Iowa History Project
Register
of the Society of Sons of the Revolution in the State of Iowa; Edited
by Frank Hayward Kincaid, secretary; 1912; Davenport, Edward Borcherdt,
Printer; MDCCCXII.
Transcribed for the Iowa History Project by Sharyl Ferrall,
2003.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Forward
General Society Officers 1911-1914
Sons of the Revolution Officers,
State of Iowa
Constitution of the General Society
By-Laws of the Iowa Society
(partial)
Membership Roll, Iowa Society
FOREWARD
It is especially apt that the Iowa Society Sons of the
Revolution should have their headquarters upon the Father of Waters – the good old
Mississippi – and at Davenport. Here
came the first pioneers of this grand and good state, settling a narrow stip
only the equivalent of what is now two counties in width, the whole length of
the Mississippi Valley within the state, with Dubuque at the north and
Burlington, our first capital of the state as it now stands, in the south, with
Davenport one of the oldest of these cities midway between.
It was a far cry from the first point of entry into America for
these pioneers to come hence to this beautiful valley.
The records of the various families concerned in this book tell
us that among the earliest settlers in the Delaware Valley was one Robert
Lucas, who landed at Burlington, N.J., on the 4th day of April,
1679. At Doylestown, Penn., near there
this good old man lived to his allotted three score years and ten, and his son
as well.
As the Delaware Valley filled up with the many settlers from
across the ocean, the Indians confining any spreading out toward the North, the
east side of the Delaware being already settled, the mountains lying to the
west, the younger generation, and the third generation it was then, moved on
west and south and settled in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley at the mouth of
the Rattlesnake Run in what is now Jefferson County, West Virginia. There two generations lived and took part in
the glorious battle for American freedom from British rule.
The Revolutionary War being over, Wm. Lucas, who had been
captain of a company of local troops, and private in the 11th
Virginia Line Regiment, great-grandson of this original Robert, with his family
of grown young men and women, again turned their eyes toward the west and after
careful deliberation and selection, went through the Cumberland Gap and settled
near the mouth of the Sciota River in southern Ohio.
One of the younger sons of this family was Robert Lucas, one
probably not intended fro the life of a farmer or an artisan of any kind, but
more fitted for a life of public utility.
This Robert Lucas spent the early part of his life in Sciota County,
starting in public service as a surveyor, then as a lieutenant of militia,
passing through the various grades of army life, until at quite an early age
for so high a rank, he reached that of Brigadier General of the first Brigade of
Ohio Militia.
His ambition had been, since early manhood, to become an officer
in the United States regular army, and at the breaking out of the war of 1812
he saw this hope gratified and received a commission as captain in the 19th
infantry and a few months later, the records at Washington tell us he was given
that of Lieutenant Colonel.
Robert Lucas never took advantage of this regular army
appointment, for his state needed him more than the well filled and well
trained regular army did, so he went into that long, tedious and troublesome
war as a private in one of the Ohio companies selected from his brigade and
submitted to the general Government for use during the war. It is probable that his rank was recognized
by the authorities at Washington, for history tells us that his service
throughout the war was that of an advisory officer and scout and he never at
any time was with the company that he had organized.
The war closed and he then returned to his old rank in command
of the Militia Brigade. Service therein
not being consecutive and not requiring all of his time, we see that he turned
his attention to politics, and it was not long until we find him a member of
the Ohio Legislature and only a little later twice Governor of that state.
We are now coming to a point in political history where affairs
in Ohio took a great turn and the party which he had fought for so long,
becoming firmly entrenched in power.
Robert Lucas’ efforts were rewarded by an appointment from President Van
Buren as Governor of the new Territory of Iowa and in the summer of 1838,
leaving his family on his beautiful farm near Lucasville, he passed down the
Ohio and up the Mississippi and took up at Burlington the government of this
grand and good old state.
