Julius Dugger Chapter
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution

Elizabethton, Carter County, Tennessee

Welcome to the Julius Dugger Chapter, NSDAR website!  We are excited that you are interested in learning more about our organization.

Membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) honors your Patriot ancestor and preserves your Patriot's legacy.  As a member of DAR and through your participation in the Society's programs and activities, you too can continue the legacy of those who dreamed of the country we all celebrate today.  I invite you to visit the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution website for information on becoming a member.

You are welcome to visit our chapter. Please email us and let us know of your interest.

Reasons for Joining DAR

Incorporated by an Act of Congress in 1896, the NSDAR is a non-profit, non-political, volunteer service organization with almost 165,000 women in some 3,000 chapters across the United States and in twelve foreign countries. The Society was founded in Washington, DC, on October 11, 1890, and has celebrated almost 120 years of service to the nation.

• Are you interested in genealogy?
• Do you have a love for education, for patriotism, or for historical preservation?
• Does American History fascinate you?
• Do you like to volunteer?
• Do you want to be involved with service organizations and the community?
• Do you enjoy programs and speakers?
• Do you love to socialize and meet new people?

If you answered "yes" to some of the questions listed above, we invite you to pursue membership in the DAR.  For more information on membership, please visit the NSDAR membership requirements web page.

Chapter History

Seventeen charter members organized the Julius Dugger Chapter on March 6, 1925 in Butler, Tennessee. Following organization, the location of the chapter was changed to Elizabethton, Tennessee.

Chapter Name - Its History & Significance

The chapter was named for Julius Dugger, son of Julius C. Dugger, who, with Andrew Greer, crossed the mountains and settled the Watauga Valley in 1766. These long hunters were operating stations in the Watauga valley in the vicinity of Sycamore Shoals in 1769.

Historical Marker at Sycamore Shoals State Historical Park

Julius Dugger served several military enlistments, beginning in 1780 through the War of 1812 under Andrew Jackson. He first enlisted in the Revolutionary War from Wilkes County, North Carolina in 1780, and served one month in John Keys' North Carolina Company. In May 1781, while in Washington County, North Carolina, he enlisted and served four months in Captain William Smith's Company and "marched to the Big Island Ford in French Broad River" where in August 1781, he joined Colonel Sevier against the Chickamauga, Cherokee, and Creek Indians. In the year 1788, while living in what is now Carter County, Tennessee, Dugger was drafted to serve under Captain Ford at Knoxville, Tennessee, where they went to Lookout Mountain and fought the Chickamauga and Creek Indians.  On this occasion, he fought only two months.

When he filed for a pension at age 71, he stated that, in all, he served about seven months. His pension was not allowed because he had not served the minimum of six months.

He served in the War of 1812 with his sons Able and John. They served under General Andrew Jackson in the battle against the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Alabama on March 27, 1814. They were with General Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815.

Julius Dugger was magistrate of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Carter County beginning July 4, 1796. He was of Scotch-Irish descent and was probably born in Brunswick County, Virginia. He married Mary Hall of Rockbridge County, Virginia, in 1779. Both died in 1838. Julius Dugger is buried at the Dugger Cemetery near Sugar Grove Baptist Church in Johnson County, Tennessee. The cemetery overlooks the Watauga Lake. A large monument was erected to his honor by the Julius Dugger Chapter.

About the Chapter 

Chapter members placed a Bible and DAR information in the cornerstone of Carter County High School. A Boone Trail marker was also placed by the chapter on the high school grounds.

The organizing regent gave a chair for placement in Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. The chapter also participated in fund raising for a tree surgeon for preservation of a sycamore tree in Elizabethton under which the first court west of the Allegheny Mountains was held.

Doe River Covered Bridge, Elizabethton - on the National Register of Historic Places

Every year from September 24 through October 7, the Over Mountain Trail marchers re-enact the 1780 mustering of men and their victorious campaign to the Battle of Kings Mountain. Tradition has it that the Over The Mountain Men crossed the Watauga River at or around 2:00 pm on September 25th. The re-enactors stop in the middle of the Watauga River and fire a volley in honor of the men that crossed there in 1780 on the campaign to the Battle of Kings Mountain.

Both of the Elizabethton DAR chapters,  Julius Dugger and John Carter, provide the food to feed these re-enactors every year.

The chapter also participates in a Memorial Day program put on by the Watauga Historical Association and the Historic Green Hill Cemetery Preservation Committee. This program includes actors dressed as Over The Mountain Men (including some from the Johnson City SAR chapter).

Our Patriot Ancestors

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Site by Stephanie Bohrman, River City Chapter

Last Updated 08/12/2013

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