National Society Daughters of the American Colonists

History

The Daughters of the American Colonists was founded on December 9, 1920 by Sarah Elizabeth Mitchell Guernsey at the Planters Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri and was federally chartered in 1984. The founding members, along with Guernsey, were Ida M. Schaaf, Emma Wagoner Long, Lavinia Crow Reilly, Harriet Holbrook Norris, Margaret Blaine Campbell, Euphrates S. Pearson, Nola P. Hatch, Jennie Bowles Thomas, Emily Willet Davis, Stella Hereford Ball, Dora Eddleman Simmons, and Minnie Walker Wilcox. The organization is headquartered at 2205 Massachusetts Avenue on Embassy Row in Washington, D.C.

There are various chapters of the Daughters of the American Colonists and over 196 historical markers have been erected by the society, including the Original Patentees Memorial at President's Park South which was erected in 1936. In 1940, the Arizona Society of the Daughters of the American Colonists was organized which in 1991 had chapters in three cities.

The organization reported revenue of $298,332 and expenses of $224,973, with net assets of $2,377,379, in 2024.

Membership

Membership is open to American women who are at least 18 years old and are lineal descendants of someone who rendered civil or military service in one of the Thirteen Colonies before July 4, 1776.

Notable members

• Rachel Darden Davis, physician and politician
• Denise Doring VanBuren, lineage society leader
• Ruth Coltrane Cannon, preservationist, historian, and philanthropist
• Margaret Wootten Collier, writer
• Sarah Elizabeth Mitchell Guernsey, educator and lineage society leader
• Kitty O'Brien Joyner, electrical engineer
• Almyra Maynard Watson, officer in the United States Army Nurse Corps
• Jeanne Fox Weinmann, lineage society leader
• Edith Wire, composer and pianist
• Grace Steele Woodward, writer and historian
• Josephine McDonald Yarbrough, writer
• Lynn Forney Young, civic leader and clubwoman

References

References

1. "Founders Plaque".
2. . (1963). ["National Society, Daughters of the American Colonists: Thirty-fifth Yearbook, 1963"](https://archive.org/details/yearbook196335daug/page/2/mode/2up). *National Society, Daughters of the American Colonists*.
3. "Daughters of the American Colonists Historical Markers".
4. "Original Patentees Memorial Historical Marker".
5. "Daughters of the American Colonists Records, 1928-1991".
6. Roberts, Andrea Suozzo, Alec Glassford, Ash Ngu, Brandon. (2013-05-09). "National Society Daughters Of The American Colonists - Nonprofit Explorer".
7. "Charity Navigator - Rating for National Society Daughters of the American Colonists".
8. . (). ["Welcome"](https://nsdac.org/).