On June 11th, the New York State Regent of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution visited the Hendrick Hudson Chapter. The occasion was the Chapter’s Flag Day Luncheon, which was held at the chapter’s Historic Robert Jenkins House at 113 Warren Street in Hudson. She gave a talk entitled “Honoring Our Patriots, Preserving Their History” describing her State Regent’s Project for the Saratoga National Historical Park, a project which will span her three-year term in office.
Accompanying the state regent was her local chapter regent, from the Melzingah (Beacon, NY) Chapter.
In 1931, New York State Daughters erected an imposing Monument to the Unknown American Dead in the Saratoga National Historical Park. The State Regent’s Project will infuse funds to conserve this monument, to replant a grove of 27 elm trees representing the 27 American generals who fought there, and to reinstall the grove’s plaque. The project will also conserve the Park’s nearby Fort Neilson Marker.
The State Regent is collecting donations to fund the preservation efforts.
Multiple Hendrick Hudson Chapter members have direct ancestors who fought in Saratoga, so this project has especial resonance for them.
At the luncheon, a special table with period tableware was whimsically and dramatically set for chapter house benefactress Frances Chester White Hartley (1833-1909), who, as the granddaughter of the house’s builder Robert Jenkins, was born in the house and in 1900 gifted it to the new chapter. The second setting was for the chapter’s first regent, Margaret Mulford Collier (1861-1915).
Gifts Received by the Hendrick Hudson Chapter
Two extraordinary gifts were received during the meeting. One was a flag flown over George and Martha Washington’s Mount Vernon, donated by a chapter member who serves as NYS Chair of the Flag of the United States Committee. The other was a $5,000 donation toward the chapter’s capital campaign to restore the historic 1811 federal-style chapter house.
The luncheon was catered by local caterer Georgia Ray’s Kitchen.
Hendrick Hudson Chapter, NSDAR 