Daughters of the American Colonists records
Collection
Identifier: MS 0223
Scope and Contents
The Daughters of the American Colonists papers (1937-1996) were donated to the University of Utah libraries in 1978. The records begin with material from the founding meeting in 1937 and run through 1976, although not all portions of the record are complete for every year.
Divided into four sections, the papers contain a variety of information and materials about the local and national groups. The first section consists of papers dealing with the Utah Society. Official minutes and reports have been separated by type of item and arranged chronologically. The regular minutes and Executive Board minutes from October 1937 to May 1951 are contained in a large, bound volume. Those from June 1951 to February 1974, written on loose-leaf paper, have been placed into acid-free folders. Also found in the minute book are some auditors' reports and remarks about the tree planting project on the lawns of the State Capitol. A brief history of the state organization written in 1941 by Edith Louise Wire has been included with the collection. Resolutions made on issues of importance to Utah and the nation in 1956 is found in a separate folder.
The second large portion of the official Utah Society records is separated into Financial and Treasurers' Reports, and Yearly Reports. Spanning the years 1950 to 1975, the Financial and Treasurers' reports are arranged chronologically. Some of these reports are for monthly expenditures while others cover yearly credits and debits. The Yearly Reports include summaries from club officers, reports on special projects, committee reports, and lists of officers for the years 1940 to 1976.
Utah Society Yearbooks date from 1937 to 1972. The run seems incomplete as not all years are represented. However, it is possible that the group did not publish the yearbook annually. Yearbooks contain lists of officers and members, committee membership, the scheduled yearly program, and in 1937, 1939, and 1953, the society's by-laws. The small amount of correspondence donated with the collection ranges in date from 1940 to 1963 with some undated letters. The majority of the correspondence is with the National Society and concerns Yearly activities and projects.
Sixteen folders labeled "Genealogy" contain family lineage records, biographical sketches, genealogical essays, Stories about colonial history and ancestors, and other miscellaneous records. These were presented to the society as proofs of eligibility for membership or as points of interest. In some cases these were sent on to the National Society as a part of the permanent lineage records.
Memorials written as eulogies to Mattie Bracken Prosser (1951) and Edith Louise Wire (1973) are followed by newspaper clippings. The Clippings span the years 1960 to 1970, although most are undated. Speeches about Colonial American history given at regular society meetings and texts of radio speeches on patriotic subjects sponsored by the Utah Society have been included with the collection.
Other Miscellaneous material has been donated with the papers. Included with the Utah items are notes about possible new members, pamphlets about correct use and display of the United States flag, and information on volunteer service with the Veterans Administration. A Spanish flag included was possibly used for a celebration of the Utah Society's annual Escalante Day. A book on the United States Constitution given to organizing regent, Edith Louise Wire, at the organizational meeting, and information on the restoration of Tyron's Palace in North Carolina are a part of the collection. Two partially used World War II ration books, issued to Florence Kimball complete the miscellaneous materials.
The Second section of the collection consists of materials related to the National Society. Beginning with the eighth year-book for 1936 there are only four missing volumes through 1964. These twenty-five national yearbooks include lists of national and state officers, national officers' reports, and yearly summaries for the state organizations. There is also one yearbook form 1950 which lists members and bylaws of the National Officers' Club of the Daughters of American Colonists.
The minutes of the national board are from the years 1941 to 1973. There are mimeographed copies for scattered years in that time period. Information pamphlets for 1944 and 1946 compiled by the National Society explain the objects and projects of the society as well as the functions of officers and committees. Resolutions and information bulletins issued by the national society and proposed amendments to the National Society Constitution and bylaws are also included. Colonial Courier, the national magazine, was issued four times yearly. Some copies of the magazine for the years 1957 to 1962 form the final portion of the National Society records.
Section three consists of pieces of miscellaneous information from four other patriotic groups. Edith L. Wire organized the National Society of Children of the American Colonists in 1939 with ten Utah children as charter members. This group was a division of the Daughters of American Colonists. The members could apply to membership in the DAC when they reached the age of eighteen. Some national minutes from 1957 to 1962, four yearbooks and few miscellaneous notices are all that is included for this group. Comprising the record for the Arizona State Society, Daughters of American Colonists is a yearbook form 1944-1945. The Colonial Dames of the XVII Century, a chapter of which was organized in Utah by Edith L. wire in 1949, is represented by the National Board of Management minutes. Finally, the quarterly bulletins from 1957 to 1961 of the Crossnore School in North Carolina represent the Daughters of the American Revolution, which helped support this institution.
