Ruth Clark Halloran of Antrim was expecting to uncover Irish ancestry when she started looking into her genealogy, but her search revealed that, unlike her husband and children, she has no Irish blood at all.
“My kids got 60% Irish, so I thought that some of that had to come from me,” she said.
Instead, Halloran learned that she is 100% British and descended from Mayflower passenger Digory Priest, who signed the Mayflower Compact on Nov. 11, 1620.
“I had no idea,” she said. “No one in my family knew we were Mayflower descendants.”
As she dug deeper into her ancestry, Halloran found out she was descended from several Revolutionary War patriots.
“There’s a lot of crossover between Mayflower descendants and Revolutionary War veterans,” she said.
Halloran’s discoveries led her to the Hillsborough-based Pine Tree Riot chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
“I worked with the DAR historian and he eventually found seven of my ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War,” she said
Founded in 1890, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution is open to any woman who can prove descent from a patriot of the American Revolution. The DAR, a registered 501(c)3 organization, is non-partisan.
Halloran said people may have mistaken perceptions of the DAR, which can be seen as more of a high-society organization in some parts of the country.
“Here in New Hampshire, it’s all about community service, it’s all about veterans, and it’s about our unique history here in New England and celebrating that,” Halloran said.
Halloran was elected regent of the Pine Tree Riot chapter in September, and the group is on the lookout for new members.
“We’re rebuilding the chapter and we’re really excited to spread the word,” she said. “It’s all about community service, supporting veterans, preserving history, education. The national group does a lot of great work, and we’re figuring out what we can do in our local area.”
The chapter, which underwent a reorganization in recent years, has been busy since Halloran took the helm. So far, there are about a dozen active members.
In October, the chapter led a soft plastics recycling drive which enabled the Fuller Public Library in Hillsborough to receive and install a 100% recycled Trex outdoor bench. In November, the group organized a letter-writing campaign to service members deployed overseas, and in December, the chapter led a drive for the Hillsborough Food Pantry, collecting non-food items.
“We talked to the food pantry and we found out what needs they had which weren’t being met, like paper towels, shampoo and soap. It was quite a big drive; we gathered a lot of stuff,” Halloran said.
In March, the chapter plans a field trip to the New Hampshire Historical Society exhibit, “If You Had to Choose: Patriots and Loyalists in Revolutionary New Hampshire,” which presents the stories of New Hampshire colonists in 1775 and 1776.
Halloran hopes the Pine Tree Riot chapter will be able to take part in DAR initiatives, including Good Citizen awards, DAR scholarships, and essay contests for youth. New Hampshire chapters of the DAR also welcome new citizens, support veterans’ activities, and fund historic preservation projects.
“Our goal is to have an event or service project every month,” Halloran said. “We’re just getting started, building up and finding new members.”
The state DAR, led by Marilyn Huston, is raising money to restore the four brass panels commemorating veterans at Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge.
The Pine Tree Riot chapter includes Antrim, Bennington, Hillsborough, Deering and Weare. Residents of towns that are not represented by a specific chapter are always welcome to join.
“A lot of people would be surprised, once they look into their genealogy, that they might actually have Revolutionary War ancestors. I had no idea, and a lot of people don’t know,” Halloran said.
There is also a children’s chapter of the DAR, the Children of the American Revolution.
“I already signed my granddaughter up,” Halloran said.
The Hillsborough chapter is named for the Pine Tree Riot, an act of Colonial economic rebellion which pre-dates the Boston Massacre.
“There were all these pine trees in Weare, and the king said the colonists were not allowed to cut them down, because the king was going to use them for ship masts. So they cut down all the trees to protest,” Halloran said.
The protest, on April 14, 1772, is considered one of the first acts of rebellion against the British crown, paving the way for the American Revolution in 1776.
A New Hampshire historical marker on South Stark Highway in Weare indicates the site of Aaron Quimby’s tavern, where local men led by Ebenezer Mudgett attacked the sheriff before they were to be arrested for cutting down the trees.
Many chapters of the DAR are named for a historic event or person from the region. New Hampshire chapters include the Molly Stark Chapter in Manchester, the Captain Josiah Crosby Chapter in Milford, and the Sarah Josepha Hale Chapter on Star Island.
Halloran first became aware of the DAR after seeing the members of the chapter in Plymouth, Mass., where her husband’s family has a summer home, participate in community events.
“They were always dressed up as Pilgrims. They were at all the parades. It always looked like so much fun,” Halloran said. “I went and met some of the members, and they showed me this huge basement full of Pilgrim costumes. They would always do the Pilgrim’s Progress in November, the fourth of July, all the events. I just thought it was so cool.”
Halloran learned through genealogical research that, along with the Clarks, she is descended from the Hastings, Hale, and Thayer families, who have all been in New England since the time of the Revolution.
“The Hastings were all around Bernardston and Gill, Mass. They all stayed right there,” Halloran said. “I was able to go take photos of the graves, and the DAR will accept that for documentation.”
By coincidence, the Hallorans’ former home in New Ipswich was built with boards from the illegally harvested Weare pines.
“We bought the house from the Walters, who owned Pickity Place, and they told us all about the history of the house. The floor boards were 21 inches wide, and they all came from those pines in Weare. They were beautiful,” Halloran said. She also said the house had sliding shutters in case of attack. “When you think about it, that wasn’t so long ago, and it’s amazing to think how much things have changed,” she said.
This summer, Halloran, working with the Antrim 250th committee and the Antrim Historical Society, will represent the Pine Tree Riot Chapter in Antrim’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution.
“I’ll be in my Colonial costume,” she said. “I can’t wait.”
Anyone interested in joining the Pine Tree Riot chapter of the DAR should contact Ruth Halloran at halloruth@gmail.com.