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Early Members of the Tohopeka Chapter
NSDAR
Dadeville,
Alabama
Circa 1920s
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On November 15, 1909,
in Dadeville,
Alabama, sixteen descendants of
Revolutionary War patriots assembled in the home of Mrs. William Gray, the organizing regent, and started what
would become recognized on February 18, 1910,
the Tohopeka Chapter of the Alabama Daughters of the American Revolution. The
chapter charter reads:
Whereas
certain approved
members of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution,
did, under the authorization of the National Board of Management, on the 15th
day of November, 1909, organize a Chapter of the Daughters of the American
Revolution, in the City of Dadeville, State of Alabama to be known as the
Tohopeka Chapter; and whereas the following officers of said Chapter have been
selected, to wit: Mrs. William Gray as Regent, Mrs. O.P. Carlisle as Vice
Regent, and Miss Marian Johnson as Recording Secretary [Blank space for Corresponding
Secretary], Mrs. Clyde Acree as Register, Miss Willie Harwell as Treasurer,
Miss Emily Herren as Historian.
Now, therefore,
the following charter members
Mrs. Mary Belle Acree,
Mrs. Hewlette Bulger Carlisle, Mrs. Marilla Crawford Gray, Miss Emily Herren,
Miss Marian Johnson, Mrs. Maude Crawford Anderson, Mrs. Maggie Salmond Cox,
Miss Willie Harwell, Mrs. Anne Daniel Herren, Mrs. Nora E. Miller, Mrs. Sallie
Herren Oliver, Miss Stella Burns, Miss Estelle Crawford, Miss Buford Harwell,
Mrs. Gussie Rowell Johnston, Mrs. Exie Slaughter Oliver.
and their
successors and associates are hereby declared to be a regularly organized
Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, to
be known as the Tohopeka Chapter; and as such are entitled to all the
privileges, and subject to all the limitations of the Constitution and By-Laws
of the National Society.
Given under our hands and seal of the National Society
day of the 18th day of February, 1910.
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Countersigned
Julia G. Scott
[Illegible name]
President General Mary R. Wilcox
Regent of Alabama Secretary General
Today, the
chapter charter issued by the President General hangs in the
Tallapoosee Museum in Dadeville.
The charter members chose for the name of the chapter,
Tohopeka, meaning fort or fortification. Tohopeka was the name of the
Indian Village
at Horseshoe Bend in Tallapoosa
County where, in 1814,
General Andrew Jackson and his Tennessee Volunteers, with the help of friendly
Indians, fought and broke the power of the hostile Indians in the state.
Several years later, in 1911, Mrs. Nora E. Miller of
the Tohopeka Chapter donated a bookcase desk to the Alabama DAR Museum Room, located in
Memorial Continental Hall, Washington,
D.C. A compilation by Mrs. Frederica Gibson White states that the Alabama
Room "...contains many treasures donated
by generous Alabama Daughters [and] one of the first, which remains the most
historically significant, is a mahogany bookcase desk ca. 1840.". According to her compilation, the bookcase
was owned and used by William Rufus King who served as Minister to France before his election in 1852 as Vice
President of the United
States under President Franklin Pierce. The
repaired bookcase protects valuable books from light and dust and is enjoyed by
those visiting the room.
Throughout the years, Tohopeka Chapter has moved
forward in striving to maintain several objectives, including patriotism,
education, national defense, and genealogical research. The chapter has
dedicated members who work diligently throughout the year promoting
Constitution Week, DAR Good
Citizen, Kate
Duncan Smith
DAR
School, Literacy in
Adults, Lyman Ward Military Academy Bronze ROTC Medal Award, Alabama Day on the radio, American Spirit magazine
donation to Lewis Cooper, Jr. Library, National Defense with a speaker from
Maxwell Air Force Base, and speakers on genealogy and history.
Since its organization, Tohopeka
Chapter has seen many members named to positions of authority and eminence in
the State Society including a State Vice Regent, State Librarians, State
Historians and several State Committee Chairmanship
positions. Presently, Sandra Scott Wilson is serving as the ASDAR Historian.
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