The final section of the collection consists of four oversize scrapbooks that are dated between 1936 and 1948. The books contain newspaper clippings, magazine articles, typed articles, programs, and speeches about colonial history, historical figures, and the State and National Societies. There are also reports and numerous photographs from the Utah Society contained in the four scrapbooks.
Divided into four sections, the papers contain a variety of information and materials about the local and national groups. The first section consists of papers dealing with the Utah Society. Official minutes and reports have been separated by type of item and arranged chronologically. The regular minutes and Executive Board minutes from October 1937 to May 1951 are contained in a large, bound volume. Those from June 1951 to February 1974, written on loose-leaf paper, have been placed into acid-free folders. Also found in the minute book are some auditors' reports and remarks about the tree planting project on the lawns of the State Capitol. A brief history of the state organization written in 1941 by Edith Louise Wire has been included with the collection. Resolutions made on issues of importance to Utah and the nation in 1956 is found in a separate folder.
The second large portion of the official Utah Society records is separated into Financial and Treasurers' Reports, and Yearly Reports. Spanning the years 1950 to 1975, the Financial and Treasurers' reports are arranged chronologically. Some of these reports are for monthly expenditures while others cover yearly credits and debits. The Yearly Reports include summaries from club officers, reports on special projects, committee reports, and lists of officers for the years 1940 to 1976.
Utah Society Yearbooks date from 1937 to 1972. The run seems incomplete as not all years are represented. However, it is possible that the group did not publish the yearbook annually. Yearbooks contain lists of officers and members, committee membership, the scheduled yearly program, and in 1937, 1939, and 1953, the society's by-laws. The small amount of correspondence donated with the collection ranges in date from 1940 to 1963 with some undated letters. The majority of the correspondence is with the National Society and concerns Yearly activities and projects.
Sixteen folders labeled "Genealogy" contain family lineage records, biographical sketches, genealogical essays, Stories about colonial history and ancestors, and other miscellaneous records. These were presented to the society as proofs of eligibility for membership or as points of interest. In some cases these were sent on to the National Society as a part of the permanent lineage records.
Memorials written as eulogies to Mattie Bracken Prosser (1951) and Edith Louise Wire (1973) are followed by newspaper clippings. The Clippings span the years 1960 to 1970, although most are undated. Speeches about Colonial American history given at regular society meetings and texts of radio speeches on patriotic subjects sponsored by the Utah Society have been included with the collection.
Other Miscellaneous material has been donated with the papers. Included with the Utah items are notes about possible new members, pamphlets about correct use and display of the United States flag, and information on volunteer service with the Veterans Administration. A Spanish flag included was possibly used for a celebration of the Utah Society's annual Escalante Day. A book on the United States Constitution given to organizing regent, Edith Louise Wire, at the organizational meeting, and information on the restoration of Tyron's Palace in North Carolina are a part of the collection. Two partially used World War II ration books, issued to Florence Kimball complete the miscellaneous materials.
The Second section of the collection consists of materials related to the National Society. Beginning with the eighth year-book for 1936 there are only four missing volumes through 1964. These twenty-five national yearbooks include lists of national and state officers, national officers' reports, and yearly summaries for the state organizations. There is also one yearbook form 1950 which lists members and bylaws of the National Officers' Club of the Daughters of American Colonists.
The minutes of the national board are from the years 1941 to 1973. There are mimeographed copies for scattered years in that time period. Information pamphlets for 1944 and 1946 compiled by the National Society explain the objects and projects of the society as well as the functions of officers and committees. Resolutions and information bulletins issued by the national society and proposed amendments to the National Society Constitution and bylaws are also included. Colonial Courier, the national magazine, was issued four times yearly. Some copies of the magazine for the years 1957 to 1962 form the final portion of the National Society records.
