Guide to the Records of the National Society of United States Daughters of 1812, Dolly Madison Chapter of Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Pa.)1895-1990
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Records of the National Society of United States Daughters of 1812, Dolly Madison Chapter of Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Creator
- National Society of United States Daughters of 1812 -- Dolly Madison Chapter of Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Collection Number
- MSS#181
- Extent
- 4.0 Cubic Feet (6 boxes and 4 shelf volumes)
- Date
- 1895-1990
- Abstract
- The National Society of United States Daughters of 1812 was founded in 1892 by Mrs. Flora Adams Darling. In 1897, Mrs. William Slade was elected the National President with a membership of 75. The Society was incorporated by an Act of the United States Congress approved by President McKinley on February 25, 1901 as the National Society of United States Daughters of Eighteen Hundred and Twelve. These records include historical information, local and national correspondence, various publications, minutes, financial materials, newspaper clippings, photographs, and scrapbooks.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
Historical Sketch of National Society of United States Daughters of 1812, Dolly Madison Chapter of Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
The National Society of United States Daughters of 1812 was founded in 1892 by Mrs. Flora Adams Darling. In 1897, Mrs. William Slade was elected the National President with a membership of 75. The Society was incorporated by an Act of the United States Congress approved by President McKinley on February 25, 1901 as the National Society of United States Daughters of Eighteen Hundred and Twelve. Within the first 18 years, membership increased from 75 members in 1897 to 3,758 in 1915. The Pennsylvania Society was organized in 1896 by Mrs. Louis W.H. Hall of Harrisburg and unique from some other states, since it was divided into Chapters.
In May 1896, the Pennsylvania Society of Daughters of 1812 met at the home of Mrs. Sullivan Johnson, the State and National Vice President. Although the State Society was only one year old, it already had a membership of 31, seventeen of whom were from Pittsburgh and Allegheny. The feasibility of organizing a local Chapter was discussed at this state meeting and it was not until June 19, 1897 that the same group of patriotic women met again at the home of Mrs. Sullivan Johnson and formally organized a Chapter. The date seemed especially fitting because on June 19, 1812, President Madison declared that the United States was at war with the British. Names suggested for the Chapter included Dolly Madison, Francis Scott Key, General W.H. Harrison, and Oliver Hazard Perry. The Chapter became known as the Dolly Madison Chapter and was named after Dolly (Dorothy) Madison, the wife of President James Madison. She was known as a social leader of her time and gave generously of her wealth. The Dolly Madison Chapter started out with a membership of 24, six of whom were Real Daughters, women whose fathers had given actual service in the second struggle for complete freedom. The Chapter held seven regular meetings during the year at the Hotel Schenley and the College Club in Pittsburgh.
The Dolly Madison Chapter has a long record of patriotic and civic work including money given for care of sick children of soldiers, donations to the McKinley Memorial, medals awarded to the 10th Regiment, contributions to the Stephen C. Foster Memorial Fund, and a Christmas gift of a clock installed in the Veteran's Hospital in Aspinwall in 1928. In 1908, the Chapter became affiliated with the Red Cross Society and also furnished a girls' room in the George Junior Republic school at Grove City and donated money towards a scholarship in the Women's Medical School of Western University of Pennsylvania (now the University of Pittsburgh). The Chapter's magazine committee was devoted to distributing hundreds of magazines to charitable groups and hospitals.
Charitable activity included a donation to buy games for Arsenal Park playground (Pittsburgh, Pa.) where in 1910 a beautiful drinking fountain was erected in remembrance of the soldiers and sailors of the War of 1812. This fountain marked the spot where the Allegheny Arsenal stood which sent out ammunition during the War of 1812 and served as a depot for Perry's fleet on Lake Erie and for General W.H. Harrison's army in northern Ohio. President William Howard Taft made the chief address at the ceremony of dedication for the fountain in the City of Pittsburgh. In May of 1914, a beautiful sundial was erected in Schenley Park in memory of the Pittsburgh Blues, a company sent out from Pittsburgh. Other Pennsylvania Chapters included the Keystone Chapter, Old Ironsides Chapter, General Robert Patterson Chapter, and the Stephen Decatur Chapter. All of these Chapters participated in the famous grave marking ceremonies which located, honored, and decorated hundreds of graves of men who served in the War of 1812 with custom made flags and flowers. The Dolly Madison Chapter of the United States Daughters of 1812 remained active until the late 1980s.
Scope and Content Notes
These records include historical information, local and national correspondence, various publications, minutes, financial materials, newspaper clippings, photographs, and scrapbooks. The By-Laws outline the patriotic interests and duties of the group as well as eligibility requirements for membership and established rules of electing and nominating officers. An extensive collection of membership applications offers individual members' genealogical histories tracing back to their ancestors who served in the War of 1812.
Of particular interest is a copy of the first minutes of the Dolly Madison Chapter from June 19, 1897. The remaining minutes encompass the years 1925-83. All of the minutes provide detailed accounts of financial, patriotic, and civil activities that the Chapter participated in. Of special note are the scrapbooks, which include a wide variety of material. Newspaper clippings, correspondence, brochures, and photographs documenting the Chapter's philanthropic work are entailed in the scrapbooks. The national newsletters supply announcements of marriages, births, and events occurring nationwide. A notebook from 1946-49 contains locations and names of the graves marked in the famous memorial ceremonies. Included with the miscellaneous materials is a biographical description of Stephen C. Foster, information on War Saving and Thrift Stamps, and a research paper on the American Revolution written in 1937. These records thoroughly document the patriotic mission and commemorative activities of the Dolly Madison Chapter.
Arrangement
The records of the National Society of United States Daughters of 1812, Dolly Madison Chapter of Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Pa.) are housed in six archival boxes and four shelf volumes and are arranged in alphabetical order by folder title.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials were received in one accession in 1931.
Preferred Citation
Records of the National Society of United States Daughters of 1812, Dolly Madison Chapter of Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 1895-1990, MSS# 181, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Deborah Hile and Susan Illis on May 4, 1995.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on April 20, 2001.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.
Subjects
- National Society of United States Daughters of 1812 -- Dolly Madison Chapter of Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Hotel Schenley (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Veteran's Hospital (Aspinwall, Pa.)
- Chapman, Dr. Millie J.
- Foster, Stephen Collins (1826-1864)
- Hillman, Sallie Frazer (-1934)
- Johnson, Mrs. Sullivan
- Madison, Dolly (1768-1849)
- Taft, William H. (William Howard)(1857-1930)
- Arsenal Park (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- United States -- History -- War of 1812
- Memorial rites and ceremonies -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Patriotic societies -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- War memorials -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Women
- Women -- clubs and societies
- Women in charitable work -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Women -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh Region -- Societies and clubs
- Women and war -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Women philanthropists -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh