Dorcheat-Bistineau Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution met in April at the Webster Parish Library. Our hostesses for this meeting were Margaret Evans, Libbey Watkins, and Linda Wood. They provided three tables filled with refreshments, and gave a large platter of cookies to the library staff.
Our special guest for this meeting was State Regent Katie Collins. Katie gave a presentation about her State Project. The project will begin with the preservation of the Don Juan Fihoil sword. Fihoil was the founder of Monroe, and was a soldier for General Galvez during the Revolutionary War. After the war, he was presented with a ceremonial sword. A grandson donated it to the Ouachita Parish Courthouse where it hung for over 140 years. The sword will be cleaned, and then it will be placed in the Chenault Aviation Museum. The museum is being restored, and it will include a new American Revolution Room where the sword will be displayed.
Katie is also helping restore the 1816 Clerk of Court’s Office, which is the oldest building in Ouachita Parish. It is located on the southeast corner of the present courthouse square in Monroe, on land that was donated by Don Juan Fihoil. The site was originally part of Fort Miro, the first parish seat, which was renamed Monroe in 1819 after the arrival of the steamboat “James Monroe.” Katie is working with the Historical Preservation Board and the City of Monroe to write a grant for this $100,000 restoration project. After its completion, the DAR President General will be invited to attend the ribbon cutting.
After Katie’s presentation, our Chapter Regent Donna Sutton presented her with a beautiful hydrangea plant in a spring basket from Minden Floral, and a donation to help fund her project. Because Donna was the first chapter regent in the state to donate to the project, Katie presented her with a pin that is a replica of the Don Juan Fihoil sword. She will also provide our chapter with a native tree to plant for America 250.
Our Chapter Regent attended a district regents’ meeting at the Bossier Parish Library. For Library Appreciation Month, the district regents presented the library staff with refreshments and a Certificate of Appreciation. She also represented our chapter at a Galvez Chapter Sons of the American Revolution wreath ceremony honoring Jethro Butler, a Revolutionary War patriot buried in Hebron Church Cemetery near Summerfield in Claiborne Parish. Jethro served as a Private, fifer, and spy in the South Carolina troops. He fought in numerous battles from 1775 – 1781 and was taken prisoner during an expedition to Florida. He was then commissioned to Captain in the South Carolina Militia. After the war, he migrated to Louisiana via Georgia and Mississippi. Many of his descendants still live in the area.
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