Our History
In the early 1920s, then President General, Mrs. Anthony Wayne Cook of Pennsylvania, was eager to have a chapter in Bucks County. On June 17, 1925, the National Society approved the thirteen organizing members of this new chapter. These women met for the first time and elected as officers:
- Mrs. Isaac VanArtsdalen, Regent
- Mrs. Henry A. James, Vice-Regent
- Miss Susanna B. Stillwell, Recording Secretary
- Mrs. J. Harry Hoffman, Corresponding Secretary
- Mrs. William J. Leattor, Treasurer
- Mrs. William P. McCoy, Registrar
- Miss Jane Watson, Historian
The chapter’s six additional members were: Mrs. Herman Burgher, Mrs. W. Carlisle Hobensack, Mrs. Howard Holbert, Mr. Kirk Leatherman, Mrs. Robert L. Walker, and Miss Nellie Walter. The members voted to name the new chapter: Bucks County Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
On October 18, 1925, the National Society recognized and granted a charter to the chapter. On Washington’s Birthday, February 22, 1926, Mrs. VansArtsdalen was presented as the first regent of the new chapter at the National Society’s Continental Congress held in Philadelphia.
In the first years, bylaws were written, flag lessons were taught, and members reported on their Revolutionary War ancestors. The chapter held fundraisers that supported the American Legion, the Village Improvement Association, Doylestown Emergency Hospital, and the National Society. They distributed American flags to the Boy Scout troops in Bucks County and to new citizens, planted trees in Washington Crossing Park, and erected a historical marker at the Washington’s Army Encampment of June 19, 1778. Members located the graves of 316 Revolutionary War soldiers and identified each with a bronze medal marker.
The Bucks County Chapter, NSDAR, continues with the tradition established by our organizing members. The chapter supports our troops and veterans; honors our past and present patriots; participates in ceremonies that honor our veterans; partners with C.A.R., SAR, and other DAR chapters; and supports programs sponsored by the National Society.