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DAR-lings revere revolutionary ancestry
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
A brief history
An estimated 40 members of the Mahoning Chapter of DAR gathered Monday for a luncheon at A La Cart Catering in Canfield to celebrate the local organization’s 122nd anniversary. Some facts about DAR:
The national organization was founded in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 11, 1890, when the country saw a resurgence in patriotism and a renewed interest in its origins.
Fueling a desire to start the 125-year-old DAR was frustration on the part of many women that they were being excluded from men’s organizations set up to honor their ancestors who had fought for the nation’s independence and freedom.
Key objectives include keeping alive the memory of those who fought for and achieved independence, fostering love of country and cherishing and maintaining those institutions that are symbolic of American freedom.
Members take part in service projects to preserve cultural heritage, which include restoring historical sites, placing memorials and markers to remember people and events honoring American history, preserving genealogical artifacts and records and contributing to major memorials and commemorations.
Since its inception, more than 930,000 women have joined.
Source: www.dar.org
By Sean Barron
CANFIELD
Neither Joyce Haydu nor her twin sister, Joann Cook, had the chance to know Henry Forney, but that didn’t curtail their desire to honor him a few hundred years later.
“We had four ancestors, including Forney, [John] Lesher and [Jared] Huxley, and all fought in the Revolutionary War,” Cook said.
The two Columbiana women were among an estimated 40 members of the Daughters of the American Revolution’s Mahoning Chapter who attended a luncheon earlier this week at A La Cart Catering, 429 Lisbon St., to celebrate the chapter’s 122nd anniversary. They also remembered and honored ancestors who had taken part in the eight-year Revolutionary War, in which the 13 colonies fought for independence against British rule.
The war began in 1775 and claimed 4,435 lives.
Haydu and Cook joined the local DAR chapter in October 1958. In the 1960s, their father, Howard Forney, published a book about Henry Forney, Haydu recalled.
“Our dad was a lot into genealogy. That was his life,” she added.
In nearly all cases, those who fought in the war received land parcels for their service in lieu of money, noted Janet Bender of Salem, a 50-year DAR member who joined the organization in 1965.
Michael Sanor, one of her ancestors, was given roughly 640 acres in Columbiana County for his service, explained Bender, who worked 23 years for the Salem Public Library.
The local DAR chapter has taken part in numerous service projects such as raising money to send two World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., so they could see several memorials, donating funds to the national organization to create scholarships and supporting the Road of Remembrance memorial in Youngstown, noted Mildred Lumley, DAR regent.
Thanks in part to DAR’s efforts, the memorial, off Market Street, has rocks that had been brought in from Lexington, Mass., and Concord, N.H., sites of the famous Battle of Lexington and Concord, which kicked off the war, added Lumley, of Boardman.
In addition, Lumley said, her chapter participated in last year’s July 4 parade in Canfield and has introduced in the Canfield schools Constitution Week, which begins the week of Sept. 17.
Also, area DAR members donate to the Toys for Tots Foundation and raise money for dogs to assist veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, noted Louise Farkas, a six-year member who discovered she has an ancestor who fought at Valley Forge, Pa., as a member of Gen. George Washington’s Army.
“He volunteered to serve in the Revolutionary War, so he must have felt pretty strongly about it,” the Salem woman said, adding that her husband, Rod Farkas, is an Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War.
The luncheon’s guest speaker was Doris Gorgas of Bay Village, Ohio, who’s the organization’s state membership chairwoman.
“Be proud of your heritage and think of your ancestors’ sacrifices,” she advised.
Gorgas also encouraged her audience to reach out to members they don’t hear from regularly and do their parts to allow the chapter to continue developing and growing.
Seven new members who were installed during the gathering were Kara Blasko, Ginny Daly, Margaret Goff, Carol Haynes, Sarah Poulton Keeler, Jennifer Phillips and Gwenn Willock.