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A History of Some of our Projects to Better our Communities and Preserve our Past
A History of Some of our Projects to Better our Communities and Preserve our Past
Remembering 'Real Daughter' (meaning her father was a Patriot who served during the Revolution, and she was a member of DAR), Francis Elizabeth Danforth Goodrich. Flowers are laid at her grave site at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis each Memorial Day. Frances Goodrich was a charter member of Minneapolis Chapter NSDAR which has since been disbanded. Francis Goodrich was born in Massachusetts in 1813 and died in Minnesota on September 23, 1893. She was the widow of David Goodrich. She was the daughter of Joshua Danforth and Salome Noble, his wife. Joshua Danforth entered the army at the age of 15, as clerk in the company of his father, Capt. Jonathan Danforth. Joshua was at Ticonderoga, Valley Forge, and Monmouth. He was commissioned paymaster in 1781, with the rank of captain. He was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati from Massachusetts. In 1784, he married Salome Abigail Noble, and they settled at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Joshua held several offices and was a member of the State Legislature. In 1824, he was one of a committee to meet Lafayette at Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Gravestone Restoration
Gravestone Restoration
2021 - 2024
2021 - 2024
A group of volunteers from Keewaydin Chapter have been working throughout the summers of 2021 and 2023 to clean and restore the gravestones of early Minnesota settlers at the Valley Cemetery in Shakopee, Minnesota. The focus of the effort has been the Samuel W. Pond family, an early missionary that worked with the Dakota Indians in Shakopee.
The restoration efforts are designed to clean the headstones and grave markers without harming them.
The project began in support of the State Regent's project to preserve Minnesota’s history and heritage through cemetery care and renewal.
Pond House Marker Rededication
Pond House Marker Rededication
August 4, 2022
August 4, 2022
Keewaydin Chapter held a ceremony to dedicate the restoration of a historical marker that had been placed on the Gideon and Agnes Pond House in Bloomington, Minnesota in 1934. Samuel and Gideon Pond were missionaries to the Dakota Indians of Minnesota from 1834 until 1853. One of their greatest accomplishments was to devise the Dakota alphabet and put the language into a written form. Once the alphabet was established, with collaboration of others, they developed a Dakota dictionary, as well as a grammar and hymnal. They also translated the Bible into Dakota; that effort took 40 years to complete.
The ceremony was held on a beautiful August afternoon on the grounds of the Gideon and Agnes Pond House. The ceremony included the Presentation of Colors which was performed by the Color Guard from Como Park Sr. High School Marine Corps Jr. ROTC. Attending the ceremony were two great-great grandsons of Gideon Pond.
Cleaning a Historical Grave Marker
Cleaning a Historical Grave Marker
August 5, 2021
August 5, 2021
Nine Keewaydin members journeyed to Faribault, Minnesota and stopped at the Oak Ridge cemetery where we cleaned the gravestone of Sarah Brewster Benedict. Sarah's father was Joseph Brewster, DAR Patriot A014193. He served as a private in the Revolutionary War.
Sarah's tombstone in September 2022 after the cleaning.
Photo credit: Tom Rent, FindAGrave.com, used with permission
DAR National Day of Service
DAR National Day of Service
October 12, 2017 - 2024
October 12, 2017 - 2024
2016
2016
Feed My Starving Children
2017
2017
Feed My Starving Children
2018
2018
Feed My Starving Children
2019
2019
Feed My Starving Children
2022
2022
Feed My Starving Children
2023
2023
Feed My Starving Children
2024
2024
The ARC
Community Resource and Referral Center (CRRC)
Community Resource and Referral Center (CRRC)
November 2018
November 2018
After the November meeting Chapter members assembled kits for homeless veterans of items they had collected. The kits, gallon-sized storage bags, contain personal items such as socks, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. as well as a gift card to McDonald's or Subway.
DAR Service for Veterans Committee chair Roberta Seefeldt delivered 40 kits to the Minneapolis VA Community Resource and Referral Center (CRRC) located in downtown Minneapolis. The CRRC's mission is to support veterans who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness or serious mental illness, by promoting physical and mental health, assisting in securing and maintaining housing, and working with veterans to achieve increased community integration.
Keewaydin Chapter NSDAR Honors Minneapolis “Infant Pioneer”
Keewaydin Chapter NSDAR Honors Minneapolis “Infant Pioneer”
September 16, 2017
September 16, 2017
Historic Fort Snelling Drum and Fife Corps with the Charlotte Van Cleve Monument
In concurrence with the Society of Daughters of the American Revolution’s mission of preserving history and being passionate about community service, the Keewaydin Chapter NSDAR dedicated a gravesite DAR marker for Charlotte Ouisconsin Clark Van Cleve at Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a reception following the ceremony at the Walker Library, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Special guests at the dedication were Dr. John Van Cleve, great-great-grandson of Charlotte, his wife Audrey, their daughter Denise and son Stewart. Invited guests attending were: Faye Leach, State Regent; Susan Jirele, State Chaplain; Glenda Meixell, State Organizing Secretary; Diana Thayer Myers, State Historian; Tracy MacAllister, State Librarian; Roberta L. Everling, State Parliamentarian; Sue Nolan, Fort Snelling Chapter Regent; and Jennifer Parker, Nathan Hale Chapter Regent.
After Regent Connie Cundy opened the ceremony, State Chaplain Susan Jirele gave the invocation. Betsy Christopherson made the introductions and Nancy Bacon presented the DAR Women of History Certificate to Dr. Van Cleve for his ancestor’s contributions to her community. Phyllis Olson gave the dedication of the DAR marker. The Historic Fort Snelling Fife and Drum Corp along with Mary Kaye Brown presented the colors, led us all in the singing of 'America' and closed the ceremony with taps.
Charlotte Van Cleve marker with insignia installed by Keewaydin Chapter at Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Left to right: Phyllis Olson, Connie Cundy, Stewart Van Cleve, Audrey Van Cleve, Dr. John Van Cleve, daughter Denise, Betsy Christopherson, Nancy Bacon
Left to right: Connie Cundy, Regent; Betsy Christopherson, Registrar; Nancy Bacon, Corresponding Secretary; Phyllis Olson, Co-chair Historic Preservation Committee; Susan Jirele, Minnesota State Chaplain
Charlotte Clark Van Cleve was among the first women in the 1890’s to join the Minneapolis Chapter of the DAR (since disbanded.) As a young girl, she saw the first steamboat churn up the Mississippi River to Fort Snelling in 1823. More than 40 years later, she heard the shrill hoot of the first train chugging past the fort. One of her last trips to the fort was by car, shortly before she died in 1907 at the age of 87. Along the way, Charlotte Clark Van Cleve married Horatio P. Van Cleve, had seven children, and became the first woman elected to the Minneapolis school board, rose to national prominence in the suffrage movement and started a home for so-called “fallen women,” mostly unwed mothers and prostitutes. Legacies of the Van Cleve's can be found around Minneapolis. Van Cleve Park, at Como and 15th avenues SE features a historic plaque and bios of Charlotte and Horatio. The park was named for them in 1893. The Van Cleve House, where they lived starting in 1862, landed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and remains in good shape in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood at 603 SE 5th Street.
Read more about Charlotte Van Cleve here:
If you would like to explore your heritage through genealogy, or are simply interested in what we do, please contact us for more information about Keewaydin Chapter NSDAR. A member of our chapter will respond promptly.
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