National Society of the Colonial Dames of America

National Society of the Colonial Dames of America
Name	National Society of the Colonial Dames of America
Motto	"Our Country, Our People"
Formation	1891
Type	Non-profit lineage-based society
Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Region served	United States
Leader title	President General

Contents

National Society of the Colonial Dames of America is a lineage-based hereditary society established in 1891 that focuses on historic preservation, patriotic service, and education related to early American colonial history. Founded by descendants of colonial leaders active before 1776, the organization connects to historic figures and institutions such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison through genealogical lineage and preservation projects. Its activities intersect with museums, archives, and landmark sites including Mount Vernon, Independence Hall, Colonial Williamsburg, Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

History

The society was organized during the late 19th-century wave of lineage societies alongside groups like Daughters of the American Revolution, Sons of the American Revolution, Order of the Founders and Patriots, and Society of the Cincinnati, reflecting interest in colonial heritage amid the Gilded Age and the World's Columbian Exposition. Early leaders drew on connections to figures such as John Hancock, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, William Penn, and John Winthrop to establish credibility and collections. The society incorporated in states including New York (state), Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania and formed headquarters near institutions like The Library of Congress and American Philosophical Society. Over time it engaged in preservation alongside entities such as National Park Service, Historic New England, Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now APVA) and worked with archivists from Smithsonian Institution, New-York Historical Society, and Library Company of Philadelphia.

The society’s mission emphasizes preservation of sites, restoration of artifacts, and promotion of education about colonial-era persons and events, including connections to King George III, Lord Baltimore, William Bradford, Roger Williams, and Chief Powhatan. Activities include marking historic locations associated with Mayflower Compact, Salem Witch Trials, French and Indian War, Pequot War, and Stono Rebellion; sponsoring exhibits featuring objects linked to Paul Revere's Ride, The Star-Spangled Banner, Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta influences, and portraits of John Singleton Copley and Gilbert Stuart. The society publishes topical reports and supports scholarship on figures such as Ethan Allen, Patrick Henry, Mercy Otis Warren, Martha Washington, and Dolley Madison while collaborating with organizations like American Antiquarian Society and Historic New England.

Structured with state societies and local chapters, governance includes officers such as President General and boards akin to trustees of American Association for State and Local History, with standing committees for preservation, archives, and education. Eligibility requires documented descent from an ancestor who rendered service in an official capacity in a colony before 1776, connecting applicants to ancestors like John Rolfe, Anne Hutchinson, Thomas Hooker, Sir William Berkeley, or Lord Fairfax. The society maintains genealogical standards comparable to Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, National Genealogical Society, and Hereditary Order of the First Families of Virginia, and works with repositories such as New England Historic Genealogical Society and Princeton University Library for verification.

The society owns and operates several house museums, archives, and collections, undertaking restorations comparable to efforts at Monticello, Biltmore Estate, and The Breakers. Properties connected to the society reflect colonial-era architecture types exemplified by Georgian architecture, Colonial Revival architecture, and structures associated with figures such as John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, Eli Whitney, Roger Sherman, and James Otis Jr.. Preservation projects have involved collaboration with National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic Charleston Foundation, Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, and state historic commissions to conserve artifacts, manuscripts, furniture, and portraits by artists including Benjamin West, John Trumbull, and Charles Willson Peale.

The society funds educational programs, awards, and fellowships supporting research at institutions like Harvard University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, and Williams College. Grants and scholarships have supported studies on colonial law, manuscript conservation, and biography involving subjects such as William Blackstone, Sir Edmund Andros, James Oglethorpe, Lord Cornbury, and Elias Boudinot. The organization sponsors public lectures, teacher workshops, and student history contests in partnership with National Endowment for the Humanities, American Historical Association, and regional historical societies including Massachusetts Historical Society and Virginia Historical Society.

Notable members and leaders have included women prominent in civic and cultural life, with connections to families of Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and political figures such as descendants of John Quincy Adams, Calvin Coolidge, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson. Leadership has worked with curators and scholars associated with Smithsonian American Art Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Baltimore Museum of Art, and historic preservationists from Annie Russell Marble-era networks and later professionals tied to Russell Page-style landscape restoration. The society’s membership roster historically intersected with trustees, donors, and scholars linked to Carnegie Institution for Science, Rockefeller Foundation, and universities such as Columbia University and Princeton University.

Category:Hereditary societies of the United States Category:Historic preservation organizations in the United States