Sep 27, 20222 min read

The DAR in Old Parish Cemetery

Updated: Dec 28, 2022

“Real” Daughters of the American Revolution in Old Parish

All those who are granted membership in the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution are descended from that conflict’s participants. Their lineage, often traced through several generations, must be confirmed before their acceptance into the Society, which was founded on October 11, 1890. Under these guidelines, the DAR, as it is commonly known, has admitted more than 950,000 members.

Far fewer, however, were ever deemed “Real Daughters” within their ranks. As the DAR website states, “Imagine joining the DAR through the Revolutionary War service of your own father. This was the distinct privilege of a Real Daughter… a Real Daughter was distinguished because she was both a DAR member and the actual daughter of a soldier or patriot.” These women were a “living link” to that historic conflict.

In 2012, the Aaron Guild Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a plaque at the grave of Martha May Guild Kimball (lot 40). According to the NSDAR, Martha, whose father Jacob Guild had served in the

Revolutionary War, was the only “Real Daughter” buried in Norwood.

There are nineteen more females interred in Old Parish Cemetery whose fathers participated in the war. Although they did not live to become members of the DAR, these women and girls were, in a very real sense, Daughters of the American Revolution. They are:

Mary Dean Morse (lot 175), daughter of Benjamin Dean

Hannah Everett Fairbanks (lot 121), daughter of Abel Everett

Irene Everett Ellis (lot 106), daughter of Asa Everett

Betsey Everett (lot 168), daughter of William Everett

Anna Fairbanks (lot 203), daughter of David Fairbanks

Judith Fisher (lot 253), daughter of Eliphalet Fisher

Nabby Fisher Morse (lot 119), daughter of Eliphalet Fisher

Anna Guild Fuller (lot 266), daughter of Aaron Guild

Clarissa Guild Morse (lot 21), daughter of Joel Guild

Hannah Guild Ellis (lot 101), daughter of Joel Guild

Lucy Guild (lot 55), daughter of Moses Guild

Abigail Guild (lot 55), daughter of Moses Guild