North Carolina Society DAR

03/17/2026

Nearly half of Washington’s army carried Irish heritage into the fight for independence. Happy St. Patrick's Day! 🇮🇪

03/01/2026

Happy “Thomas Day Day!” 😉

On March 1, 1827, Thomas Day ran an advertisement in the local newspaper, the Milton Gazette & Roanoke Advertiser, thanking his patrons and advertising his handmade furniture and quality service. Day, a cabinetmaker by trade, was one of North Carolina’s most celebrated antebellum craftsmen.

Day was born in Dinwiddie County, Va., in 1801 to free, landowning African Americans. Like his brother John Jr., he followed in his father’s footsteps and learned the cabinetmaking trade. Both of the Day sons were well educated.
Thomas and his brother established themselves in the furniture business in Milton by 1823. There, Thomas became a prominent and well-respected citizen of the community. In his almost 40 years in Milton, Day built an extraordinary business, employing freedmen and slaves alike to craft furniture stock lines and fill custom orders for furniture and interior woodworking.

By 1850, Day had the largest cabinetry shop in North Carolina. He is believed to have died in about 1861, after having suffered financial losses due to the national panic of 1857. The surviving examples of his work are tangible evidence of his skill and accomplishments as a woodworker and craftsman.

Marker located in Milton, NC: https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2023/12/20/thomas-day-ca-1801-1861-g-93

03/01/2026

As you map out meetings, projects, and America250! programs, don’t forget one important step: log your Service to America hours! Every act of service tells the story of who we are and the impact DAR makes in our communities. Let’s make this a season of purpose—and be sure our service shines! 🌱

02/27/2026

On this day in 1776, Patriots claimed a pivotal early victory at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge in North Carolina. In a dramatic clash that feels straight out of 𝙊𝙪𝙩𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧, local militia faced off against Loyalist Highland Scots—many wielding broadswords in a bold charge across the bridge. The Patriots’ swift strategy secured a decisive win, halting British plans in the South and energizing the cause of independence. Farmers, tradesmen, and neighbors stood shoulder to shoulder, proving that ordinary citizens could shape the course of history. Moore’s Creek Bridge remains a powerful symbol of North Carolina’s Revolutionary spirit. 🇬🇧⚔️🇺🇸

02/25/2026

Recognition that honors centuries of Lumbee presence in North Carolina. 🪶

02/22/2026

History comes alive next Saturday! 🇺🇸

It is estimated that over 5,000 Black soldiers fought for America’s independence. Next Saturday, February 28, discover the stories of Guilford County’s Black Patriots.

Starting at 11 am, learn about the Black Patriots of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse with a short presentation by historian Dr. Scott Culclasure and descendant Solomon Titus in the Mary Norris Preyer Lecture Hall.

Continue to explore stories of Guilford County's Black Patriots with Little Lions Saturday. From 11:30 am to 1 pm, drop by the lobby to do a fun activity for pre-K to 3rd graders & families.

Then from 1 to 4 pm take a tour of the museum galleries as costumed interpreters share stories of African American innovators from the Gate City. Featuring: Revolutionary War Patriot widow Milley Caper, Black Patriot John Gibson, educator Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, and many more.

Free program for the whole family.

📷 Costumed interpreter portraying Black Patriot John Gibson at the museum in October 2025. Photo courtesy of Bernetiae Reed.

02/20/2026

Something near and dear to our North Carolina hearts! ❤️🤍💙

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Scott Syfert on what we can reliably know about North Carolina’s Mecklenburg Declaration even though the original document has been lost. Was this the first Declaration of Independence and did any of its language end up in ...

02/18/2026

⭐️ 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙. ⭐️

Explore the statewide Black History Month events honoring the people and places that shaped North Carolina, and our nation. 🇺🇸

North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources events updated every day. powered by Concept3D Event Calendar Software

02/14/2026

Happy Valentine's Day, Daughters! ❤️🤍💙

📸: Courtesy of the State Archives of NC.

Snapshot of 2nd Lt. Charles M. Allen Jr. of Mount Gilead, N.C., writing a Valentine’s Day message to his wife Clara David Allen in the snow with his hand, while stationed in Europe in February 1945. The message reads: “To Clara with all my love.” Allen printed a message on the front of the photograph after the print was developed, reading: “To my one and only Valentine—February 1945. Charlie.” Photograph taken while Allen was serving in Europe in Headquarters, 10th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), U.S. Army Air Forces, during World War II (undated).

02/13/2026

Roses are red,
White & blue too —
DAR sisters make
History with you.
Happy Galentine’s Day! ❤️🤍💙

📸: Courtesy of the State Archives of NC.

Snapshot of three unidentified women standing outside with a park in the background at an unidentified location during World War I. The women are believed to be friends of Warren C. McNeill of Lumberton, N.C., who was serving aboard the battleship USS Louisiana (BB-19) during the war. Photograph captioned: “Three Frieds [misspelling of “Friend”].”

From Warren C. McNeill Papers, WWI 140, WWI Papers, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.

02/13/2026

The North Carolina Museum of History is coming along nicely. Can’t wait to see the update! 🔨🏗️🪏🧱

02/09/2026

Rooted in the land, Pitt County’s Emma Dupree kept generations of herbal healing alive. 🌿

Emma Dupree - “granny woman”

Emma Dupree (1897-1992) was an influential Black herbalist from Falkland and Fountain, in Pitt County in North Carolina. She was known locally as “granny woman.” She was the daughter of freed slaves and grew up on the Tar River.

She was known for her work with native herbs: Sassafras, white mint, double tansy, rabbit to***co, maypop, mullein, catnip, horseradish, and silkweed.

Here is an excerpt from an article published shortly after her death:

"From the time she could walk, Emma felt drawn to the land. She would roam the woods, plucking, sniffing, tasting weeds. She grew up that way, collecting the leaves, stems, roots and bark of sweet gum, white mint, mullen, sassafras in her coattail or a tin bucket.

She'd tote them back to the farm, rinse them in well water and tie them in bunches to dry. In the backyard, she'd raise a fire under a kettle and boil her herbs to a bubbly froth, then pour it up in brown-necked stone jugs: A white-mint potion for poor circulation; catnip tea for babies with colic; tansy tea - hot or cold - for low blood sugar; mullein tea for a stomach ache.

Mixed with molasses or peppermint candy to knock out the bitterness. Her kind of folk medicine dates back centuries. In the 1600s, African slaves brought root-doctor remedies to America. Indians and immigrants had cure-alls, too. In some rural areas, scattered herbalists still practice."
Photographs credit: Mary Anne McDonald for the North Carolina Arts Council and North Carolina Folklife Institute.
Continue reading about Mrs. Emma Dupree here: https://www.irememberourhistory.org/healthcare/emma-dupree