following res o lution i s offered : That the President General appoint a committee o f th ree f to prepare from th e highest o ficial sources , such a histo ry , and that the Nation al Board autho rize its printing and di s ' i t r ibu t io n N at i o n al o ffi c e r a to eve ry , St te regent , and chapte r ” regent o f the Society . f This motion , presented at the November meeting o the R. N ational B oard , D . A . , contains th e reason for a history o r th at will be available f th e enti re Socie ty . Its adoption by that body gives th e authority fo r its publicati on and di st r i b u i n t o . o f Th e history the founding o f the Society , and of the first two yea rs succeeding , is preserved in the Smithsonian — 1 0 1 8 . Report 89 97 , published by th e United States Congress Other accounts have been printed that di ffered from the official statements sufficiently to cause uncertai n ty among the ff chapte rs . From di erent States at varying intervals come earnest requests fo r a cond en se d official h istory o f those early month s in such form that every chapter can have acces s to it . Th e committee appointed by the President General to prepare such a h istory is composed of th e Registra r General , the Assistant H istorian General , and th e Librarian General . r The fi st manuscript record s , o riginal letters , and the attested statements o f the three women who were officially recognized 1 8 8 as Foun ders by the Continental Congress o f 9 , which i n s e c awarded med als to th em as such , will be open to th e p n f r tion o f the committee . In addition to these sources o f i o mation th e first Smithsonian Repor t will be consulted . Thi s rep ort conta i ns th e attested st at e m e n t o f members o f the first National Board signe d by two o f the Founders , the Presi dent presiding , the Vice President in charge o f organi zation , the th e T reasurer , the H istorian , Regi strars , the Reco rding S ec t re ary , the Chaplain and four o f th e Vice Presidents . Th e committee submits that no h igher or earlier authoriti es f than these are possible . It will th e refore o fer the following account , realizing fully its responsibility in the matte r , an d ' w o r k kn o w i n n h i s p repare d fully to vouch for its , g that o to ri es can be w ritten i n th e future which will d isprov e the facts here given , or impeach the testimony here presented . The Cincinnati was th e first patriotic soci ety in th e country f n ollowing the Revolution . Then cam e the So s o f the Amer 2 2 1 8 ican Revolution , o rganized in Cali fornia , Octobe r , 75 , and composed o f men and women , the latter call ed Daughters o f the Am erican Revolution . I t was unknown at the east , 1 8 1 8 . wh en in th e summe r o f M r John A . Stevens , o f N ew e . York , in a conv rsation with M rs Ellen H Walworth , ex pressed his intention o f organizing a soci ety of Sons of th e Revolution in that State . M rs . Walworth exclaimed , Not ” th " r e wi out the Daughters o f the Revolution , surely H e a pli ed , That is good id ea , and i f you an d a few othe r ladies w ill meet m e at th e Yorktown Centennial we will d raw n o up a plan . But opportunity presented itself at that time an d . 1 88 the matter was held in abeyance In 3 M r . Steven s o rganized the S ons o f the Revolution in N ew York , and in d 1 890 M rs . Walworth assisted in foun ing the Daughters of the Am erican Revolution in Washington , th e Son s of th e American Revolution having been or gani ze d ind ependently 1 88 . of M r . Stevens in 9 0 1 8 0 On April 3 , 9 , at a general meeting of the S ons of " the Am erican Revolution , in Louisville , y , after discussion in the convention , a vote was cast excluding women . This was telegraphed to various pape rs th rough th e country , and Amer ican women were filled with indignation . Among these was M — is s Eugeni a Wash ing ton , a great grandniece of George 2 e v en i n o f Washington who , on the g the next day , May I st , called upon M rs . Flora Adam s Darling , and proposed that they organ ize a soci ety for women . M rs . Darling heartily app roved , but thought action should be deferred until S ep f - tember , as many o those suppos ed to be eligible were out o f town for the summer 1 On July 3th M rs . Mary S . Lockwood , of Washington , e D . C . , a m emb r of the Press Association , roused by the action o f th e Sons at Louisville , published in the Washington ' a s t Post reproduction o f the hi tory of H annah A rne t , the Revolutionary heroine , and asked in conclusion , Whe re will the S ons and Daughters o f th e Revolution place H annah Arnett M w - . c D o e ll M r Wm O . , a great greatgrandson o f H annah A rnett , an d a member o f the Sons of the American Re v o lu 1 2 1 s tion , saw th e a rticle o f July 3 th , and on the t published ew f in th e same n spaper , an article o fering to ass ist in form o r ing a society , and concluding with a formal call for the a n i z a t i o n g o f th e Daughters of the Ame rican Revolution . This was the first public proposal of the kind . 2 1 1 8 0 Washington Post , July , 9 . Ed itor Post : I have j ust read with a great deal o f interest the article in your paper o f recent date on Women Worthy o f H onor . To me came the thought that it was th e women of Ame rica that fini sh ed the Bunker H ill Monument ; that it was the ' w o m e n o f Am erica that had formed th e Mary Washington t Associa ion to finish the monument to Mary , the mother o f Washington ; that while patriotic und ertakings sometime s have had to turn to Government for a finishing appropriation in th e hand s o f men , in the han ds o f th e women of Ame rica , patriotic und ertakings h ave never fai led . I invite every woman in Ame rica who has th e blood o f the he roes o f th e Revolution in h er vein s to send me her name and address . So soon as I can intelligently i ssue the invitation a national t committe e will be appointed to invite a meeting in Washing on , D . C . , for organization by th e adoption of a national con sti t t i n f u o an d the election o f a board of o ficers , when I will 3 ' pass th e work enti rely out o f my hands in to those of the Daughters o f th e Am erican Revolution . M L L WILLIA O . M CDOWE , 2 0 . Spruce Street, N ewark , N J Mis s Eugenia Washington , M iss Mary Desha , M rs . H annah M a r e n f c . L Wol f , M rs Louise K B rown , and M rs . M ary Mo rri s H allowell , al l o f Wash ington , an d M rs . Roger A . Pryor , o f New York , answe red this call . Five o f these letter s a re append ed : 1 2 1 8 0 .