Conococheague Chapter, NSDAR

Conococheague Chapter History

The Conococheague Chapter, NSDAR, was organized on September 27, 1932. That date was the 200th Anniversary of the birth of George Washington. Mrs. John Lillburn, Maryland State Regent, accompanied by members of the Frederick Chapter, NSDAR, met at the Women’s Club in Hagerstown, Maryland, with eighteen members of the newly organized chapter. The Conococheague Chapter, NSDAR, was the first chapter in Washington County. Mrs. Frank N. Hoffmeier was the organizing regent.

In her address of welcome, Mrs. Lillburn stated “in commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the birth of General George Washington, no group of people could pay greater homage to the memory of this great man than by the organization of a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. As your State Regent, I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to organize a chapter in this progressive and beautiful town.”  Mrs. Edgar McCardell, Regent of the Frederick Chapter, NSDAR, presented a gavel made from a log excavated from a street in Frederick, Maryland. Such logs formed a corduroy road during Frederick's early history. We still utilize the same gavel. In 1933 a large American flag was presented to the Conococheague Chapter, NSDAR, by the Thomas Johnson Chapter, NSDAR, in memory of Mrs. Lilliburn.

The first chapter historian, Mrs. Warren Miller, began searching for church and cemetery records in February 1933. As a result of her efforts, seven volumes of cemetery records from Washington County were compiled by 1948 and sent to the National DAR Library. These records were also presented to the Maryland Historical Society in 1959. Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Samuel Greenwalt, compiled records from eleven churches,, Washington County Patriots, as well as Bible and cemetery records. This material was copied for the Maryland State Society, DAR Genealogical Records Committee and provided to the Washington County Library.

Significance of the Chapter Name

The Conococheague Chapter, NSDAR, is located in Washington County, Maryland. Originally, this geographic region, known as “Conococheague,” was comprised of parts of western Maryland and what now are southern parts of Pennsylvania. In 1739, an early settlement began along the banks of the Conococheague Creek that flows through this region. The origin of the Conococheague Chapter’s name is the Native American word meaning a “long way,” “long waters”, or “land between the mountains,” as the first settlement in 1732 was so-called. Later, in 1756, George Washington referred to this whole locality between the mountains as Conococheague.