National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
Ravenna, Ohio
Thirteen founders, one for each of the original states, met for the first official meeting at the home of Mrs. Ellesif Reeves Beebe on February 22, 1901. Over the years, the Old Northwest-Aaron Omstead Chapter has served the local community, state, and nation well, including erection of a monument to Captain Brady at the edge of Brady Lake. It has established a memorial mound at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Ravenna and continues to maintain it and its flag. Members located and verified records of all Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Portage County cemeteries. Many American History, ROTC, and Good Citizens medals have been awarded over the years. Members have served in various capacities in the State and National societies during the chapter's history. The patriotism of the chapter daughters has been proven many times by supporting, and in some cases, joining, our nation's defenders. We strive to live by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution motto, "God, Home and Country." In 1921 Mrs. Dene Heriff withdrew from the Old Northwest Chapter to form the Aaron Olmstead chapter in Kent, OH. Through the years, the two chapters continued to share a yearly meeting as well as other projects and interests.
In October 2010, the Kent chapter merged with the Ravenna chapter to form the Old Northwest-Aaron Olmstead chapter.
What is the DAR?
The Daughters of the American Revolution was established in 1890. It is founded on the tenets of patriotism, historical preservation, and education. Besides the national organization in Washington, DC, each state has a chapter and here in Ohio, there are chapters in most counties. Chapters usually meet once a month, and have a variety of informative programs. Members have the opportunity to participate on committees that serve the local, state, and national communities through many programs. Membership applications with proof of lineage are completed on the local level and submitted to the national organization for approval. Membership is open to any woman age 18 and over who can show proof of a lineal bloodline to an ancestor who aided in achieving American Independence. She must provide documentation for each statement of birth, marriage, and death.
Interested in Membership?
The most important step
is the first one!
If you live in the Portage Co., OH area, call or email our chapter Registrar to get a membership packet and assistance with your research. While we can't do the actual work for you, we can and do guide you through the steps of assembling your genealogy and can assist you by suggesting some informative
sources of data. Becoming a member is not as difficult to do as one might think, since by the time we have sifted back through the generations to the period from 1775-1783, most prospective members are researching 32 or more ancestors -
all who might have served the cause. To become a member, it is only necessary to find one ancestor who aided in achieving American Independence during this time period. So you can see that the odds are in your favor. And just think of the wonderful genealogy that will be recorded in the process of the search. It will be an everlasting treasure for your family and all of your descendents. So don't hesitate - take that first step - contact our Registrar to get started!
Our chapter endeavors to present interesting programs on many subjects. We are always looking for new ideas for programs so if you know of a wonderful, inexpensive speaker who loves to share their interests with others, please send a quick email to our Vice Regent.
We are located in Northeast Ohio - about 1 hr. Southeast of Cleveland and about 20 minutes East of Akron.
.gif){kind=small}
