Oglethorpe Chapter, DAR Collection

Collection

Identifier: MC 40

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection includes materials from the Oglethorpe Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution which is based in Columbus, Georgia. Materials also include state and national level reports and sister-chapter documents.

This collection is organized in the following series:

Series 1: Chapter Administration Records - This series chronicles the functions of the chapter and contains meeting minutes, correspondence, member lists, and reports from various meetings.

Series 2: Historical Materials - This series contains historical information collected by Chapter Members or activities in which they participated. This series also includes material and proceedings from the State and National DAR level.

Series 3: Scrapbooks - Early scrapbooks from 1911 to current. Scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings, photographs, pamphlets and memorabilia from that year’s activities. Scrapbooks were included in contests for the State and national level annual meetings.

Dates

Creation: 1892-2001

Biographical / Historical

The Oglethorpe Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1892 by Anna Caroline Benning, daughter of Confederate General Henry Benning. It was the sixth such charter granted in the state of Georgia and is named for General James Edward Oglethorpe, Georgia’s founder and first Governor. The first meeting was held on December 12, 1892 with the following charter members: Anna Caroline Benning, Cornelia Bacon Osborn, Elia Goode Byington, Emily MacDougald, Nina Jones Holmstead, Dora Flournoy Epping, Mary Howard Benning, Augusta Benning Crawford, Louisa Benning Spencer, Sarah Benning Hull, Verona Mitchell Spencer, Augusta Benning Patterson, Mildred Louis Patterson, Anna Jones Pease, Mary Jones Bruce, Sallie Marshall Harrison, Emma Terry Pollard, Jane Ware Martin, Georgia Goodman Richardson, Mildred Richardson Allen, Mary Clayton Lary, Rosa Crook Gordon, Louise Bacon Strother, Cynthia Hart Chappell, Anna Elizabeth Forman Dismukes, and Mildred Long Flournoy.

One of the first activities of the chapter was to erect a memorial stone to General Oglethorpe marking the site where he crossed the Chattahoochee River at Columbus to make a treaty with the Native Americans. This is believed to be the first memorial to Oglethorpe. In October 1900, Oglethorpe Chapter obtained a facsimile in wax of the Colonial Seal of Georgia from the British Museum through to Corresponding Secretary, Mrs. C.J. Edge, with the help of her father, A.O. Blackmar. It is the exclusive property of this chapter.