The Daughters of the American Revolution have come to Warren County.A group of women who had been members at other chapters worked together to start a Daughters of the American Revolution chapter here.Gloria Rodale is chapter regent. So far there are 18 members.The group’s offical name is the Thomas Kennedy Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Warren County.“We are here in Warren County now and if you feel strongly as a woman in keeping history and patriotism alive in our country, this is a really good group for you,” said Rebecca Splain, an officer.The national organization was founded in 1890 to give women a place to organize, honor their ancestry and promote patriotism. Since then it has grown to 185,000 members in 3,000 chapters worldwide. Its mission is the same.“We are a service organization, and we provide scholarships,” said Splain. “We go into classrooms during Constitution Week to teach students about the founding of the country. We assist veterans and help with historic preservation.”New members are welcome, but they need to prove that they had a family member who fought for America’s freedom in the American Revolution. If people don’t know their lineage, the organization will help potential members find out.As chapter registrar, Splain is helping new members confirm their lineage.“Generally, and I’m pretty new at this, it’s surprising just how many family members are patriots,” she said. “The further back you go, (the more great-grandparents you have), the better your chances are that members of your family served in the American Revolution.”Splain said chapters often name themselves after a Revolutionary War patriot. The Warren County chapter chose Thomas Kennedy, who settled in Warren County after the war. He is buried locally, in a private cemetery.“There are members of our chapter who are direct descendants of Thomas Kennedy, so we decided to name it after him,” she said.Splain said while there are 18 members now, between the ages of 18 and 97, they are working on more applications.Members attend a regular meeting at 9:30 a.m. on the first Saturday of the month at the Warren County Historical Society, 102 W. Walton in Warrenton.As projects and events are scheduled, they will add committees.“As we get larger we’ll have more committees,” Splain said. “The sky’s the limit, it just depends on how big we get.”For more information email thomaskennedynsdar@gmail.com.

Charles Lilly leads the presentation of the colors during the Daughters of the American Revolution initial ceremony for the Warren County Chapter July 14 at the Warren County Historical Society. 

Record photo/Derrick Forsythe