DAR Calendar and Covers -- My Photos

The NSDAR (National Society Daughters of the American Revolution) used to print a yearly calendar to sell. Because of my interest of photography, I soon became an unofficial photographer for the Society. The above was a page for the month of May 1995 (I believe), and I took all the photos. Number 5 was used for a DAR Magazine cover, one of 8 that I had during my years of working there.

DAR Postcard -- First Day Cover -- Wordless Wednesday

Postcard purchased at the DAR on the date it was issued, October 11, 1990.

The Best Christmas Gift (DAR and Genealogy related, of course)

It was in December of 1989 and I had only been working at the DAR for about a month, but when she walked in, I was soon in shock. I was presented a large white box about 20" x 14" and tied up in a big red bow. What could it possibly be? It was as light as a feather, and when I shook it, there was a rustling noise inside. With my few quizzical looks at her big smile, I realized it was indeed for me. A quick pull on the ribbon and pushing apart the tissue paper revealed a mass of papers. Some not the least familiar to me. She had done generations of research on my family! A few weeks earlier, I had provided her with a six generation ancestry chart, done by who knows whom in my family, which showed most names and years, but there were also lots of blanks. It was all she needed.

My very new friend had spent a lot of time doing my census look-ups, not on Ancestry.com mind you or a computer, but by the old fashioned method. She made some actual copies of the censuses and a timeline of censuses for a good many ancestors. Some I never heard of! I can't remember how many sheets she did, but I am showing an example below. I am so glad I saved a few of her original work. I hadn't even gotten to that point yet in my research, so she had to explain the timelines. Where we worked, all the censuses for New England were housed in one room, so she didn't have to leave the building. Except for the 1920 for Evanston, Illinois, which showed my father at age 1, that she made a special trip to the NARA in Washington, DC. I was indeed blessed to have this genealogist friend do this for me.

In addition, there was a 27 1/2" x 24" ancestry chart, for nine generations filled in with all the information she found; names, dates and locations! There were no genealogy software programs back then. Looking back, I marvel at her dedication and all the time it took to do this. Almost immediately, I made copies of each section of the huge chart, constantly reducing the size, and then taped it together. Eventually, I got the chart to a 8 1/2 x 10 size, which I carried with me for years, as my point of reference, copy is above.

For many years, I kept the box, but three years ago, it just fell apart. However, I have her original chart, my small reduced one, and several copies of her timeline of census records.

It is indeed the best gift ever, something totally from the heart, and didn't cost much, except for her hours, and hours and hours of time. Thank you Ann.

In the past 21 years, I have run into her at a national genealogy conference and at least three times at the NEHGS library in Boston. I am sure she has never forgotten that gift to me either.

 

Originally posted December 10, 2009

Tombstone Tuesday -- Cathedral of the Pines, Rindge, New Hampshire

Visiting the Cathedral of the Pines recently was certainly worth the excessively long wait.  I have known about this site for what seems to be a hundred years, it is only a little over an hour from my house, and at last I made the trip.  What I didn't know was that it is simply a beautiful place with a cemetery, actually several small cemeteries (for cremations only), many memorials, and a long garden walkway.  Of course I loved that.

When I worked at The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), I was well aware that the President General made an annual pilgrimage from Washington, D.C. to Rindge, New Hampshire every August to visit this site. In a few months it will be their 62nd trip;  the Cathedral of the Pines is 65 years old.

Once home, I immediately checked out Find-A-Grave to see if the cemetery is listed there. Two things surprised me, first there are now 46 million entries to F-A-G, the amount is going up rapidly, and second, there is only one burial listed for this cemetery, and it is for an amazing person.  I believe you might enjoy reading about this person, see site above.

From their web page and brochure are the following statements:

"The Cathedral of the Pines is a breathtaking open-air cathedral and meeting space on 236 acres. Our historic monuments honor the service of American men and women—both military and civilian."

"Prior to December 2008, the sanctuary at Cathedral of the Pines had about 200 pine trees that stood approximately 80 feet tall. Most of the trees were over a hundred years old and had been weakened by age and harsh weather conditions on the hilltop, and some of the trees were diseased.

