Dorcheat-Bistineau Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution met on December 2nd at the home of our Past Chapter Regent Kathy Johnson for our annual Christmas Tea. Our guest speaker was Marguerite Gray who is a member of Claiborne Parish Chapter DAR and a member of Mt. Lebanon Historical Society. Marguerite has written a series of Revolutionary War-era novels based on her ancestors Louis and Elizabeth Lestarjett of Charleston, SC. She talked about the daily lives of families during the war, how food shortages caused them to create new recipes with the foods they had available, and how their Christmas customs were different from ours.
Chapter Regent Donna Sutton and Past Chapter Regent Cindy Madden attended the December meeting of Galvez Chapter SAR at the Shreveport Club. Special guest speaker was SAR State President Bill LeJeune. After the meeting, they participated in a wreath ceremony hosted by Galvez Chapter SAR. The ceremony recognized Revolutionary War Patriot John Abney, who is buried in Camp Zion Cemetery in Haughton. John was born in 1765 in Edgefield County, SC. He joined the Upper 96th District Regiment of the South Carolina Militia in 1781 when he was 16 years old. He married after the war and moved to Bossier Parish, where he died in 1847.
We are excited to welcome three new members to our chapter! These new members were inducted during our Christmas Tea:
Nan Edwards: her patriot ancestor is Archibald Prather, born in 1755 in Halifax County, Virginia. He signed the “Oath of Allegiance to the United States” in Henry County, Virginia on January 3, 1777. Archibald and his brother Jonathan enlisted as Privates in the Virginia militia together at the Chesterfield VA Court House on September 11, 1780. Their names are next to each other on the roll.
Schelley Francis: her patriot ancestor is Hannah Crosby, born around 1728. Hannah was the wife of Dennis Crosby who died before the war in Berkeley County, South Carolina. During the war, Hannah received payment for forage for continental and militia use in 1781. Hannah died on August 12, 1785 in Fairfield County, South Carolina.
Sally Martin: her patriot ancestor is Col. Jonathan Latimer, born in 1724 in Connecticut. During the Revolutionary War, Captain Latimer was practically in service all the time. He was Captain of the Third Company, Seventh Connecticut Regiment, when Nathan Hale enlisted as his First Lieutenant. He was a Major on July 6, 1775, when the Seventh Regiment was under the command of Washington during the siege of Boston. In October 1776, he was promoted to Colonel of the Third Connecticut Militia Regiment. In 1779, he served as a Deputy, which is similar to today’s State Senator.
DAR is a volunteer organization dedicated to education, patriotism, and historic preservation. Any woman age 18 years or older who can prove lineal, bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence from Great Britain during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) is eligible to join DAR. For more information, contact us at dorcheatbistineau@yahoo.com