Published: October 06, 2008 11:43 pm            

Looking back at 118 years of DAR

On Saturday, Oct. 11, the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, will celebrate its 118th birthday. That means that, for over 100 years, the United States of America has had the benefit of efforts of this non-profit organization of women in the areas of historical preservation and research, education and patriotism. And all of this activity began in 1890 with only 18 women. Now with over 200,000 members and over 3,000 chapters, the National Society still stands by its early emphasis, “a society founded on service.” And the organization’s motto of “God, Home, and Country” is just as applicable today as in those early years before American women even had the right to vote.

Any visitor to the nation’s capital will quickly spot the national headquarters of the NSDAR as it “occupies an entire city block near the White House and is the largest group of buildings in the world owned and maintained exclusively by women.”

Memorial Continental Hall, facing 17th Street, contains the famed DAR Genealogical Library with its over 115,000 books. You may remember my earlier columns in which I revealed the excitement I felt in first entering and using this “library of my dreams.” It contains even unpublished genealogy transcripts as well as genealogical periodicals, and we all know that often these sources are the ones containing that special family name for which we are searching.

And who can resist a tour of the State Rooms housed in Memorial Continental Hall, each representing a period of history important to a particular state and decorated by chapters of that state. How thrilled I was to view the Texas Room with its pioneer artifacts!

The Administrative Building houses the offices of NSDAR as well as the Americana Collection with over 5,000 documents on early America and the Special Collection of NSDAR History. But the collection which drew my greatest attention was found in the Seimes Microfilm Center, containing microfilm of the “Federal Census records from 1850 to 1900 as well as state, county, and cemetery records.” What a bountiful source of information on our nation’s families!

Constitution Hall, built in 1929, is famous for the DAR Continental Congress, which meets there each year. But during every other month besides April when the NSDAR meets, the building is made available to the “many high school and college graduations, concerts by service bands in the Washington, D.C., area and other concerts” as a service to the public. Also federal agencies may give seminars in this building, and conventions and trade shows may be held there.

Both Memorial Continental Hall and Constitution Hall have received designation as Registered National Historic Landmarks — the former in 1973 for housing the “Conference on Limitation of Armament held there from Nov. 11, 1921, to Feb. 6, 1922,” and the latter “in 1985 for historic significance and architectural excellence.”

Although one building faces 17th Street and the other 18th, a person can enter the wrong one but still wander through to the other, and the pilgrimage will definitely be worth the effort. So much to see. So little time to see it.

Many people become acquainted with DAR when their son or daughter is selected as DAR Good Citizen at school. This is an opportunity for high school seniors in public, private, and parochial schools. The procedure begins with the selection of three candidates from the senior class by the faculty. Then the final choice is made by the students of the senior class. To the winners, one from each school participating, chapter awards are given. A winner is selected to send to the state competition, and the state sends a winner to national, where the national winner receives a scholarship.

Here in Corsicana, the James Blair Chapter, NSDAR, has participated for many years in the DAR Good Citizens competition. In fact the present regent of the chapter Geneva Duncan Davis was the recipient of this chapter’s award during her senior year at Corsicana High School.

The chapter also awards ROTC medals and awards for writing historical essays. The ROTC medals go to high school students, of course, but the fifth through eighth grades write essays on topics prescribed with awards given by the chapter. Winning essays go on to state and state winners to national. The national winners are presented during DAR Continental Congress in April. And I have just described for you the beautiful buildings where this gathering takes place.

These are only a few reasons why I am wishing a very happy 118th birthday to the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution.

(Information from “Getting to Know the DAR,” published by NSDAR, Washington, D.C.)

—————

Gelene Simpson is a Daily Sun columnist. Her column appears on Tuesdays.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.