Charter
Members
| Mrs. Mary Duncan Putnam
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Miss Carrie Helena Abbott |
| Mrs. Anna Belle Mason Nott |
Mrs. Harriet Elizabeth
Birchard |
| Mrs. Elizabeth Sample Malcom |
Mrs. Maud Whitcomb Martin |
| Miss Elizabeth Duncan Putnam
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Mrs. Maria Purdy Peck |
| Mrs. Mary Sample Mason |
Mrs. Jessie Peck Vollmer |
| Miss Anne Blaine Mason |
Mrs. Betsy Drake Young |
| Mrs. Nancy Cable Wylie |
Miss Beulah B. Whitcomb |
| Mrs. Caroline Courtright
Abbott |
Mrs. Frances Dickman Hills |
Mrs. Julia Ann Weaver
Honored Hannah Caldwell Chapter
Member and a "Real Daughter"
A "Real Daughter" is a
woman whose father actually served
in the American War of Independence.
Purpose
of the Organization
"To perpetuate the memory and
spirit of the men and women who achieved
American Independence; to cherish,
maintain, and extend the institution of
American freedom, to foster true
patriotism and love of country, and to
aid in securing for all mankind all the
blessings of liberty."
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History
of Hannah Caldwell Chapter
The Hannah Caldwell Chapter was
organized on January 18, 1897, through
the efforts of Mary Duncan Putnam and
Maria Purdy Peck, six years after the
National Society was formed on October
11, 1890. (Mrs. Putnam and Mrs. Peck
were also among the founders of the
first Iowa chapter in Des Moines.) The
Hannah Caldwell Chapter was the ninth
chapter in Iowa and 310th in the nation.
Mrs. Nancy Cable Wylie had been
appointed regent of the possible new
chapter by the National Society and had
invited interested women to her home.
The sixteen co-founders had their papers
accepted by the National Board of
Management by this time and the
application for a charter was sent in
with the following officers:
Regent - Mrs. J.S. Wylie
Vice Regent - Mrs. C.E. Putnam
Secretary - Miss Elizabeth Putnam
Treasurer - Mrs. J.B. Mason
Registrar - Mrs. W.J. Birchard
Historian - Mrs. W.F. Peck
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Hannah
Caldwell
Hannah Ogden Caldwell was one
of two women killed by the British
during the war of the Revolution. At the
time the deed was committed she was in
her home caring for her nine children.
Her husband, Reverend James Caldwell,
known as the "Fighting Parson," had left
her only a few hours before to join the
patriots who were gathering to resist
the enemy in the vicinity of
Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Later an
enemy soldier was sent to the
unprotected home to perform the fiendish
act. He found his victim kneeling in
prayer, and, with a well directed aim,
fired the fatal shot through an open
window and then set fire to the house.
From one of the heights, Caldwell saw
through a field glass the smoke rising
from the burning building. Mistaking the
direction, he said to Lafayette, who was
standing near him, "Thank God it is not
near my home."
The patriot preacher was not
intimidated and a short time after the
battle of Springfield the memorable
hymn book episode occurred. For lack
of wadding the muzzle-loading guns of
the troops were rendered useless. When
Caldwell was advised of the situation
he mounted a horse and galloped off to
a near-by meeting house, gathered up
the hymn books and returned with his
arms full. Flinging them on the ground
he exclaimed, "Put Watts into them
boys. Give them Watts." The novel
incident furnished Bret Harte with the
theme for a stirring poem.
Taken
from
the Hannah Caldwell Chapter
1903-1904 Yearbook
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