Blogs

Today is DAR's Founding Day!

By Pamela Wright posted 10-11-2023 02:42 PM

Recommend

133 years ago today on October 11, 1890, eighteen women gathered in Washington, D.C., to organize the Daughters of the American Revolution. Today, we honor their creation and celebrate the founding of DAR by participating in the National DAR Day of Service throughout the month of October. Read more below about the founding of DAR and why we honor our history through service.

The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) was founded in New York City on April 30, 1889, where there was no unified ruling on the admission of women. But at a Sons’ meeting in Louisville, Kentucky on April 30, 1890, they voted to exclude women. The event sparked controversy and discussion in the national press, where it caught Mary Smith Lockwood’s attention.

Lockwood recognized that there was a lack of recognition of women and their contributions to the American Revolution, causing her to write a fiery editorial that was published in the Washington Post on July 13, 1890. Her letter detailed the legend of Hannah Arnett, where during the Revolutionary period she prevented a meeting of men from proclaiming loyalty to the British. In her letter, Lockwood wrote, “Were there no mothers of the Revolution? Where will the Sons and Daughters of the Revolution place Hannah Arnett?”

Lockwood’s detailing moved William O. McDowell, founding member of the Sons of the American Revolution and descendant of Hannah Arnett. He responded to the letter calling for women to form their own organization.

In the summer of 1890, women gathered in various private residencies between Mary Smith Lockwood, Mary Desha, Ellen Hardin Walworth, and Eugenia Washington. On October 11, the first organizational meeting was held with eighteen women in attendance along with four supportive members of the SAR that acted as their advisory board.

In attendance at the October 11 meeting was Mary Cabell who would serve as Vice President Presiding and whose home would serve as the first Daughters of the American Revolution Headquarters. Cabell would then seek out a woman prominent in the United States to serve as the first President General; Caroline Scott Harrison, First Lady of the United States, would fill that position until her death in 1892.

During the first year, member applications soared, with many decidedly non-traditional women for the era, such as trailblazing suffragist pioneer Susan B. Anthony. She wrote in a letter to the Kentucky DAR stating that she hoped “you will be exceedingly careful to distinguish those actions in which our revolutionary mothers took part.” Once formed, the Daughters went straight to work. They began their first project ever, erecting a monument in Fredericksburg, Virginia to honor and mark the birthplace of Mary Ball Washington, George Washington’s mother. Shortly after, on February 22, 1892, the First Continental Congress commenced at the Church of Our Father in Northwest Washington D.C.

Ellen Hardin Walworth wrote in 1893 that DAR “is not a social organization. It is an order patriotic, historical and genealogical, and holds itself closely to these objects.” The DAR would harness a desire for service that would help usher in the progressive era of the United States. It formed a legacy for future generations of women, and through service, it will stand for generations more.