Middletown Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution
Formed just over one year ago, Middletown, the newest New Jersey Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, has moved forward with speed and incredible accomplishments in their mission to promote patriotism and secure America’s future through better education for children.
With so many local residents attending and enthusing over the restoration of the graves of a Revolutionary War and War of 1812 soldiers on Locust Point Road recently, Chapter Regent Michele Donnelly noted it is one more accomplishment in their goal to find the graves of all Revolutionary War patriots buried in Monmouth County.
The Middletown Chapter has accomplished great strides toward that ambitious goal. Approaching the research in an orderly and geographic order to ensure more accuracy, the Chapter, since last May 2022 when it was organized, began their search at Old Brick Church in Marlboro, then Holmdel, Aberdeen, Matawan and Hazlet before starting in Middletown.
All this research has already resulted in securing 13 headstones from the Veterans Administration, as well as the private purchase of another six markers. The chapter also secured a headstone for Joshua Robbins, a War of 1812 veteran buried in the Locust Point Road burial ground along with the Revolutionary war hero. The busy chapter still has many more headstones in the process of being secured through various means.
Included in their efforts in addition to recognition and respect for the deceased is to ensure their burial sites are accessible and their graves marked.
“The quest to accomplish this grew out of a love for cemeteries and the genealogy that can be found there,” said Donnelly. “We also want to recognize the service of these local men and women who contributed to our country’s history. We think this a perfect project in preparation for the semiquincentennial of the nation in 2026.”
The DAR, founded in 1890 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a non-profit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America’s future through better education for children. Any woman 18 years or older, regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background, who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution.
The Middletown based chapter already has 32 members from the area they represent, which includes Atlantic Highlands Matawan, Colts Neck, Oceanport and the municipalities in between. Members meet bimonthly at VFW Post 2179 on Route 36 in Port Monmouth, a veterans organization happy to provide space for their meetings. The chapter began with 15 founding members, meaning they have more than doubled in size within 15 months, and can boast an astonishing series of accomplishments and awareness activities and programs to date.
Some of these activities during the past year include their first Veterans Appreciation Lunch, a fall event, which served 65 veterans and their families at a barbecue. That luncheon also included a color guard from MAST, the Marine Academy of Science and Technology where every student is a member of the NJROTC, as well as several guest speakers. This year’s event is scheduled for Oct. 2.
The chapter has also supported both active duty and veteran military members and their families in their first year, delivering 540 pounds of food to veterans over the holidays, and sending eight care packages to the USS Chesty Puller and the USS Gerald Ford. They have also sent 35 baby blankets for newborn infants at Fort Belvoir as well as nearly 300 holiday cards for the national Holiday Card Challenge.
The chapter aims to serve as many veterans as possible within their local community and has a list of accomplishments already completed for that goal as well. As an example, with Naval Weapons Station Earle located within this chapter’s location, this year the women started a project to deliver a basket of essential items for every infant born in an Earle family; they are planning to present five baskets within the next few weeks for the families.
NWS Earle also has a food pantry the chapter supports through its state conference. Donnelly is the New Jersey state chair for this committee, so it gave her extra delight to initiate the state’s support of Earle’s food pantry and have a member of the chapter be the liaison to the pantry.
The lists of chapter accomplishments go on, with each member enthusiastically supporting a variety of activities that includes every facet of patriotism, education, assistance for veterans both living and deceased, and impressing on the public the importance of preserving history while at the same time focusing on community service.
The chapter is a sponsor of the annual Wreaths Across America, concentrating efforts on Fairview cemetery. At the same time, they were there with gifts for 50 new US citizens when they attended the naturalization ceremony and swearing in at historic Sandy Hook last year. At the school level, the chapter has already awarded a Good Citizen award and scholarship to a Middletown South senior, and four Youth Citizen medals to Police Youth Cadets in Holmdel and Middletown and two Middletown students. Their effort with preserving burial sites has already earned them third place in the Historic Preservation nation-wide contest.
Donnelly is quick to admit as busy as the Chapter is, and with all its accomplishments, it does depend on the local community grants and assistance. They are appreciative of so many local residents who donate to their drives or give us financial or other support. “We believe we can best carry out our mission to promote patriotism by getting the community involved so we try to get as many local volunteers as possible to help where needed,” the regent said. “We try to publicize events specifically to promote history.”
What are the plans for the future of the Middletown Chapter? “More of the same,” Donnelly asserts. “We want to get as many graves as possible identified, and research biographies on each of the veterans. We want to be certain our research, the most comprehensive and fully sourced list to date, is distributed to local historic societies and townships. We would love to see townships incorporate some of this history that has been lost to time in their America250 plans.”
Donnelly cited the granite memorial in Holmdel Veterans Park that lists veterans of the township from all wars. When the Chapter began its research, they found 25 Revolutionary War names on the lists. But since then, have found another 50 men and one woman with provable, citable service buried in the township.
“These Patriots all came from early founding families, many of which still have descendants in the area today. A lot of the Loyalists had property seized or fled to Canada,” the historian of local Revolutionary history pointed out. “Our heritage is very rich with patriotic families and it’s sad that so much is being lost.”
With so much accomplished, so much planned, the women are constantly working on the present as well. With 36 grave sites identified in Middletown, they are continuing their research to include more thorough citation for service. They have cleaned and continued to clean brush to make sites accessible and are currently working at the Eastmond site on the corner of York and Wood avenues.
Still there is so much more to do. Donnelly said she is certain more Revolutionary men died in Middletown, but with records and townships changing over the past 200 years, it is difficult to local them all. There are also men who were killed in action or at sugar houses in Monmouth County, but sadly, the regent said, “we simply don’t know where they are.”
Donnelly heads up this ambitious, hardworking, energetic and enthusiastic chapter, along with like-minded officers Gail Bozza who serves as treasurer, JJ Russo secretary, and Maureen Foster the registrar.
Each, like every member of the Middletown Chapter, devotes her energy to the DAR cause from personal pride, national pride, and the knowledge that their work, and letting others know of their work, continues to promote pride in America.
They go over and above in doing their jobs.
For further information on the Middletown chapter, contact Donnelly at michelemdonnelly@gmail.com
