Daughters of the American Revolution chapters preserve region’s rich history
In October 1926, as the United States celebrated its sesquicentennial, delegates from across Pennsylvania gathered at Uniontown’s White Swan Hotel for the annual state conference of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The event was hosted by the Great Meadows and Colonel Andrew Lynn chapters, organizations whose legacy lives on today through the Fort Necessity Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
Nearly 100 years later, as America approaches its 250th birthday, DAR members across the Mon Valley are still carrying forward the organization’s mission of historic preservation, education and patriotism.
From the Queen Alliquippa Chapter in the McKeesport area and the Monongahela Valley Chapter in California to the Fort Necessity Chapter in Fayette County, local members continue to preserve the region’s connection to the nation’s founding while serving their communities in ways their predecessors would likely recognize.
For more than a century, the three chapters have maintained historic sites, marked Revolutionary War graves, supported veterans, encouraged civic engagement among students and worked to ensure the stories that shaped both the Mon Valley and the nation are not forgotten.
Founded in 1890, the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is a nonprofit, nonpolitical women’s service organization dedicated to historic preservation, education and patriotism. More than 1 million women have joined DAR since its founding, and nearly 190,000 members now serve in approximately 3,000 chapters throughout the United States and abroad.
As the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary in July, members of the Mon Valley’s DAR chapters see themselves as caretakers of a history that remains deeply rooted in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Preserving the region’s story
For members of all three chapters, preserving local history is more than an organizational mission. It is a responsibility.
That responsibility takes many forms, from maintaining monuments and historical sites to cleaning cemeteries, documenting family histories and educating future generations.
The Queen Alliquippa Chapter, NSDAR, chartered in 1911 and named for the influential Seneca leader Queen Alliquippa, has long focused on preserving the unique history of western Pennsylvania.
“Queen Alliquippa was a powerful Seneca leader whose strength, diplomacy and presence shaped the early history of western Pennsylvania,” said Rebecca Caliguiri, regent of the Queen Alliquippa Chapter. “Members see her as a symbol of resilience, leadership and cultural significance.”
Shown with the original 1926 charter of the Queen Alliquippa Chapter, NSDAR, on June 16 at the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center, front row, from left, are Patty Knabenschuh, Becky Caligiuri, Queen Alliquippa Chapter Regent, Ruth Smith and Dr. Susan Gillette Meer, Pennsylvania State Regent; middle row, Karen Bennett, Chris Kritikos and Mary Gottschalk; and back row, Dr. Julie Matta, Donna Jordan, Sue Biddle, Amy Smart, Patricia Bezek and Bonnie Stern. Jeff Helsel / Mon Valley Independent
Caliguiri said the chapter’s identity remains closely tied to the Mon Valley and western Pennsylvania.
“In 1911, the women who organized the McKeesport Chapter of NSDAR chose the name ‘Queen Alliquippa Chapter’ to honor both the region’s history and the strength and leadership of Queen Alliquippa,” she said. “The name reflects pride in western Pennsylvania and helps preserve the community’s unique historical identity for future generations.”
Mary K. Gottschalk, vice regent, public relations and media chair for the Queen Alliquippa Chapter, said local history is sometimes overshadowed by stories from Philadelphia and other well-known Revolutionary-era locations.
“When most people think of what was happening during the American Revolution era, they tend to think of what was going on in areas like Philadelphia,” Gottschalk said. “There was a great deal of history happening in our area as well.”
That commitment to local history is reflected in projects ranging from Revolutionary War grave preservation and headstone cleaning to maintaining the fountain garden at Renziehausen Park and supporting educational programs through the chapter’s Children of the American Revolution society.
The Monongahela Valley Chapter, NSDAR, organized in 1920 by 22 women from communities along the Monongahela River, has likewise spent decades preserving regional history.
Among its most visible projects is the care and preservation of the Madonna of the Trail monument in Beallsville, one of 12 identical monuments commissioned by DAR across the country to honor pioneer women who traveled westward with their families.
The chapter has supported the monument since 1928.
The Fort Necessity Chapter, NSDAR, formed through the 2021 merger of the Colonel Andrew Lynn Chapter, founded in 1915, and the Great Meadows Chapter, founded in 1918, continues a long tradition of historic preservation throughout Fayette County.
A service at Fort Necessity is shown on July 4, 1937, in this photo from the archives of the Fort Necessity Chapter, NSDAR. Submitted
Gail Matus, regent of the Fort Necessity Chapter, believes southwestern Pennsylvania occupies a unique place in America’s founding story.
“Today, more than ever, this community needs our Daughters,” Matus said. “This region holds a unique and important place in the story of our nation’s beginnings.”
“It was here, in the rugged wilderness of southwestern Pennsylvania, that a young George Washington gained the experience and character that would help shape him into a leader and, ultimately, the father of our country.”