No words of mine can add to all that has been said of Robert
Lucas, the soldier, citizen and pioneer, and who is only brought into this
story to show the trend of emmigration through and across America in the nearly
200 years since his family and those of his contemporaries landed in America.
Governor Lucas lived alone at the capital for a short time only
and then his relatives and friends began following him into this garden spot
called Iowa. His nephews and nieces,
their cousins and friends, followed him out and settled in the vicinity of
Burlinton, Iowa City and Muscatine and taking these families and those
collaterally allied with them, it is easy to be seen what a great connection he
brought with him, and intermarried among these young people were the sons and
grandsons of a large number of Revolutionary soldiers.
Robert Lucas has, in the Iowa Society, eleven great-grand and
great-great-grand nephews and could we have time to search out the other
cousins, it is probable that the number could be increased to twenty or more. It is for this reason that these few remarks
have been made about our first Governor.
GENERAL
SOCIETY
Organized at Washington, D.C., April 19, 1890
Officers,
1911-1914
General
President
Edmund
Wetmore, LL.D.
New York
Society
General
Vice-President
James
Mortimer Montgomery
New York
Society
Second
General Vice-President
Hon.
John Wingate Weeks
Massachusetts
Society
General
Secretary
William
Libbey, D.Sc.
New Jersey
Society
General
Treasurer
Richard
McCall Cadwalader
Pennsylvania
Society
Assistant
General Treasurer
Henry
Cadle
Missouri
Society
General
Chaplain
Randolph
Harrison McKim, D.D.
District
of Columbia Society
General
Registrar
Hon.
George Eltweed Pomeroy
Ohio
Society
General
Historian
Marshall
Delancey Haywood
North Carolina
Society
Sons
of the Revolution
in
the
State of Iowa
Instituted April 19, 1890
Officers
President
Mott
Randolph Sawyers, PH.D
Vice-President
Hon.
Robert Stuart McNutt
Secretary
Frank
Hayward Kincaid
4 Walling Court, Davenport
Treasurer
William Wallace Humphrey
Chaplain
John Tallmadge Bergen, D.D.
Registrar
John
Winthrop Ballard
Historian
Horace Lee
Husted, M.D.
Board
of Managers
All
above and ..
Joseph Alexander Daniel, M.D.
William
Hamilton Wilson
Will F.
Hunt, M.D.
Charles Francis
Cadle
Frank
Welch Smith
Constitution
of the
General Society of the Sons of the Revolution
It being evident, from a steady decline of a proper celebration of the National holidays of the United States of America, that popular concern in the events and men of the war of the Revolution is gradually declining, and that such lack of interest is attributable, not so much to the lapse of time and the rapidly increasing flood of immigration from foreign countries, as to the neglect on the part of descendants of Revolutionary heros to perform their duty in keeping before the public mind the memory of the services of their ancestors and of the times in which they lives; therefore, the Society of the Sons of the Revolution has been instituted to perpetuate the memory of the men who, in the military, naval, and civil service of the Colonies and of the Continental Congress, by their acts or counsel, achieved the independence of the country, and to further the proper celebration of the anniversaries of the birthday of Washington, and to prominent events connected with the war of the Revolution; to collect and secure for preservation the rolls, records, and other documents relating to that period; to inspire the members of the Society with the patriotic spirit of their forefathers; and to promote the feeling of friendship among them.
The General Society shall be divided into State Societies, which shall meet annually on the day appointed therefor in their respective By-Laws, and oftener if found expedient; and at such annual meeting the reasons for the institution of the Society shall be considered, and the best measures for carrying them into effect adopted.
The State Societies at every annual meeting shall choose a President, a Vice-president, a Secretary, a Registrar, a Treasurer, a Chaplain, and such other officers as may by them respectively be deem necessary, and a Board of Managers, to consist of such officers, and other members, as may be provided by their respective Constitutions and By-Laws, all of whom shall retain their respective positions until their successors are duly chosen.
