In 1922, the Washington-Lewis Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was founded by 36 women who wanted to save Kenmore Plantation. The plantation house was built in the 1770s by Fielding Lewis, George Washington's brother-in-law.

Washington's sister, Betty, married Lewis and together they lived in the beautiful home. In 1920, Kenmore was threatened.  The home was to be either torn down or made into apartments. The women of Fredericksburg (and the surrounding counties) mobilized.  They could not permit George Washington's sister's home to be destroyed.  They formed the Washington-Lewis Chapter, raised funds, bought the property and restored it, making it into what they called a "historic shrine."

Several years ago, the Washington-Lewis Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution decided to entrust their charter, prepared in 1922, to the care of the CRHC. The chapter members realized that the beautiful parchment document, with hand-lettered names of the charter members, was suffering.  In

the past, no one worried about what effects fluctuating temperature and humidity could have on the document.  At the CRHC, the charter could be kept in a stable environment, out of light and in an acid-free folder. Three years ago, while preparing for their 90th anniversary celebration, several chapter members noticed that the signatures of the sponsor, Virginia's Regent, Kate Waller Barrett and the President General, Anne Rogers Minor were deteriorating. Despite the stable environment of the CRHC, the signatures were fading and some spotting had developed. The chapter sent the charter to a conservationist in

Richmond for evaluation and preservation. Before the charter came to the CRHC, well-intended chapter members had mounted the document on a foam core board.  A cardinal rule of document preservation is to never do anything that can't be undone.  The parchment could not be removed from the foam core backing, but the conservationist was able to prevent further deterioration by stabilizing the ink signatures and removing the spots.

So, what about these 36 charter members, who were they?  They were a determined lot and this was not their first effort.  The women had names that are still familiar in the Rappahannock area. Names like Barney, Chinn, Chewning, Daniel, Jett, Goolrick, Pratt, Rowe, Stoffregen and Willis to name a few.  Searching their names in our database, we find these women or their ancestors had formed the

Fredericksburg Ladies Memorial Association. This association created the Confederate Cemetery in 1866, resurrected the Mary Washington Monument in 1894 (keeping it from being taken over by a Washington, DC women's group), kept Mary Washington's House from being sold as a display for the World's Fair, and established Mary Washington Hospital which they have supported for over 100 years.  Each woman has a unique story and most made multiple contributions. Among them were a judge's wife (who was also writer), a telegraph operator, teachers, nurses, authors, a lawyer, and historians.

Volunteer

Volunteer