Section three consists of pieces of miscellaneous information from four other patriotic groups. Edith L. Wire organized the National Society of Children of the American Colonists in 1939 with ten Utah children as charter members. This group was a division of the Daughters of American Colonists. The members could apply to membership in the DAC when they reached the age of eighteen. Some national minutes from 1957 to 1962, four yearbooks and few miscellaneous notices are all that is included for this group. Comprising the record for the Arizona State Society, Daughters of American Colonists is a yearbook form 1944-1945. The Colonial Dames of the XVII Century, a chapter of which was organized in Utah by Edith L. wire in 1949, is represented by the National Board of Management minutes. Finally, the quarterly bulletins from 1957 to 1961 of the Crossnore School in North Carolina represent the Daughters of the American Revolution, which helped support this institution.
The final section of the collection consists of four oversize scrapbooks that are dated between 1936 and 1948. The books contain newspaper clippings, magazine articles, typed articles, programs, and speeches about colonial history, historical figures, and the State and National Societies. There are also reports and numerous photographs from the Utah Society contained in the four scrapbooks.
Dates
- 1937-1996
Creator
- Daughters of the American Colonists. Utah Society (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Conditions Governing Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Organizational History
Plans to organize a Utah chapter of Daughters of American Colonists began early in 1936 under the direction of Mrs. Ralph E. Bristol. Her resignation caused the National Society to appoint Lida Farnsworth Wire as organizing regent at the April 1936 convention. When Mrs. Wire died her daughter, Edith Louise Wire, took over the work and finally and officially opened the Matthias Farnsworth Chapter, Utah State Society, Daughters of American Colonists at a meeting in her home on 8 November 1937. Wire became the first state regent of the thirteen charter members and continued to be very active in the group until her death in 1973.
Soon after their organization, the group began work on civic improvement projects. Early in 1938 Secretary of State E. E. Monson placed the northeast lawn of the capitol under the care of the Daughters of American Colonists for beautification. They christened the area "Colonists Park" and began a project of tree planting. To commemorate the original thirteen colonies and thirteen charter members, thirteen Paul Scarlet Hawthorne trees we placed at the edge of the park. In an area know as "Regent's Grove" each out-going state regent planted a cut-leaf weeping birch. Flowering trees such as the white chestnut were planted as memorials to members. This project continued until an addition to the capitol building was made which necessitated removal of all trees in the area.
Other beautification projects occupied the members of the Daughters o American Colonists. They planted wildflowers and other hardy plants in the City Creek Canyon area above Memory Grove. In 1946 they began a campaign to clean up and plant the area around a monument to Governor George H Dern in Parley's Canyon. They did succeed in getting the state to remove weeds and debris from the area.
Between 1952 and 1957 the Matthias Farnsworth Chapter co-operated with the Colonial Dames of the XVII Century to sponsor a colonial building in the proposed historic park to be made on a part of the old prison grounds in the Sugarhouse area of Salt Lake City. The project became uncertain of completion and the group decided they were without sufficient funds to endow a building. The project was dropped in 1957.
Aside from their civic and beautification programs, as a patriotic organization the Daughters of American Colonists were involved in many projects in the interest of civil and national defense. They were the first state organization to sponsor patriotic programs on local radio stations. Beginning in 1937, this continuing project offered speeches on national and local history, and interviews with military personnel dealing with national pride.
During the war years of the 1940s the group had many projects designed to aid servicemen and veterans. Members donated money for a "cookie fund" and magazines to the United Service Organization (USO). Individually and as a group the ladies of the Daughters of the American Colonists offered their assistance at the Veterans' Hospital. This interest in members of the military service continued throughout the years. Beginning in the 1950s the group gave a yearly award to the outstanding Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) student at the University of Utah. During the 1960s the Utah Society began to honor women "Angel Flight" members of the ROTC program with this award.
Perhaps the most lasting and notable contribution to the state by the Daughters of American Colonists was their donation of a permanent display for the United States Constitution. The case and special copies of the United States Constitution were finally dedicated in 1958.
