COLONIAL DAMES MEMBER RECALLS SARAH TOWNSEND

 

The Winter 2005 edition of The Record featured a cover photo of an unidentified woman holding a cat. Several readers thought they recognized the woman, but there has been no positive identification.Colonial Dames

 

Catherine (Kitty) Ritter of Interlaken thought the woman might be Sarah Townsend of Lodi. However, others who knew Sarah say it is not. Catherine knew Sarah from the time when both were members of the Seneca Chapter of the National Society of Colonial Dames of the XVII Century.

 

“I first met Sarah when we were forming our Seneca Chapter in July 1976. In July 1977, we met at Happy Landing Restaurant for the signing of our charter,” recalls Catherine. With ten members and 18 guests present, the group listened to a program offered by state member Louise Johnston. The topic was national defense and the effect of “illegal aliens.”

 

After their meeting, the group – dressed in colonial costumes – drove to the Interlaken Reformed Church to dance the minuet while Fern Patterson played sketches of  music on piano. Catherine had arranged the costuming, and Sarah was her dance partner.

 

“Sarah was our first vice-president until her death on Nov. 25, 1979. I knew her for such a short time,” said Catherine, “but she was fun to be with and she liked my many cats. She was most helpful in our group.”

 

Catherine has fond memories of another Lodi member of the group, Marion James, mother of Lodi Historical Society trustee Mary Ellen Stevens. Also shown in the accompanying photo is Amy Casebeer.  Her mother Ruth, was her dance partner.

 

The Seneca Chapter was disbanded in 1985, and several of its members then transferred to the Capt. James Avery Chapter. Those included Catherine and Lodi residents Alta Boyer, Morgan Hapeman and Mary Ellen Stevens. When the Avery Chapter disbanded last year, Catherine and Morgan transferred to the Capt. Henry Hudson Chapter of Elmira.

 

The National Society of Colonial Dames of the XVII Century was founded in 1915, by Miss Mary Florence Taney of Covington, Kentucky. Members are required to document a family ancestry dating to the founders of the 13 original colonies.

 

Chapters exist in 46 American states and the group’s headquarters building in Washington, DC includes a library and museum, known for the largest hanging display of coats of arms in the country. For more info, visit www.colonialdames17c.net.