Not long after the formation of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1890, a group of ladies on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, desiring to express their patriotic feelings and perpetuate the memory of their ancestors, gathered together to form the Eastern Shore Chapter, NSDAR. However, this arrangement did not last long, as travel distances and conditions up and down the ninety-mile-long peninsula proved to be most difficult.
On December 13, 1913, twenty-eight ladies organized a new chapter in the vicinity of Cape Charles on the southern tip of the Eastern Shore. The Northampton County Chapter, NSDAR, was named for the county in which it was formed, one of the eight shires into which Virginia was divided in 1643.
During the one hundred and ten years of its continued existence, the Daughters of the Northampton County Chapter, NSDAR, have strived to fulfill the NSDAR objectives of patriotism, education, and historic preservation. In 1914, the chapter placed a bronze marker on the grave of a Revolutionary War soldier, the first of the design to be placed on a soldier’s grave in Virginia. In 1919, the chapter presented its first historical essay award to a local student. The practice continues today.
The chapter was most active during the war years and afterward furthering many phases of relief works, assisting the American Red Cross, knitting, making cakes for men on Cherrystone Island, and collecting and sending jellies to nearby camps. In June 1919, a total of $18,500.00 in Liberty Bonds was reported sold by chapter members. During World War II, ladies took turns in towers situated along the shore to spot German planes, ships, and submarines.
In 1932, the chapter began marking the graves of deceased members with appropriate exercises and tributes given during the dedication. The graves were marked with a metal NSDAR Insignia.
In 1933, the condition of the records in the clerk’s office in Eastville was brought to the attention of the Northampton County Chapter, NSDAR, regent in a letter from the state chairman of Restoration of Records. The books were in desperate need of repair. Seven books from the 17th and 18th centuries were preserved by the chapter. Restoration and preservation of the court records became the focus of the chapter for the next sixty years. As a result, Northampton County has the oldest continuous records in the United States.
Over the years, the chapter has supported DAR Good Citizens and Naturalization Courts, taught American Flag classes, placed a computer optic scanner in the courthouse to digitalize records, and saluted the service of first responders, firemen, and policemen with baskets of goodies, prayer cards, and thank you notes. In addition, we educate students and the community about the recycling of soft plastics. In preparation for the America 250 celebration, daughters are busy identifying local patriots and locating and cleaning their gravesites. Recently a marker was placed at the tombstone of a female patriot.
Some of our members are descendants of our chapter founders and several are descendants of the Founding Fathers of our country. The Daughters of Northampton County Chapter, NSDAR, are here to assist you in discovering your DAR connection. Contact us today!