When the December 2008 ice storm hit the Monadnock region, the worst ice storm in New Hampshire history, it was devastating to our majestic crop of pines that had graced the sanctuary since its founding 65 years ago."  Yes, 200 trees were destroyed.

Nature also affected this site back in 1938 when a hurricane changed the landscape. At that time, the present owners had no idea a mountain range could be seen from that spot, but with the felled trees, it was decided it would make a lovely spot for a sanctuary for the family.  It is a perfect place for weddings, burials, listening to lectures, meditating, attending a service or strolling the grounds.

The Best Christmas Gift (DAR and Genealogy related, of course)

It was in December, I had only been working at the DAR for about a month, but when she walked in, I was soon in shock. I was presented a large white box about 20" x 14" and tied up in a big red bow. What could it possibly be? It was as light as a feather, and when I shook it, there was a rustling noise inside. With my few quizzical looks at her big smile, I realized it was indeed for me. A quick pull on the ribbon and pushing apart the tissue paper revealed a mass of papers. Some not the least familiar to me. She had done generations of research on my family! A few weeks earlier, I had provided her with a six-generation ancestry chart, done by who knows who in my family, which showed most names and years, but there were also lots of blanks. It was all she needed.

My very new friend had spent a lot of time doing my census look-ups, not on Ancestry.com mind you, not a computer, but by the old fashioned method. She made some actual copies of the censuses and a timeline of censuses for a good many ancestors. Some I never heard of! I can't remember how many sheets she did, but I am showing an example below. I am so glad I saved a few of her original work. I hadn't even gotten to that point yet in my research, so she had to explain the timelines. Where we worked, all the censuses for New England were housed in one room, so she didn't have to leave the building. Except for 1920 for Evanston, Illinois, which showed my father at age 1, that she made a special trip to the NARA in Washington, DC. I was indeed blessed to have this genealogist friend do this for me.

In addition, there was a 27 1/2" x 24" ancestry chart, for nine generations filled in with all the information she found; names, dates, and locations! There were no genealogy software programs back then. Looking back, I marvel at her dedication, and all the time it took to do this. Almost immediately, I made copies of each section of the huge chart, constantly reducing the size, and then taped it together. Eventually, I got the chart to an 8 1/2 x 10 size, which I carried with me for years, as my point of reference, the copy is above.

For many years, I kept the box, but three years ago, it just fell apart. However, I have her original chart, my small reduced one, and several copies of her timeline of census records.

It is indeed the best gift ever, something totally from the heart, and didn't cost much, except for her hours, and hours and hours of time. Thank you, Ann.

In the past 20 years, I have run into her at a national genealogy conference and at least three times at the NEHGS library in Boston. I am sure she has never forgotten that gift to me either.

 

DAR - Becoming a Member and a 100 year celebration - Part 3

A very busy day at the DAR Library
(see below for the reason)

This is part 3 of my article, this week, about working at the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in Washington, DC.


A few of the staff genealogists asked if I was interested in genealogy. What? I had no idea what they were talking about. I had a little interest, and all I knew about my heritage was that I was 1/4 Dutch, and my grandmother was from Canada, so I thought, also part Canadian. My father was born in Illinois, his line was from somewhere and they just plopped in Evanston. I knew nothing else. Thank goodness, being a DAR member was not a requirement for being an employee. Although most employees were women, there were a few men working as well. There was a staff of about 25 in the Genealogy department, but not all were genealogists, nevertheless, you can see, it was a huge department. The Library was a large department as well. The 360-degree view of the Library is wonderful, and I'm posting the site again. http://www.dar.org/omni/virtualtours/hq/index.html


If you ever get to Washington, DC, I strongly recommend the building as a building to visit. For you genealogists (men or women), by all means, please go. The cost is something like $6 for the day, no cost for DAR members. For the children and wife, they can take a tour of the period rooms and see the Museum. All information is on their home page. One of the nicest things about the Library is that their books are listed in the card catalog,  http://www.dar.org/library/onlinlib.cfm so you can see ahead of time their holdings. A great way to prepare your research there.  In addition, there is a microfilm center, a place where I almost went blind and wore my arm out. Even to this day, I can't do more than three hours of microfilm at a time or I get dizzy.


The genealogy bug hit me about two weeks later, when I received a wonderful package from my mother, then living in Massachusetts. Among the items I received was a copy of her DAR application, birth records for her and me, information about her chapter in Connecticut, and other documents and papers. I had no idea about this part of her past! Within minutes, I rushed to a few people and told them what I found out. One employee, in particular, a now CG, took me under her wing. She explained that the DAR was trying to get as many new members on board because the following year was their huge 100-year celebration, the Centennial. From that moment forward, that is just about all I heard about until it happened. Of course, there was a lot of learning on how to do my research.  I did a huge amount of work, but I was really lucky because many on the staff helped me, but no matter what, I never paid attention to the whole thing about citations and working on the whole family, I did just my line, can you imagine? And even today, I am making corrections and trying to find sources to put where they should be. I might not have been really lucky, because I found so many lines really quickly, thus moved from family to family in a heartbeat, and could never keep them straight.


On my first day of research, I clearly remember. My genealogy friend knew my great grandparents were from New Haven, and immediately brought me up to the 3rd floor, where she pulled out a 1920 city directory...there he was listed. I was shocked. Then the same week, I found a great book on Durham, Connecticut, which had the births and marriages in chronological order of my mother's DAR patriot, I learned how to trace my line, staying up to 2 AM, and yes, I did sneak the book out, but the Librarian knew it. The next thing, within that first week, was, my friend went to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in DC and got a copy of the 1920 Federal Census of my grandparents, listing my father as being one year old. I had no idea what a census looked like, and was pretty impressed.


In the following months, I took all my breaks, lunchtime, and many bathroom trips via the Library to research also went to the Library on the weekend. I think some of the Library staff must have wondered about seeing me all the time. And my bosses, well they must have known and wondered why I was doing so much xeroxing. At this time, I was working on the same line as my mother, but I discovered another Revolutionary War patriot and decided to use him, and his name was added into the book, DAR Patriot Index, a three-volume set of books, which lists the patriots that the DAR members have used. Because of my connections, all my paperwork went through the channels rather quickly. I decided to join the same chapter my mother belonged to in Connecticut. Those members were thrilled to have a new member and when some of them visited the DAR, I got to meet them. However, when I moved, I dropped my membership. If I remember correctly, the chapter was disbanding, as did the one where I now live. Unfortunately, that has happened to many chapters.


The 100th Anniversary Celebration was in October 1990, there were so many planned events. Some for all employees (like receptions) and some just for members. As I fit both categories, I attended a lot of things, and still managed to do my job. There was a lovely reception at the Capital Hilton Hotel, I believe on Sunday afternoon to kick off the week of festivities. The birthday dinner also at the Capital Hilton Hotel was a night I won't ever forget. Everybody was dressed to the nines, and very happy. Indeed, a nice experience. The photo below is of the President General cutting a cake in the Library. And as shown in the photo above, not a seat to be had that same day.  Everybody wanted cake and to do research.

President General cutting the cake in the Library.

DAR Records, Old and New

Example of an old Genealogy Record card before the new online system was made available to the public this week.

The big news that the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) recently released about the Online Research of the DAR Genealogical Research System sure is exciting, to men and women.  Randy Seaver posted an explanation recently, http://www.geneamusings.com/2009/11/using-dar-grs-ancestors-and-descendants.html.  His article is quite good, so there is no need for me to repeat it.

What I can do, for those who like a little background, is explain how the system used to work.  Above is a copy of an original card.  A new National Number was typed with the name of the child (Jesse Wright) of whom the new DAR member descended from, going to the patriot, in this case Asher Wright.  More than one child's name could be on a card.  If there were five children, you are lucky, because of the additional information you could get. Recently, I posted two examples of my very early ancestors who were DAR members, the first name listed in both the old and new systems.  Sophia Davis Bishop's with National No. 36,686.  See: http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2009/11/dar-application-1901-and-letter-from.html  The old method was rather archaic, and errors were bound to happen, probably more frequently than the new data entry system.  In addition, the cards could be filed away in the wrong place, or walked away.  The room where the cards were stored, was off limits, but since I worked there, I managed to get copies of a good 10 or so of my ancestors.  Now you can see why I am so excited.  This is a great site to see if you have a Revolutionary War patriot.

A copy of the same information, from the new online site for Asher Wright is below.

Image of the new

Note:  As yet, I don't know how to make the links smaller.  But at least they work.

DAR Online Research site:  http://www.dar.org/library/online_research.cfm

The DAR job -- Part 2

Upper Level of Library  (Photo by Barbara)

Take a virtual tour

http://www.dar.org/omni/virtualtours/hq/lib.html

One of the first things a new employee would get, after filling out paperwork for the Human Resources office, was a tour of the building. For me, being in in that department, it meant I had to meet just about everybody. First visiting the basement with offices, including a printing department, the first and second floors, and a third, with a few offices, some of which you got to by going along the top level of the library. In addition to the people I met, learning how to get from one area to the next, and seeing private rooms, such as the banquet room, I saw all the period rooms and the Museum (many were open to the public and tours given by docents). Then there is the library (see picture and link below), while absolutely lovely to look at, I wasn't yet into genealogy. The entire time I worked there, only one other employee (not in the genealogy department) got addicted to genealogy like me. Bonnie began a few months after me, and since I reviewed her application, and was determined to get somebody in the organization the same age as me, I did. We are 10 days apart in age.


The Executive board came to the DAR about three or more times a year, and I got to know them all, some more than others. They usually came into the office when there was a problem with an employee. They all had their strong personalities, but I liked all these dedicated volunteers. Even to this year, I still receive a Christmas card from one of them, now living in Maine.


I was very lucky with my job because there was a lot of flexibility in my duties. Other than meeting certain deadlines such as greeting new employees, testing them (esp. the clerical), making sure all the payroll information was correct, and typing up discharge or warning papers, I could fly downstairs in a second to check out something in the Library. There have been a few people stating how nice the job sounded, well it was and could be yours too, as I saw the job posted at their site the other day. I hope you get it.


Title: Human Resources Assistant
http://www.dar.org/natsociety/jobs.cfm


I love the "highly organized and detail-oriented" part.


And, for those of you who want to work as a genealogist, there is a new posting for that position as well at the above site.


Current DAR members might be interested in learning that I worked one entire summer for the First Vice President General (VPG), via phone and fax (she lived in the south) working on the DAR Handbook, something that was revised for every administration. I was the only one in my office with a computer, there were very few computers in the building at that time. Anyway, I was moved into a private room to work on the handbook. Not too smart do you think? Talk about doing research. But there was a lot of downtime, the VPG (while on the phone) would say something like she "needed some ice tea" and I would then say, "I'm going to the ladies room" always by way of the library, so we set the phones down and did our own thing. When she became the President, she had me type her acceptance speech the morning she gave it at the Convention. I was put in a separate room, so as not to be disturbed, talk about pressure.


While I was there, the Library purchased new chairs, and that meant a lot of old ones to get rid of, I do not know how old, but heavier than heck. Ask and I shall receive, now an original DAR chair is at my desk.


Christmas is next month, and while at the DAR, it was indeed a very nice place to work, esp. in December. Out one door, you would see the National Christmas tree, near the White House, the one that the president lights. In the late afternoon of the event, you could hear the guest singers practicing. Out the opposite side door, you would see the tall Washington Monument. Can't beat that.

My desk.

New Job at the DAR - Part 1

Daughters of the American Revolution Headquarters (DAR)

Washington, DC

I needed help with my memory when I realized that I began my new job at the DAR or NSDAR (National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution) in Washington, DC 20+ (1989) years ago. Fortunately, I had saved a lot of papers pertaining to my job and they helped refresh my memory of the days I worked there. My reason for writing this, (I know, not everybody writes about their jobs) is because, through Facebook, I have noticed there are a fair number of DAR members and some who are working on their applications, and I thought they might be interested in this article. In addition, I think this will be in two parts, depending on the interest. However, I do know I will cover the DAR Library, which is open to all, genealogists love that place.


My offer letter came in the mail, and it was dated November 14, 1989, and yes, I still have it. But leading up to the letter was something else. Imagine being a 40-something woman applying for a job, thinking already, I am too old, and having to be interviewed by two women bosses. They job-share, and of course, didn't work the same days. The first interview went very well, but a wave of nerves hit, and I called the office to say that I couldn't make the other appointment, as I had a dental appointment (which I did not). They were so accommodating and persistent, that they changed the date to about five days later. By then, I was ok. After the second interview, their evaluations of me went to the Vice President General for her review and approval...she is number two in the DAR. The reason being, I would work closely with her. Prior to all that, I had gone in to be "tested" as in a spelling test, typing test, and given the once over, I am sure. The words were basically easy, but thank goodness I knew how to spell Revolution and descendants! I will always remember that. The actual starting day was probably the next Monday, and when I began, I felt right at home.


For five years I worked in Human Resources, on the second floor, the office was in front of the elevator, the door usually closed. During those years, there wasn't a single day I didn't want to go to work, and the added bonus was being able to work on my genealogy (on breaks and lunch, of course). But besides the genealogy, there were a lot of wonderful events held at the Constitution Hall, which is part of the DAR complex.  This convention hall had seats for almost 4,000 people, and I remember seeing Hall and Oats, Diana Ross, she danced in the row in front of where I was sitting, and many others. One benefit of being an employee, we could see these concerts for free (sign-up system), and had the best seats, row L with the largest aisle in front of our seats. During the first Iraq War, when nobody was traveling, I was very dismayed that Yanni canceled his concert there. Of course one of the highlights every year was the DAR's convention, called Continental Congress. When I was there, it was always held during the anniversary week the American Revolution War began, which is on April 19th. There were a thousand or more beautifully dressed women from all over the states and possibly the world in the building. My first year of experiencing this event was almost overwhelming, not just because of all the women, but the job as well. I had to screen and select people to be guards, and assist with added personnel for the convention.

DAR Constitution Hall mentioned above

There were often well-known people in the building, either working or visiting or filming a movie. Phyllis Schlafly was the National Chairman of the National Defense Department, her room was around the corner. Eddie Murphy was making the movie, "The Distinguished Gentleman" and I saw him a few times, and once about three feet away. And President Clinton came once or twice. The first time, he walked over from the White House, so a bunch of us ran out to see him. When some of us got word that he was leaving our building, we ran back out to the street, rather funny looking back now, when the director of the Library and I stood side by side waving at him.  The White House was about three blocks away.  I think during my years there, I saw him a good 20 times.


One aspect of the job that I really enjoyed, was taking many photos for the DAR that were used in their monthly magazine, and I had eight covers. The magazine office was near my office and I got to know the editor quite well, so when she asked if I could take pictures, I jumped at that chance. I may scan them if anybody is interested.


This is it for the first part, already it is getting too long.  But, if you want to read about the DAR, here you go: http://www.dar.org/natsociety/whoweare.cfm  OR DAR Photos.

DAR application -- 1901 and letter from husband to Pension Office

Below are the DAR application papers for my gg grandmother, Sophia Davis Bishop, dated Oct. 2, 1901. After working with the two sets of application papers yesterday, I realized I had received these copies from the DAR, and just recently looked at them again. However, Sophia's membership certificate was held in our family until 20 years ago, when I donated the very large certificate to the DAR in 1994.

Sophia was born January 11, 1831 and died May 03, 1928.

DAR application - 1913

Below are the DAR application papers for my great grandmother, Mira Kilborn Bishop, dated October 16, 1913. Her mother was also a member, and her application was dated 1901. I had the original document stating her admission into the DAR, which was beautiful. Quite large, I would say maybe 12" x 14" and had dark blue printing. I showed it to the DAR archivist, and she wondered if I would donate it to the society, so I did. Of course, I didn't have a scanner at that time, so there is no picture. My mother was also a DAR member, as was I. They all used the same Revolutionary War patriot, but since I was obsessed with our family genealogy, I found my own patriot. And he was new, even to the DAR, who later added his name into the DAR Patriot Index.