| Cooch's Bridge Chapter, NSDAR Newark, Delaware |
Chapter History
Excerpted from the 1986 history by Lucy Hazen Barnes and the 2003 history by Barbara Putman Clarke Bannowsky.
Organized May 14, 1902
Cooch’s Bridge Chapter, NSDAR, celebrated its 100th anniversary on May 18, 2002, at a High Tea at the Newark Country Club, Newark, Delaware. There were several 50-year members in attendance as well as guests from the Delaware State Society, NSDAR, and the Delaware State Society Sons of the American Revolution (SAR).
The chapter was organized by Harriette Curtis Clark (Mrs. Delaware) at the home of F. William Curtis in Newark, Delaware, with thirteen women in attendance. It was the fifth chapter to be organized in Delaware. The name Cooch’s Bridge was chosen because all the charter members lived near the site of Delaware’s only American Revolutionary War engagement and one-third of them were members of the Cooch family.
A chapter flag was purchased in 1995 and is displayed at all chapter and state meetings. A chapter web page was originally created and linked to the NSDAR website in 1996.
In 1998, the Captain William McKennan Chapter, NSDAR, of Hockessin, Delaware merged with the chapter. The Captain William McKennan Chapter, NSDAR, had been founded in 1948 with members from Cooch’s Bridge Chapter, NSDAR.
Several chapter members served as officers of the National Society:
- Betty Newkirk Seimes served as President General from 1968-1971.
- Eleanor Bedford Wilkins Cooch served as Registrar General from 1941-1944.
- Eleanor Bedford Wilkins Cooch, 1932-1933
- Anna Gallaher, 1972-1975
- Jeanne Mazzia Wolf, 1980-1983
- H. Elizabeth Hancock, 1992-1995
Fourteen members have served as Delaware State Regents:
- Eleanor Eugenia Todd, 1922-1925
- Ola Worth Cann 1925-1928
- Eleanor Bedford Wilkins Cooch, 1928-1932
- Louise Webber Dayett, 1946-1947
- Pauline Kimball Skinner, 1947-1950
- Anna Elizabeth Gallaher, 1968-1971
- Jeanne Mazzia Wolf, 1977-1980
- Mary Ann Shaver Llewellyn, 1983-1986
- H. Elizabeth Hancock, 1989-1992
- Joyce Jones Franks, 1998-2001
- Priscilla Pearce Zaller, 2001-2002
- Saundra Moore Chapman, 2003-2007
- Susan Meade-Beachell, 2016-2019
- Barbara Seningen, 2022-2025
About the DAR
Founded in 1890 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the DAR is a non-profit, non-political volunteer woman's service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing American's future through better education for children. Learn more ...
More information on the state society can be found on Delaware State Society NSDAR. |
| Become a member
As one of the most inclusive genealogical societies in the country, DAR boasts some 3,000 chapters across the United States and internationally. Any woman 18 years or older (regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background), who can prove lineal descent from a Patriot of the American Revolution is eligible for membership
. If you are interested in joining DAR and our chapter, please complete the membership interest form and contact our registrar by clicking Cooch's Bridge Registrar. |
The content contained herein does not necessarily represent the position of the NSDAR. Hyperlinks to other sites are not the responsibility of the NSDAR, the state organizations, or individual DAR chapters.
The content contained herein does not necessarily represent the position of the NSDAR. Hyperlinks to other sites are not the responsibility of the NSDAR, the state organizations, or individual DAR chapters.
Photos courtesy of chapter archives.
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