The Manhattan Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution gathered at the historic Fraunces Tavern to celebrate recent inductees and discuss future service projects. More than a million women have joined the DAR since it was founded in 1890 to honor their heritage and make a difference in their communities worldwide. Manhattan DAR Regent Sarah Shea Lynch sent a welcome to the group and shared insights and calls to action for 2023. Due to holiday travels and health concerns, several members joined by Zoom.
DAR is a non-profit and non-political society led, staffed, and funded entirely by women, dedicated to supporting the mission and interests: of education, historic preservation, and inclusive patriotism. Today’s DAR is a 21st-century organization with a vibrant membership, sharing service opportunities, developing leadership skills, and an appreciation of history. There are nearly 180,000 current members of the DAR in approximately 3,000 chapters across the United States and in several other countries. The organization is one of the most inclusive genealogical societies in the United States. Membership in the DAR today is open to all women, regardless of race or religion, who can prove lineal bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving United States independence.
Through grassroots efforts, thousands of hours are donated to service by the DAR local chapters. The Manhattan Chapter NSDAR held an annual holiday gift drive this past year to benefit men and women served through the Margaret Cochran Corbin VA Harbor Healthcare system in New York City. Support and comfort are provided to homeless veterans through HUD-VASH (Housing and Urban Development’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing). The Manhattan Chapter NSDAR donated much-needed clothing, toiletries, and therapeutic gifts through the HUD-VASH team.
The Manhattan Chapter NSDAR distributes copies of the Constitution of the United States of America annually to the senior ROTC Cadets at the Xavier High School Awards Ceremony. In addition, a scholarship is given to the outstanding cadet at the Spring awards ceremony through the Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly award. Recent Manhattan Chapter NSDAR programs held at the Fraunces Tavern Museum included such notables as Emmy Winning News Anchor Cheryl Wills, author, journalist, former Presidential aide Sydney Blumenthal, and Pulitzer Prize Winner Ron Chernow, among others. These are just a few examples of the mission-based initiatives supported by the women of the Manhattan Chapter NSDAR.
Manhattan Chapter NSDAR members enjoyed lunch at Fraunces Tavern, New York’s oldest and most historic bar and restaurant; Fraunces Tavern® is a National Landmark building that once served as a meeting place for many of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. Fraunces Tavern is famous as where George Washington gathered a group of his officers after the last British troops left American soil in 1783 to thank them for their service and bid them an emotional farewell before returning home. The building has become the site for the Fraunces Tavern Museum which houses a collection of historical artifacts about the American Revolution.
The Manhattan Chapter NSDAR’s current leadership is Sarah Shea Lynch (Regent), Linda Rhodes Jones (Vice Regent), Evelyn Carmichael (Chaplain), Audrey Fields
(Recording Secretary), Maggie Rhodes Nugent (Corresponding Secretary), Melanie Wells (Treasurer), Alyssa Ritch-Frel (Registrar), Eugenia Askren (Historian), Donna Horak (Librarian) and Linda Rhodes Jones (District Director I, II & XII). Members include: Anne Elizabeth Fisk Bergan, Kathy Punzalan, Patricia Altschul, Elizabeth Boltres, Katherine Bryan, Betty Murray, Hannah Krause, Joan Pedley, Donna Horak, Nicole Buzzelli, Renee Phillips, Karen Reynolds, Courtney Katzenstein, Mary Marshall Anderson, Evelyn Carmichael, Holly Villaire, Virginia Mugan, Linda Rhodes Jones, Emma Stuhlmann, Joyce Hanly, Maureen Bagwell, Grace Sallustio, Maggie Elizabeth Rhodes, Hannah Streck, Jessica Huff, Karen Compton, Adriana Pezzulli, Jennifer Christine Vaughan Maanavi, Loraine Faina, Heather Lottner, Misty Beckenbach-Perez, Alexandra Spinks, Martha Millard, Becky Gliber, Heather L Barlow, Colette Coffman, Charlotte Hsu, Jennifer Cullinan, Muriel Roberts, Melanie Wells, Sherry Crichfield, Sandra Pezzulli, Kelly Costello, Rebecca Hsu, Sarah Shea Lynch, Elizabeth Remington, Miranda Patterson, Sue Scott, Audrey Fields, Eugenia Askren, Margaret.L. Moser, Sarah Hsu, Alyssa Haak, Crystal House, Elizabeth Davis Reynard, Alyssa Ritch Frel, Mary Catherine Ludlam, Michelle Kinney, Donna Pointer, Margaret Spencer, Rebecca Kay Grindrod Schacht, Vivian Taylor, Suzanne Mancuso, Sarah de Donato, Linda Brooke, Kerensa Harrell, Bonnie Comley, Ellen Rhett Hasell, Victoria Hamill Chall, Colleen Manzo, Katherine Terry, Mary Kate Gorman and Carolyn Jones Borris.
DAR members are women who come from diverse backgrounds and have various interests. Their common bond is their lineal descent from the Patriots of the American Revolution. To learn more about The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, see: www.DAR.org