Matus said preserving those stories remains essential as America approaches its 250th anniversary.
“These stories are an essential part of our shared heritage and deserve to be preserved and passed on to future generations,” she said.
A legacy passed through generations
For many members, DAR is not simply an organization. It is a family tradition.
The Monongahela Valley Chapter offers one of the clearest examples.
S. Beth Licciardello, recording secretary of the Monongahela Valley Chapter, traces her membership through multiple generations. Her mother and grandmother were members before her. Today, both of her daughters are members as well.
“Our strongest intergenerational connection comes from our families,” Licciardello said.
The chapter’s current regent, Sara Tschudi, is Licciardello’s daughter. Both daughters were active in the Children of the American Revolution before becoming DAR members themselves.
For Licciardello, one memory captures what the organization means.
In 1986, she visited the Madonna of the Trail monument in Beallsville with her mother and her two young daughters. While the children played around the monument, Licciardello and her mother pulled weeds and cared for the site.
Later, the family visited the nearby tollhouse and had lunch at the Century Inn.
“It was a day trip, something fun and helpful to do, and time with my mother and children that will be cherished,” she said.
Family connections are common throughout DAR.
Matus said the Fort Necessity Chapter includes numerous mother- daughter members and relatives who trace their lineage to the same Revolutionary War patriot.
“We have many mother-daughter members,” Matus said. “We also have members who have come in on the same patriot of an aunt or a sister who was a member.”
The same pattern appears within the Queen Alliquippa Chapter.
Member Joy Boone said her mother, Patricia Kovacic, served as regent of the chapter around 2007.
Although health challenges have limited Kovacic’s involvement in recent years, Boone said her mother’s dedication to DAR never faded.
“Whenever my mother heard someone speaking about their colonial lineage, my mother would ask them if they knew about the DAR and encourage them to look into it,” Boone said.
For many women, membership provides a connection not only to ancestors but also to future generations.
“It is a joy to have the knowledge and experience from the older members shared with the newer, younger members,” Licciardello said. “But we are often surprised at how much we learn from the younger members, too.”
More than genealogy
DAR membership begins with genealogy, but chapter leaders say it does not end there.
One of the most common misconceptions, they said, is that the organization exists solely to trace family trees.
Instead, much of the work takes place in local communities.
Members of the Queen Alliquippa Chapter support veterans through food drives, holiday assistance programs, Veterans History Project interviews and greeting-card campaigns. They also provide care packages for first responders and support local service organizations. Gottschalk noted that members recently collected feminine hygiene supplies for distribution through the Carnegie Library of McKeesport and continue supporting Family of God Ministries and Mission Agape.
The Monongahela Valley Chapter writes approximately 800 Christmas cards each year for veterans and participates in Wreaths Across America ceremonies at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies.
Members also sponsor Good Citizen awards and scholarships recognizing outstanding local high school seniors.
The Fort Necessity Chapter has focused on supporting veterans and military personnel through projects including Operation Big Mama, which supplied care packages to submarine crews stationed in Guam.
Earlier this year, the chapter awarded a $20,000 grant through DAR’s Vivian’s Outreach to Women program to support the Rendu House, which provides services for women veterans experiencing homelessness.
“Our membership is made up of women of all ages — from 18 to well over 90 — united by a shared commitment to service,” Matus said.
DAR membership is open to any woman age 18 or older, regardless of race, religion or ethnic background, who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution. The organization today actively encourages a diverse membership and condemns racism, bias and intolerance.
Looking toward America at 250
As the nation prepares to commemorate 250 years of independence, members of all three chapters see the milestone as both a celebration and a responsibility.
Caliguiri believes organizations like DAR provide something increasingly valuable in modern society.
“Organizations like the DAR remain deeply relevant as America approaches its 250th anniversary because they preserve something that is increasingly rare: a living connection between history, service and civic responsibility,” she said.
For Queen Alliquippa members, the anniversary serves as a reminder that the roots of the American story run through the hills, rivers and communities of western Pennsylvania.
For Monongahela Valley members, it is an opportunity to continue passing stories, traditions and service from one generation to the next.
For Fort Necessity members, it is a chance to highlight the region’s role in the events that helped create the nation.
“The Mon Valley region played a major role in shaping the United States through its involvement in the nation’s earliest conflicts and later through its impact on industry, transportation, labor movements, immigration and wartime production,” Matus said.
When George Washington first saw the region, she said, he recognized its importance.
History proved him right. More than a century after women in McKeesport, California and Uniontown organized DAR chapters in their communities, their successors continue gathering in libraries, museums, schools, cemeteries and community halls.
Some clean headstones. Some mentor students. Some write cards to veterans or care for monuments.
Together, they continue work that began generations ago.
As America approaches its 250th birthday, they hope the stories they preserve today will inspire the generations that follow tomorrow.