Each State Society shall casue to be transmitted annually or oftener to the other State Societies a circular letter calling attention to whatever may be thought worthy of observation respecting the welfare of the Society or of the general union of the States, and giving information of the officers chosen for the year; and copies of these letters shall also be transmitted to the General Secretary to be preserved among the records of the General Society.
The State Societies shall regulate all matters respecting their own affairs, consistent with the general good of the Socitey judge of the qualification of their members, of those proposed for membership, subject, however, to the provisions of thie Constitution; and expel any member who, by conduct unbecoming a gentleman or a man of honor, or by any opposition to the interests of the communtiy in general of of the Society in particular, may render himself unworthy to continue in membership.
In order to form funds that may be respectable, each member shall contribute, upon his admission to the Society and annually thereafter, such sums as the By-Laws of the respective State Societies may require; but any of such State Societies may provide for the endowment of memberships by the payment of proper sums in capitalization, which sums shall be properly invested as a permanent fund, the income only of which shall be expended.
The regular meeting of the General Society shall be held every three years, and special meeting may be held upon the order of the General President or upon the reequest of two of the State Societies, and such meetings shall consist of the General Officers and a representation no exceeding five deputies from each State Society, and the necessary expenses of such meeting shall be borne by the State Societies.
The following amendment to the Consitiution was proposed at the meeting of the General Society held in Denver, Colorado, April 19, 1899, to be voted on at the next regular meeting:
“Strike out from the seventh paragraph of the Consitiution of the General Society the words: ‘of th eGeneral Officers, and a representation not exceeding five deputies from each State Society,’ and insert the following: ‘of two delegates from each State Society, and one additional delegate for every one hundred (100) members or major fraction therof, and on all questions arising at meeting of the General Society, each delegate there present shall be entitled to one vote, and no vote shall be taken by States.’”
At the regular meeting a General President, General Vice-President, General Second Vice-President, General Secretary, Assistant General Secretary, General Treasurer, Assistant General Treasurer, General Chaplain, General Registrar, and General Historian shall be chosen by a majority of the votes present, to serve until the next regular general meeting, or until their successors are duly chosen.
At each general meeting the circular letters which have been transmitted by the several State Societies shall be considered, and all measures taken which shall conduce to the general welfare of the Society.
The General Society shall have power at any meeting to admit State Societies therto, and to entertain and determine all questions affecting the qualifications for membership in or the welfare of any State Society as may by proper memorial be presented by such State Society for consideration.
Any male person above the age of twenty-one years, of good character, and a descendant of one who, as a military, naval, or marine officer, soldier, sailor, or marine, in actual service under the authority of any of the thirteen Colonies or States or of the Continental Congress, and remaining always loyal to such authority; or a descendant of one who signed the Declaration of Independence, or of one who, as a member of the Continental Congress or of the Congress of any of the Colonies or States, or as an official appointed by or under the authority of any such legislative bodies, actually assisted in the establishment of American Independence by services rendered during the was of the Revolution, becoming thereby liable to conviction of treason against the government of Great Britian, but remaining always loyal to the authority of the Colonies or States, shall be eligible to membership in the Society.
The Secretary of each State Society shall transmit to the General Secretary a list of the members thereof, together with the names and official designations of those from whom such members derive claim to membership; and thereafter, upon the admission of members in each State Society, the Secretary thereof shall transmit to the General Secretary information respecting such members similar to that herein required.
