Brenda Cotton and Denise Akers pause alongside a Daughters of the American Revolution sign during a recent trip to the DAR’s national convention in Washington, D.C., which wrapped up July 3. Cotton, of Knightstown, is regent of the DAR’s Major Hugh Dinwiddie Chapter while Akers is historian and past regent.
HANCOCK COUNTY — Bonnie Wooten couldn’t think of a better way to spend the Fourth of July weekend than celebrating America’s independence in Washington, D.C.
The Carthage woman was among thousands of Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) members who traveled to the nation’s capital for the DAR’s annual national meeting, known as the Continental Congress, held June 29-July 3.
Brenda Cotton of Knightstown also attended this year, traveling by bus along with 51 fellow DAR members from throughout the state.
“It was so wonderful and also so tiring,” Cotton said with a laugh, shortly after returning home Monday afternoon.
Wooten and a friend, fellow DAR member Jill Fewell of Indianapolis, opted to stay two additional days to enjoy the Fourth of July fireworks display on the Washington Mall.
“It was such a wonderful experience,” said Wooten, who serves as vice regent of the DAR’s Brandywine Creek chapter based in Greenfield.
Cotton is regent of the Major Hugh Dinwiddie Chapter, which includes members in Greenfield, New Palestine and Knightstown.
Of the 86 DAR chapters in Indiana, 20 were represented on her recent bus trip.
“From northern Indiana to southern Indiana, from Richmond to Terre Haute was represented,” Cotton said.
The busload of Hoosiers visited a number of historical sites on their way to Washington, D.C., including two in Fredericksburg, Virginia — the Mary Washington House which George Washington bought for his mother, and Kenmore, the mansion that was home to George Washington’s sister, Betty.
“The house still had cannonballs embedded in the walls,” said Cotton, who enjoyed getting a first-hand glimpse at American history with fellow Daughters of the American Revolution.
No matter where they reside, DAR members have one thing in common — they’re each related to an ancestor who helped win America’s independence — whether by fighting in the Revolutionary War or supporting the soldiers who did so.
The DAR defines a Patriot ancestor as someone who provided aid during the fight for American independence through military, civil or patriotic service between April 1775 and November 1783.
Cotton joined the DAR in 2018 after learning she had an ancestor named Thomas Wooten, a wagon master for the first regiment of South Carolina who was born in Greensburg, Ind. in 1752.
She’s been researching possible lineage to six other patriots, too.
“History has always been at the core of my family,” she said. “All our vacations were spent in cemeteries or museums, so I grew up loving that. My dad wanted to be a history teacher but didn’t have the opportunity since the Korean War came up,” she said.
Ann Schnarr of Greenfield joined the DAR nine years ago after learning she, too, had an ancestor who served in the Revolutionary War.
“I had a relative up in Michigan who sent my family some information on our ancestry, and I realized we had a Patriot in the family,” said Schnarr, who leads the Brandywine Creek chapter as regent.
“I dug a little deeper and I found out that being in the DAR was something that ran in our family tree.”
In addition to being connected through patriotic ancestry, Schnarr said Daughters of the American Revolution are united by their love of country and a passion for preserving America’s history.
Since its founding in 1890, the DAR has welcomed 950,000 members over the years and now boasts more than 190,000 members from all over the world, including all 50 of the United States.
Local chapters routinely give back to their communities, preserving veterans’ gravestones and providing historical insights to schools, museums and historical societies.
Schnarr said a few members from the Brandywine Creek chapter volunteer at the Roudebush Veterans’ Administration Medical Center in Indianapolis, collecting clothing to give to veterans at Christmastime.
“The work is important because we need to give back, and we need to pass our history on to younger generations and show them how to be good citizens,” she said.
Cotton agrees. Her chapter just celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, and strives to honor local patriots by cleaning headstones and posting flags at the gravesites of Revolutionary War veterans buried in Knightstown and Lewisville.
The Major Hugh Dinwiddie chapter grew so large that some members left to start other chapters in Henry and Hancock counties, including the Brandywine Creek chapter.
“Our goals are to preserve history, promote education and promote patriotism,” said Cotton. “It’s really exciting to help preserve the memories of those patriots who fought bravely for the freedom of our country so very long ago.”
Cotton and Wooten both said attending the 131st annual Continental Congress last week was an experience they’ll never forget.
The yearly convention consists of business sessions, committee meetings, social functions, and is topped off with formal evening ceremonies. About 3,000 people attend the convention each year.
It is named after the original Continental Congress, which governed the American Colonies during the Revolutionary War.
For more information on the Daughters of the American Revolution, visit DAR.org.
