History of Our Chapter
An American Heritage
100 Years of Service
1915 - 2015
Beginning with our charter members and continuing today, there stands a distinguished legacy of service to our community and to the State and National DAR Societies.
Monuments were dedicated and historic parks were created. Citizens were recognized for their contributions to historic preservation, for conservation, and for their service to the community. New citizens were welcomed. Countless school children received their first copy of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America as a result of the programs and activities supported by this chapter. Other students were awarded cash, scholarships, and certificates for their outstanding work in patriotism, citizenship, and history.
Many young women joined our ranks and saw their own daughters and granddaughters join DAR to serve alongside them. Lifelong friendships were forged. The lives we touched were not only those of the community. We gained more from our service than we gave. We matured into TODAY’S DAR.
Charter Members
Helen Massengale Johnson
Organizing Regent
Annie Johnson Betts
Marion Bicknell
Mary Miles Bushnell
Nancy Jane Crawford
Thankful Johnson Davies
Mary Mills Erwin
Marjorie Hoyal Fouts
Fannie I. Gray
Mary Price Gray
Nellie Carrier Greenwood
Jennie Campbell Hall
Sue Cleague Johnson
Helen Betts Miller
Minnie Ragsdale Mitchell
Mary Mitchell
Margaret Saunders
Letitia Cannon Wilhoit
Belle Campbell Wilkey
Clyde Wilkey Wright
Judge David Campbell Chapter organized May 12, 1915
Chattanooga (St. Elmo), Tennessee, approved
August 17, 1918
Brainerd Mission Cemetery is all that remains of Brainerd Mission, established in 1817 and closed in 1838 when the Cherokee Indians were removed to the Trail of Tears.
Prior to the local patriotic societies’ acquisition of the property in 1933, the Brainerd Mission Cemetery remained neglected and overgrown for decades. By 1933 the cemetery had reached the climax as a miserable site and was overgrown with weeds, bushes, and small trees, open to pigs and other stock, the graves sunken, and the tombstones lying broken and marred on the ground.
On September 26, 1933, four Chattanooga DAR chapters Chickamauga, John Ross, Judge David Campbell, and Nancy Ward, the Chattanooga SAR John Sevier Chapter, and the Chattanooga C.A.R. Judge Howell Tatum Chapter purchased the neglected and overgrown cemetery.
The acquisition of the property quickly set in motion a series of steps to beautify and transform the burial ground. The chapters formed committees to oversee a cemetery fund, the construction of a stone wall, publicity, landscape beautification, and a dedication ceremony.
The DAR chapters hastily organized this dedication ceremony to coincide with their State Conference scheduled to meet in Chattanooga the first week of November 1933.
Central to the organization of the November 1, 1933, dedication ceremony was Penelope Johnson Allen, a member of the Judge David Campbell Chapter, DAR. Allen was well connected to Chattanooga society and she served as the chairman of the Historical and Publicity Committee for the dedication ceremony. This committee was especially effective in publicizing the event, with numerous articles appearing in both the Chattanooga Daily Times and the Chattanooga News beginning in September 1933. They used the media not only to announce the upcoming dedication event, but also to report their progress within the cemetery, raise funds for their efforts, and appeal for volunteers and supplies. For instance, an October 15 Times article reported the donation of “a truckload of shrubbery” and two checks of fifty dollars each to be spent on the construction of the stone wall.
~ Text taken from Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Form NPS 10-900-A
Brainerd Mission Cemetery
Reclaimed and Maintained
1933 to Present
WHO WAS DAVID CAMPBELL?
DAVID CAMPBELL
Major, Virginia Militia
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Judicial Appointment by President George Washington
DAVID CAMPBELL, son of David and Mary (Hamilton) Campbell was born in 1750, in Augusta County, Virginia. He received a liberal education for his time and chose the law for his profession. Upon the organization of Washington County, Virginia, in 1777, he was made clerk of the court.
World War II Blood Bank
Flags at Brainerd Mission Cemetery
Judge David Campbell Chapter, NSDAR
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Last Modified 6-17-2017.