Tuscarora Chapter NSDAR

04/07/2026

Each year, a DAR chapter may recognize a cadet from a military-affiliated cadet program who demonstrates academic excellence, dependability, good character, adherence to military discipline, leadership, and a strong patriotic understanding of the importance of cadet training. Only one cadet per unit is selected, making this a truly distinguished honor. Chapter regent Anissa Harper and National Defense Committee chair Dianne Cappiello presented the DAR Outstanding Cadet medal to Cadet Chief Master Sergeant Tobias Benedict of the NY-292 Southern Tier Cadet Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol at Greater Binghamton Airport last Thursday evening.

Toby has been a member of the local Civil Air Patrol program since 2023, and he was also recognized during the unit's promotions and awards ceremony for completing the Neil Armstrong Achievement. Toby, who is 14, is homeschooled and in the ninth grade. In addition to Civil Air Patrol, he is a member of Future Business Leaders of America and attends youth group. His interests include creating with Legos, playing video games, reading, and hanging out with his two Basset hounds, Maple and Murphy. Our sincere congratulations to Toby--a cadet who exemplifies the highest ideals of the Civil Air Patrol!

03/31/2026

On this final day of Women’s History Month, we remember Abigail Adams and her candid voice during the founding era. Writing on March 31, 1776, she shared the concerns of an 18th-century woman navigating a time of revolution, advocating for married women’s property rights and greater access to education. Abigail believed women should not be bound by laws made without their interests in mind, nor confined to the role of companions, but recognized for their intellect and influence within the family. Although her appeal to “remember the ladies” was largely dismissed at the time, it reflects a broader pattern in her letters that underscores how thoughtfully women engaged with the ideas of liberty and justice at the nation’s founding.

"I long to hear that you have declared an independancy—and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If perticuliar care and attention is not paid to the Laidies we are determined to foment a Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation."

03/23/2026

Tuscarora Chapter is proud to support the Military Women's Memorial as members of the Square Foot Society. This memorial and education center at Arlington National Cemetery honors the 3 million women who have served in or with the Armed Forces since the American Revolution.

03/19/2026

Congratulations to our chapter regent, Anissa! Triple Crown graduates are members who have completed all three DAR Leadership Training courses: Members, New Horizons, and Committee Leaders. This accomplishment reflects a strong commitment to service, continued learning, and excellence in leadership. We are proud to celebrate this milestone!

For today's post, we'll be celebrating more of New York's Triple-Crown graduates! These Daughters completed all 3 DAR Leadership Training courses: Members, New Horizons & Committee Leaders! Brava ladies!

03/18/2026

Each year, Tuscarora Chapter selects a Broome County woman who is performing outstanding service to her community in one or more of the DAR mission areas of historic preservation, education, and patriotism. At our March chapter meeting we were thrilled to recognize 2026 Tuscarora Chapter Woman of Achievement Award winner Karen Ferguson for extraordinary service in the areas of historic preservation and patriotism. In her role as historian for the Town of Kirkwood, Karen is serving as the Chairperson for the Kirkwood NY America 250 Celebration taking place on July 4, 2026. The theme of the event is "Remember, Honor and Celebrate." The event will serve to Remember those who fought for our Freedom, Honor our town and region's founding, and Celebrate our Nation. It promises to be a fitting commemoration for this milestone in American history.

Karen has been serving as the Town of Kirkwood Historian since August 2021. She is a member of the Association of Public Historians for New York State and has served as the Region 10 Coordinator for the historians in Broome, Tioga, Chemung, Schuyler, Tompkins, and Chenango Counties for the past 2 years. Additionally, Karen was nominated and then elected to the Board of Directors at their yearly Conference this past October. For the past couple years, Karen has spent considerable time researching the early residents of Kirkwood and tracing their roots to the American Revolution. With the assistance of the Sons of the American Revolution, Kirkwood was able to install Patriot Burial markers at 2 local cemeteries last year and will install a third one this spring.

Congratulations, Karen, and thank you for your work honoring soldiers of the American Revolution and commemorating America250!

03/17/2026

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Historians estimate that at least 25 percent of the Continental Army were men born in Ireland or were of Irish descent. Among them was Pvt. Daniel Callahan, born in Cork, Ireland. He enlisted in the Pennsylvania Line in summer 1776 and fought in the Battle of Long Island in August that year. Callahan served for the duration of the war through two enlistments, including overwintering with Washington's Army at Valley Forge. He was part of the 800 advance troops under General Anthony Wayne who engaged Cornwallis's army of 7,000 Redcoats at the 1781 Battle of Green Spring, where he was wounded in the arm by a musket ball. He was awarded pension S40815 for his service. Pvt. Daniel Callahan is the ancestor of Tuscarora Chapter member Sian Matt.

03/16/2026

Our second year of Wreaths Across America at Riverside Cemetery wrapped up yesterday with Wreath Retirement Day.

03/11/2026

We're continuing to Remember the Ladies during Women's History Month by highlighting a few of the more than 1200 women who have been proven as DAR Patriots. Mara Sargent lived four miles from Bunker Hill, where the first major battle of the Revolution took place. According to her later testimony, "after the Battle on the hill, she went to the house where the wounded were left, carrying with her linen, and assisted in doing up the wounds of the soldiers whose cries were enough to melt the hardest heart, while blood covered the floor, and the dying soldiers uttered their groans which cannot be expressed. Reflecting upon this scene and the cause in which the soldier was laboring, their dangers, their hardships, she resolved to marry one and share their fate." Indeed, in 1779 she married soldier Joseph Grace, who, along with his two brothers, participated in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Mara Sargent Grace is the ancestor of Tuscarora Chapter member Gail Bagg.

03/04/2026

Did you miss our workshop in Vestal? We'll be presenting Genealogy 101 again on Saturday, March 14, at Mary Wilcox Memorial Library in Whitney Point. Join us at 3 p.m. for this free program! RSVPs to [email protected] are appreciated so that we can plan for sufficient seating and handouts.

03/03/2026

We're wrapping up Black History Month and launching Women's History Month by spotlighting DAR Patriot Mary Hemings. Part of the enslaved Hemings family at Monticello, Mary was taken prisoner in 1781 when a British unit, under command of Benedict Arnold, came to Richmond for Virginia governor Thomas Jefferson. Not finding Jefferson, the British army took all of the enslaved plantation staff prisoner and moved them to Yorktown, VA, where they were held for several months until being returned to Jefferson following American victory at the Battle of Yorktown. Mary Hemings successfully petitioned to be sold in 1792 to Thomas Bell, a white man with whom she entered into a common law marriage. Bell left Mary and their two children a sizable inheritance, including property in Charlottesville. She remained in the city until her death in 1834, maintaining close relationships with enslaved family members at Monticello.

Learn more about Mary Hemings Bell at the DAR's E Pluribus Unum website, honoring Revolutionary figures from under-recognized populations, including African American, Native American, and women Patriots: https://honoringourpatriots.dar.org/patriot-profiles/mary-hemings/