This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: becdecoy4558 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.ohio.unknown/12985/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Local DAR chapter searching for original charter Friday, August 15, 2008 BY EDD PRITCHARD [email protected] CANTON It's a piece of sheepskin signed 100 years ago by 31 of the city's most prominent women, and the Daughters of the American Revolution hopes it can be found. The sheepskin is the local chapter's original charter. It's been missing longer than anyone seems to recall. "It's just gone missing," said Rebecca DeCoy. She is one of the DAR members charged with compiling details of the organization's 100 years. Working on chapter history got members wondering about the original charter. Odds of finding it are long, admits Audrey Morrison, the chapter's regent. "We want to give it our best shot." The goal is to track down the sheepskin before Nov. 21, when the chapter has scheduled its 100th anniversary gala. Former mayor Janet Weir Creighton, a DAR member and now director of intergovernmental affairs for President George W. Bush, is the scheduled speaker. WHAT MEMBERS KNOW Research has determined that the original charter was placed under the careful guard of Mary Parthena Martin. She worked for the city's library, DeCoy said. "She really gave her life to the library," DeCoy said. From what DeCoy has learned, Martin worked non-stop at the library, never missing a day. But one day Martin went home sick, and she never returned to work because she died from the illness. Martin was treasurer of the original chapter. According to the minutes of a meeting in 1909, members gave Martin responsibility for the charter and decided it should be stored at the library. Problem is, sometime during the past 100 years the charter left the library. It's possible the sheepskin was lost when the library moved from the Carnegie Building to the new main branch on Market Avenue N. As far as folks at the library know, the charter was given to the McKinley Presidential Library and Museum when the move took place, said Linda Dahl, the library's spokeswoman. But workers at the McKinley Museum can't find the sheepskin. "Our records have no indication of that coming here," said Kim Kenny, the museum's curator. Several searches have failed to find the document. Some members wondered if the charter might be hidden somewhere in the Carnegie Building, which now houses the offices of the Schulman & Associates law firm. Schulman said he's never seen anything that resembles the charter, but that he planned to look. IN SOMEONE'S ATTIC? DeCoy and Morrison suspect - maybe hope is the more accurate word - the charter could be among the family heirlooms being stored away in a local household. They believe someone might have taken it because it bears the name of a family member. DeCoy, who moved with her family to the area from North Carolina last year, said her DAR chapter in North Carolina found its original charter at a yard sale. A member recovered it, but it went missing again. "If we can find it, chances are it would be in pretty good shape," DeCoy said. As an organization, the local DAR chapter is in fairly good shape. The group boasts about 180 members, down a few, Morrison said. "It's a good group of women." To become a DAR member, you must be able to prove you had an ancestor who served in the American Revolution or gave material aid to Colonial forces. It's a social and service organization. The group sponsors essay contests and scholarship prizes for school children. Nationally the DAR supports schools in Appalachia and on Indian reservations. Members also work to honor the memories of those who served in the Revolutionary War. They try to make certain that markers are placed at the graves of Revolutionary War veterans. DeCoy and other members have spent a lot of time tracking details of the 31 original members. DeCoy said she loves history and digging out details has been fun. "Researching these ladies, I feel like I know them." Reach Repository writer Edd Pritchard at (330) 580-8484 or e-mail: [email protected] THE DAR For more information about the Daughters of the American Revolution, check the organization's Web site at: www.dar.org The site connects with state and local DAR chapters. It also has information about the DAR's companion groups, the Sons of the American Revolution and Children of the American Revolution. THE ORIGINAL 31 There were 31 members when the Daughters of the American Revolution organized its Canton Chapter in 1908. They were the women who helped shape the community during the early 20th Century, said Rebecca DeCoy, a current member who is researching the chapter's history as it prepares for its 100th anniversary. OFFICERS Regent: Elizabeth Clifford Neff Vice Regent: Mary K. Johnson Hartzell Secretary: Emma E. Hurt Croasdaile Treasurer: Mary Parthena Martin Registrar: Nora A. Durfee Wilhelm Historian: Elizabeth Sanger Mc Farland Reed MEMBERS Clara Belle Alexander Annie O. Anderson Mary B. Saxton Barber Eva Louise Oby Beebout Mary Bowdle Garde Brant Ella M. Houser Cock Lena B. Griswold Davis Hattie Merritt Erdman Anna Pauline Harrison Annie Eliza Griffin Harrison Anne H. Taylor Harter Anne Whiting Huntington Grace Whiting Huntington Laura Stanley Martin Marchand Mary Frances Weirick Melbourne Helen Ashman Buttles Neff Elizabeth Raymond Norton Betsy Maples Young Odbert Florence West Rankin Alice Reed Rose Nina Coleman Swineford Louise Bailey Vicary Florence Emeline Wilson Ward Florence Wilson Ward Nellie Gray Weirick Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.