Worcester, Massachusetts
1899-2008
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During the chapter's 50th anniversary Mildred Carver Carpenter wrote and published a booklet on the history of our chapter.
1898-1948 Fifty Year Review of Colonel Timothy Bigelow Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution by Mildred Carver Carpenter First Vice Regent
Mildred Carver Carpenter, Chapter Regent (1950-1952) Col. Timothy Bigelow Chapter ZWe would like to thank Chapter Daughter Jean, whose mother was Regent at the time of the Fiftieth Anniversary, for allowing us to include this history in the prose of that time.
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Colonel Timothy Bigelow Chapter was organized December 17, 1898 in the home of Mrs. Theodore C. Bates, 29 Harvard Street in Worcester, MA. The organizing regent was Mrs. Bernard Peel Chenoweth. Mrs. Bates, Mrs. Chenoweth and Mrs. Daniel H. Eames were the pioneers in the movement for organization, and the first four or five meetings were held in the home of Mrs. Bates. Our chapter was chartered on August 9, 1899 by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Original Charter Members
Col. Timothy Bigelow was chosen because of his unfailing service to the cause of American independence. It was on the Worcester Common that Colonel Bigelow trained and led his company of Minutemen for the march from Worcester to Cambridge in 1775. Please visit our Col. Timothy Bigelow history page for more information on the Colonel's life and service. Mrs. Chenoweth served as our Regent until 1901, when she resigned to found the Colonel Henshaw Chapter of Leicester. Later she served the state society as historian and was invited to become the state vice regent, which honor she declined because of other urgent duties. She inaugurated the work of appropriately marking Revolutionary soldiers' graves on May 30, 1900. Mrs. Bates was elected National Vice President General in 1908 and Honorary Vice President General for life in 1913. She died October 5, 1929. Our Chapter has two other members who have been honored by the National Society for their distinguished services, Miss Isabel Wyman Gordon and Mrs. Frank B. Hall, each of whom was elected national vice president general. From its organization, our chapter grew rapidly and soon it was necessary to hold the meetings in the rooms of the Society of Antiquity (now the Worcester Historical Society). In
1903 it was again necessary to have larger quarters and the
chapter began to hold its meetings in the newly constructed Women's Club.
There the group met until the opportunity presented itself in 1913 of buying the old Paine Mansion,
The Oaks, for a chapter house.
In 1902, when our Chapter was in its fourth year, Continental Hall was but a dream and a hope. The National Society was still young and in that year the site was purchased at a cost of $50,000 and the ground was broken for our first National Headquarters in Washington. In 1909 our Chapter donation to the Continental Hall fund was the largest in the state for our size, and pledges for a certain amount until the Hall was a reality were made annually. Soon afterwards Mrs. Fairbanks was instrumental, in the name of the Daughters of the American Revolution, in persuading the Treasury Department to issue the Martha Washington postage stamp. The Chapter has funded and placed many historical markers and has also published books and pamphlets in the aid of historic preservation.
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Mrs. Caroline Van Deusen Chenoweth
Colonel Timothy Bigelow Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution 1898
Her Revolutionary ancestor was Lieutenant Nathaniel Callender. She served the DAR for three years as our Regent and two years as State Historian. She was also quite active with other civic responsibilities.... Vice Consul of China; Professor of English Literature, Smith College; Editor of Medico Legal Journal, New York; Worcester author of many books. She resided in Worcester, with a summer home in Leicester. Caroline died May 12, 1917 in Worcester. Following services at "The Oaks" she was interred in a family lot at Rural Cemetery. Her grave has been placed in perpetual care by Col. Timothy Bigelow Chapter which also provided a suitable monument. Many friends from the various chapters she had served attended her funeral, showing the high esteem in which she was held. She was included in the Rural Cemetery brochure of prominent persons buried there. |
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PHOTOGRAPH OF 1908-09 CHAPTER MEMBERS
From the Fifty Year Review by Mildred Carver Carpenter 1948 |
| We have a splendid service record for the two World War periods. During the years of both wars members gathered each week at the chapter house for Red Cross bandage making and sewing, and a PX mobile unit was presented to Cushing
Memorial Hospital. At Christmas a substantial gift was sent to Veterans' Hospital at Rutland. The restoration of Valley Forge was of great interest to members as a Memorial to World War I Patriots. The World War II project has been the raising of funds for a Memorial Bell Tower at Valley
Forge. Our Chapter leads the state in the amount of money collected for this project.
The Colonel Timothy Bigelow Chapter is a not-for-profit organization. As of 2008, fifty eight of our daughters have held the position of Chapter Regent. A complete list can be seen on the Past Regents page. |
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Updated:January 14, 2011 |
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The DAR Insignia is the property of, and is
copyrighted by, the National Society of the Daughters of the American
Revolution. |
