By Jessica Gorman
This time of year is always busy at the museum. Besides Gala prep, I’m also working on putting together a DAR exhibit to officially open on Constitution Day. Last year, with America 250 approaching, I was trying to decide what the museum could do in honor of the occasion. I signed up for the American Revolution Experience traveling exhibit but was too late and even with the tour being extended, I have yet to be contacted. A search for other traveling exhibits produced no viable options.
It was clear that if the museum was going to have any kind of America250 exhibit, I was going to have to create it myself. I considered many different options, but budget constraints eliminated most. I really wanted to do something that would cause people to feel more than just a patriotic connection. As a member of the Dorcheat-Bistineau Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, I realized that our Patriot ancestors are that connection, a personal connection. Each one played a part in establishing our independence whether through military, civil, or patriotic service.
My original intention was to have an exhibit that would open in May after our Spring speaker events and in time for Minden’s 250/190 celebration and run through the summer months up until the Gala. That didn’t happen. I was then presented with the opportunity to leverage an American250! Grant through DAR to fund an exhibit. The result is a scaled-back version of the original exhibit I had envisioned, but on September 17th this exhibit, “Our Patriot Ancestors”, will open.
A total of 49 patriots will be featured and their individual contributions to the cause highlighted in a short biography for each provided by Chapter Regent Donna Sutton. We hope you will come learn about their service and sacrifice in the face of extraordinary risk. Personally, I hope this exhibit sparks curiosity about the everyday people who helped to forge a new nation. I hope that it encourages more people to consider the role their own family may have played.
My DAR Patriot is Caleb Blackwelder (Gottlieb Schwarzwalder), a German immigrant born in 1722. Caleb was too old for military service, so instead, he provided patriotic service through material aid. Caleb and his son-in-law, John Paul Barringer, were imprisoned by the British at Camden, South Carolina. In response, Caleb’s wife, Betsey Phifer, was said to have mounted a horse and ridden to Camden to free them.
In 1892, the story, as told by Betsey’s great-grandson, appears in the Charlotte Observer. He states that it had been told to him by his grandmother, Catherine Blackwelder Barringer in January 1846. Catherine was the wife of John Paul Barringer and daughter of Caleb and Betsey Blackwelder. He says that when Betsey arrived at Camden, she found the prison suffering from smallpox. She is said to have nursed Americans and British alike and in so doing, was able to secure the freedom of her husband and son-in-law. Her son, John, had been imprisoned at Charleston, but did not survive. The story of Caleb, Betsey, and their family is just one example of the reality faced by so many through eight years of war.
In addition to our Patriot ancestors, the exhibit also includes three Revolutionary War veterans who are buried in northwest Louisiana. These men are Jethro Butler in Claiborne Parish, John Abney in Bossier Parish, and William Davis in Caddo Parish.
We hope to see you at the museum at 11:00 am on September 17th. A short program is planned and refreshments will be served.
(Jessica Gorman is Executive Director of the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum, Webster Parish Historian, President of the Minden Cemetery Association, and an avid genealogist.)