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Our Chapter’s Founding
An excerpt from our chapter’s published book -
One Hundred Years in Review 1897 - 1997
“As a detailed history of the activities of the chapter from the time we were granted our charter in 1897, to the year 1997, would be impossible here, it is proposed to give only a general
account of them.
We took more than special notice of the anniversaries of the Battles of the Revolution, which were fought near Albany, by making day trips to the historic spots, usually accompanied by the
Philip Livingston Chapter, Sons of the Revolution. We continued with our eight regular meetings during the year with a special meeting in June to celebrate Flag Day.
1898 was the year the battleship Maine exploded in Havana Harbor and the U.S. went to war with Spain. The National Society offered its services and the War Department accepted. The National
Board of Management appointed a committee to handle applications of women nurses, which numbered 4,600. From this list, nurses were chosen for active service. It was the first time trained nurses were used by the
Army. One of the nurses recruited at that time was our member, Mrs. Joseph R. Brown, Jr.
The highlight of the year was in March 1898, when a memorable and brilliant reception was given Mrs. Daniel Manning upon her accession to the office of President General, by the Gansevoort and
Mohawk Chapters DAR and the Philip Livingston Chapter SR. The gala affair took place in the stately assembly rooms of the Historical and Art Society with Bishop William Croswell Doane as one of the guest speakers.
Many distinguished names appeared on the list of those present. Miss Forsyth, then Vice President General of the National Society, and Mrs. James Belden, State Regent, were in the receiving line with Mrs. Manning
and the regents of the three chapters. All were beautifully gowned, but space does not permit descriptions. On the east side of the drawing room, where the receiving party stood during the first informal hour, a
semi-circle of tall palms against the reflecting background of a fine old Colonial mirror, made a fitting frame for the group of stately women. The ceiling was canopied with streamers of bunting of the DAR colors in
three huge panels and flags of historic note were gaily draped and festooned on the walls. Each guest received a card containing a facsimile of the great seal of New York, surrounded by appropriate lettering, as a
souvenir of the occasion.
The newspapers reported it to be “the most brilliant event within the history of the patriotic societies of Albany.”
On April 24, 1899, at a meeting held in the home of Mrs. Munson, Regent, we presented our DAR Real Daughter, Mrs. Alfred B. Street (Elizabeth Weed) with the National Society Gold Spoon, suitably
engraved and topped with a distaff, below which a woman sits at a spinning wheel. Mrs. Street was the wife of Alfred B. Street, well-known poet, and daughter of Smith Weed (1755-1839) and Sarah Fitch Weed. The
following poems, written by Mr. Street, were read: Our Union, The Secret Flame, and Flag of the Eagle. A picture of Mrs. Street is stored with our chapter memorabilia.
Note: A Real Daughter is a child of a Revolutionary Patriot.
Our chapter bylaws were adopted in October 1899, and in December of that same year, we were formally presented our charter by the President General, Mrs. Daniel Manning. This gala affair was
held in the rose lighted mezzanine gallery of the Ten Eyck Hotel in Albany. A large American Flag at one side of the platform and palms grouped here and there gave the pretty touches of festivity, while the table of
the presiding officer, Mrs. Samuel Munson, Regent, held a huge bouquet of pink roses. The program was a beautiful bit of pen work tied with the American tri-colored ribbons.
By 1900, our chapter was flourishing with a membership of seventy-seven. Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth, one of the four founders of the National Society DAR, was our guest speaker in November. Mrs.
Samuel Verplanck, first State Regent to visit our chapter, was guest of honor at an evening reception in the home of Mrs. Munson in December.
By the year 1901, twenty-three new members were accepted, bringing our membership to a total of one hundred. We were quite exclusive at this time in our history, as membership was limited to one
hundred. It was reported that there were many names on the waiting list. This limit was later lifted, as we felt it more “in the spirit of the National Society.”
In February, 1903, the Schuyler Society of the Children of the American Revolution was organized by our chapter. They often joined us in celebrating historical events. This was also the year
that the Executive Board voted that a Chapter Yearbook be compiled each year.
Our DAR Real Daughter passed away on April 22, 1905. She was buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery. We later placed a suitable marker on her grave.
In October 1905, the chapter was presented with two Revolutionary bayonets by the Fresh Air Guild. Mrs. Dederich, Regent, spoke on the Peace Conference at Portsmouth, NH, and the bringing to
this country of the body of John Paul Jones. Both of these events transpired during the summer.
The crowning event of our first ten years took place on December 27, 1907, when a luncheon was served at the Ten Eyck Hotel to commemorate the Tenth Anniversary of the granting of our charter.
Our charter was the central feature of the decorations. The State Regent, Mrs. Henry Roberts, was guest of honor and presented the chapter with ten flags which showed the evolution of the American Flag. It was a
memorable occasion, particularly for the reason that all the papers of the day were prepared and read by charter members. Mrs. Roberts’ ancestor, Josiah Tucker, was at the battle of Fort Stanwix with General Peter
Gansevoort and helped to raise the first American Flag to confront the enemy.
The Committee on Preservation of Historic Spots discovered the graves of two Revolutionary soldiers in an old neglected cemetery at Watervliet. The graves were overgrown with brush and weeds and
the headstones were broken. Arrangements were made to have the remains of the two Revolutionary heroes, Colonel Benjamin Hanks and Samuel Hitchcock, and the wife of each, interred in the Albany Rural Cemetery, where
provisions were made for perpetual care. Bronze Daughters of the American Revolution markers were placed at their graves, as well as at the graves of General Peter Gansevoort and James Boyd, in the same cemetery.
James Boyd is the ancestor of Mrs. Arthur Pray.
The “Gansevoort Table” in the Recording Secretary General’s office in Washington has been documented for the DAR Archives as, “donated in 1911, of mahogany,Colonial style, cost $150.” Mrs.
William Griffith was our Regent at the time.”
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