The Utah Society, Daughters of American Colonists was very much a part of the national organization. They continually gave support and assistance to projects of national interest and importance. They supported such projects as the reconstruction of Tryon's Palace, the North Carolina Colonial Governor's mansion; the building of a Valley Forge Monument by becoming part of the Valley Forge Historical Society in 1949; preservation of the Midway Church; and microfilming of national records. They continued this interest in preservation of records by donating copies of their "lineage Books" and Microfilmed records to the Genealogical Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Soon after their organization, the group began work on civic improvement projects. Early in 1938 Secretary of State E. E. Monson placed the northeast lawn of the capitol under the care of the Daughters of American Colonists for beautification. They christened the area "Colonists Park" and began a project of tree planting. To commemorate the original thirteen colonies and thirteen charter members, thirteen Paul Scarlet Hawthorne trees we placed at the edge of the park. In an area know as "Regent's Grove" each out-going state regent planted a cut-leaf weeping birch. Flowering trees such as the white chestnut were planted as memorials to members. This project continued until an addition to the capitol building was made which necessitated removal of all trees in the area.
Other beautification projects occupied the members of the Daughters o American Colonists. They planted wildflowers and other hardy plants in the City Creek Canyon area above Memory Grove. In 1946 they began a campaign to clean up and plant the area around a monument to Governor George H Dern in Parley's Canyon. They did succeed in getting the state to remove weeds and debris from the area.
Between 1952 and 1957 the Matthias Farnsworth Chapter co-operated with the Colonial Dames of the XVII Century to sponsor a colonial building in the proposed historic park to be made on a part of the old prison grounds in the Sugarhouse area of Salt Lake City. The project became uncertain of completion and the group decided they were without sufficient funds to endow a building. The project was dropped in 1957.
Aside from their civic and beautification programs, as a patriotic organization the Daughters of American Colonists were involved in many projects in the interest of civil and national defense. They were the first state organization to sponsor patriotic programs on local radio stations. Beginning in 1937, this continuing project offered speeches on national and local history, and interviews with military personnel dealing with national pride.
During the war years of the 1940s the group had many projects designed to aid servicemen and veterans. Members donated money for a "cookie fund" and magazines to the United Service Organization (USO). Individually and as a group the ladies of the Daughters of the American Colonists offered their assistance at the Veterans' Hospital. This interest in members of the military service continued throughout the years. Beginning in the 1950s the group gave a yearly award to the outstanding Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) student at the University of Utah. During the 1960s the Utah Society began to honor women "Angel Flight" members of the ROTC program with this award.
Perhaps the most lasting and notable contribution to the state by the Daughters of American Colonists was their donation of a permanent display for the United States Constitution. The case and special copies of the United States Constitution were finally dedicated in 1958.
The Utah Society, Daughters of American Colonists was very much a part of the national organization. They continually gave support and assistance to projects of national interest and importance. They supported such projects as the reconstruction of Tryon's Palace, the North Carolina Colonial Governor's mansion; the building of a Valley Forge Monument by becoming part of the Valley Forge Historical Society in 1949; preservation of the Midway Church; and microfilming of national records. They continued this interest in preservation of records by donating copies of their "lineage Books" and Microfilmed records to the Genealogical Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Extent
8 Linear Feet (10 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Daughters of the American Colonists papers (1937-1996) contain a variety of information and materials about the local and national groups and information on other similar societies. The materials include: minutes, history, reports, expenditures, yearbooks, memorials, and general materials.
Processing Information
Processed by Marlene Lewis in 1980.
Addendum processed by Matt Weathered in 2014.
Click here to read a statement on harmful language in library records.
Addendum processed by Matt Weathered in 2014.
Click here to read a statement on harmful language in library records.
- Albums (Books)
- Annual reports
- Biographies
- Business correspondence
- Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
- Clubs and Societies
- Colonists -- Massachusetts -- 18th century
- Colonists -- Virginia -- 17th century
- Colonists -- Virginia -- 17th century -- Genealogy
- Constitutions
- Daughters of the American Colonists -- Records and correspondence
- Daughters of the American Colonists. Matthius Farnsworth Chapter (Salt Lake City, Utah) -- Records and correspondence
- Family histories
- Financial records
- Genealogical tables
- Microfilms
- Minutes (Records)
- Patriotic societies -- Utah -- Archives
- Speeches
- United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
- United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 -- Societies, etc. -- Archives
- Wills
- Wire, Edith L. (Author)
- Women
- Women -- Utah -- Societies and clubs -- Archives
- Yearbooks
Creator
- Daughters of the American Colonists. Utah Society (Organization)
- Title
- Inventory of the Daughters of the American Colonists papers
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Marlene Lewis.
- Date
- 1980 (last modified: 2014 and 2018)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu