The National Society Daughters of the American Colonists (NSDAC), commonly known as the Daughters of the American Colonists, is an American patriotic organization and lineage society for women headquartered in Washington, D.C. Members must be lineal descendants of a person who rendered civil or military service in one of the Thirteen Colonies prior to July 4, 1776.
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 society's object is to research and preserve the history and deeds of American colonists and commemorate deeds of colonial interest. 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 Jane Grier Durden, schoolteacher and lineage society leader Ann Davison Duffie Fleck, lineage society leader and musician Sarah Elizabeth Mitchell Guernsey, educator and lineage society leader Ida Sherman Jenne, lineage society leader Kitty O'Brien Joyner, electrical engineer Sarah McKelley King, lineage society leader and political candidate Lucy Leavenworth Wilder Morris, historian and teacher 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
See also List of hereditary and lineage organizations in the United States
References
External links
Daughters of the American Colonists at The Online Books Page