Daughters of the American Revolution.—Love of liberty and the determination to worship God in their own way, led the Pilgrims to cross the sea, combat cold, starvation and savage red men; and it was again the love of liberty that more than a century later, caused their descendants to take up arms against the mother country, in order that civil and religious liberty in America might be perpetuated.

The tragic events of the war that followed the Declaration of Independence have gradually faded into insignificance beside those of more modern conflicts, and it is to commemorate the valiant deeds of the patriotic men and women of '76, that their female descendants, founded at Washington, D. C., on Oct. 11, 1890, a society, "To perpetuate the memory and spirit of the men and women who achieved American independence, by the acquisition and protection of historical spots." The organization was christened the "Daughters of the American Revolution." Mrs. Benjamin Harrison, the wife of President Harrison, was the first president of the national society, which since its organization has grown rapidly and in 1908 had over 45,000 members. As a perpetual memorial to the men and women of the Revolution, the national society is building a Continental Hall at Washington, D. C., where relics and records will be kept.

The first chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Kansas was organized at Topeka, in Jan., 1896, and named the Topeka chapter. The report of the society for 1910 showed the following chapters in the state, the date of organization and location of which are as follows Betty Washington, Oct. 17, 1896, Lawrence; Eunice Sterling, Oct. 21, 1896, Wichita; Gen. Edward Hand, Nov. 24, 1899, Ottawa; Newton, April 9, 1904, Newton; Sterling, May 26, 1905, Sterling; Esther Lowrey, June 14, 1905, Independence; Capt. Jesse Leavenworth, Oct. 23, 1906, Leavenworth; Atchison, Feb., 1908, Atchison; Christiana Musser, Feb. 28, 1908, Chanute; Uvedale, Feb. 27. 1908, Hutchinson; Betty Bonney, April 6, 1908, Arkansas City; Samuel Linscott, Jan. 23. 1909, Holton; Lis Warner, June 15, 1909, Junction City; James Ross, July 26, 1909, Kansas City, Kan.; Rhoda Carver Barton, Oct. 13, 1909, Fredonia; Tiblow, Oct. 13, 1909, Bonnet Springs; Susannah French Putney, July 8, 1910, Eldorado.

Although the State of Kansas is far removed from the scenes of the Revolution, the society tries to carry out the idea of the national organization by the preservation of things historically important to the state. In Topeka, the site of the old "Constitution Hall," where the Topeka constitution was formed, has been marked by a tablet set in the sidewalk. The historic old Santa Fe Trail has been marked by 95 stones, 6 of which were placed by individual chapters or communities. The site of old Fort Zarah in Barton county has been marked by a stone, and it was due to the efforts of this society that a monument was erected on the site of the Pawnee village in Republic county, to commemorate the visit of Capt. Zebulon Pike in the fall of 1806, when he lowered the Spanish colors and raised the Stars and Stripes on Kansas soil for the first time. Other tablets marking historic places have been placed by the society, and when the battleship Kansas went into commission, a magnificent stand of colors was presented by the D. A. R. of Kansas.