The Society shall have an insignia, which shall be a badge suspended from a ribbon by a ring of gold; the badge shall be elliptical in form, with escaloped edges, one and one-quarter inches in length and one and one-eighth inches in width; the whole surmounted by a gold eagle with wings displayed, inverted; on the obverse side a medallion of gold in the centre, elliptical in form, bearing on its face the figure of a soldier in Continental uniform, with musket slung; beneath, the figures 1775; the medallion surrounded by thirteen raised gold stars of five points each upon a border of dark blue enamel. On the reverse side, in the centre, a medallion corresponding in form to that on the obverse, and also in gold, bearing on its face the Houdon portrait of Washington in bas-relief, encircled by the legend, “Sons of the Revolution”; beneath, the figures 1883; and upon the reverse of the eagle the number of the badge to be engraved; the medallion to be surrounded by a plain gold border, conforming in dimensions to the obverse; the ribbon shall be dark blue, ribbed and watered, edged with buff, one and one-half inches wide, and one and one-half inches in displayed length. The insignia of the Society shall be worn by the members on all occasions when they assemble as such for any stated purpose or celebration, and may be worn on any occasion of ceremony; it shall be carried conspiciously on the left breast, but members who are or have been officers of the Society may wear the insignia suspended from the ribbon around the neck. The custodian of the insignia shall be the General Secretary, who shall issue them to members of the Society under such proper rules as may be formulated by the General Society, and he shall keep a register of such issues wherein each insignia issued may be identified by the number therof.
The seal of the Society shall be one and seven-eighths inches in diameter, and shall consist of the figure of a Minute-man in Continental uniform, standing on a ladder leading to a belfry; in his left hand he holds a musket and an olive-branch, whilst his right grasps a bell-rope; above, the cracked Liberty Bell; issuing therefrom a ribbon bearing the motto of the Society, exegi monumentum aere perennius; across the top of the ladder on a ribbon, the figures 1776; and on the left of the Minute man, and also on a ribbon, the figures 1883, the year of the formation of the Society; the whole encircled by a band three-eights of an inch wide; thereon at the top thirteen stars of five points each; at the bottom the name of the General Society, or of the State Society to which the seal belongs. On occasions other than the meetings for any stated purpose or celebration , members may wear a rosette of the prescribed ribbon and pattern in the upper button-hole of the left lapel of the coat. The Treasurer shall procure and issue the rosettes to members.
By-Laws of the Iowa Society
Article I. Name of Society
This society shall be known by the name, style, and title of THE SOCIETY OF SONS OF THE REVOLUTION IN THE STATE OF IOWA.
Article II. Admission of Members
Candidates shall send their written application, approved by two members, with documentary or other proofs of qualification for membership, to the Secretary, who shall submit the same to the Comittee on Admissions. Upon a favorable report from said Committee to the Board of Managers, and the payment of the membership fee and dues for first year, said applicants shall become members of the Society.
Article III. Funds.
The membership fee shall be three (3) dollars; the annual dues two (2) dollars. The payment at one time of twenty-five (25) dollars in addition to the membership fee shall constitute a life membership. The payment at one time of one hundred (100) dollars shall constitute a perpetual or endowed membership, and upon the death of the member so paying the membership shall be held by the eldest son, or such other descendant from the ancestor from whom he claims descent as he may nominate; in failure of such nomination having been made, the Society may decide which one of the descendants shall hold the membership; provided always, that the Society reserves to itself the privilege of rejecting any nomination that may not be acceptable to it. All those holding life or endowed memberships shall be exempt from the payment of annual dues.
Article IV. Permanent Fund.
All life and endowed membership fees, as well as donations which shall hereafter be paid the Society, shall remain forever to the use of the Society, of which the interest only shall be used.
Article V. Annual Meeting.
The annual meeting of the Society shall be held on the nineteenth day of April, except when such date shall fall on Sunday, in which event the meeting shall be held on the following day. At this meeting a general election of officers by ballot shall take place, and a majority of the ballots given for any shall constitute a choice; but if, on the first ballot, no person shall receive such majority, then a further balloting shall take place, in which a plurality of votes given for any officer shall determine the choice. Special meetings shall be held by direction of the Board of Managers, or upon the written request of three members of the Society.
Article VI. Officers.
The officers of the Society shall be a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Registrar, Historian and Chaplain, together with a Board of Managers consisting of the above named officers, ex officio, and five others elected annually.
Article VII. Quorum.
At all meetings of the Society seven members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
Articles VIII-XIX. Descriptions of the duties of the various officers & committees; local associations; order of business and balloting. [Not transcribed]