In the early 1900s, women’s groups across America worked hard to gain the right to vote. As a result, women took more of an interest in history, patriotism, and education. These were the very same goals as the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution which was founded in 1890. In 1913, Mrs. Cora Stickney Harper, a resident of Boynton Beach and a member of the only DAR chapter in Miami, was encouraged to come to the historic town of Fort Pierce and organize a chapter here while remaining a member of the Miami chapter. She was appointed organizing regent by her dear friend, the Florida State Regent, Mrs. Grenville Fissell. Through Cora’s efforts, women were brought together and the mechanics of developing the procedures necessary to document their ties to an American Revolutionary ancestor began. Our chapter records state, “Through Mrs. Harper’s untiring efforts, records of American Revolutionary Ancestors were found and verified, so that the required number of ladies signed the chapter register on June 19, 1914 at the home of Mrs. F. R. Horton.” Because the signing of the charter was so close to Flag Day, June 14th, the chapter later chose to celebrate its birthday on this very patriotic day.
The first board officers were:
Cora Stickney Harper Regent
Rose Ankeny Lewis Vice Regent
Fern Platts Horton Registrar
Loyce D. Hackett Treasurer
Elizabeth Sydnor Hemmings Secretary
Edwina Jackson Chapter Historian
Lucie E.R. Le Tourneau Local Historian
One of Florida’s oldest chapters, the chapter was first named Aiseehatchee Chapter, the Indian word for “river of the deer people”. However, on November 1, 1914, the year of the acceptance of the charter, Mrs. Harper died while kneeling at the communion rail at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Fort Pierce. The sense of personal loss was so great that at the November 1914 meeting, the new chapter voted to change the name of Aiseehatchee to Cora Stickney Harper in permanent honor to its founder.
Over the years, the Cora Stickney Harper Chapter, NSDAR, has erected and maintained three monuments dedicated to the preservation of the history of this historic area. The first monument marks the site of the old Fort Pierce Army Post. The second marks the end of the Capron Trail, and the third marks the site of Fort Capron. The chapter also worked with other local chapters to place a monument just outside Okeechobee to mark the location of a Seminole War battle. (For more information on these monuments, click here.)
The chapter proudly celebrated its 100th birthday in 2014. The centennial program was a play written by member Joanne Humphries. The “actresses” portrayed some of Cora’s 18 founding members as they shared the hopes and plans of those long-ago times and then celebrated when they realized how many of those goals had been accomplished in the 100 years of the chapter’s existence.
The Cora Stickney Harper Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, continues to thrive and grow and is committed to serving the community through dedicated patriotism, historic preservation, promoting quality education, and furthering the quality of life for all of the citizens of Fort Pierce.
