OUR HISTORY

The James Butler Bonham Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas was established in 1931.

Charter Members: Mrs. Herman I. Gahagan, Mrs. George W. Truett, Cora E. Behrends, Mrs. T.A. Scott, Mrs, J.A. Moore, Maudetta Martin Joseph, Mrs. T.W. Davidson, Mrs. A.P. McCormick, Mrs. J.D. Muse, Mrs. W.L. Evans, Mrs. Frederick Schenkenburg, Mrs. J.W. Blake, Mrs. Elliott Ramsey, Mrs. J.R. Card, and Mrs. John Luty

Chartering story: Secretary Mable Hill Scott wrote a lovely, long poem describing just how the chartering went, leaving out few details. This is her beginning paragraph:

"The afternoon was rainy and bad...but our hearts were happy, gay and glad...We cared not for the weather, whether it be rainy, cold or hot...with the Daughters we would cast our lot...To organize a chapter of the D.R.T. was the purpose and intent...By telegraph, by phone, by letters the invitations had been sent...Only eight ladies eligible for the order accepted...with authentic records of their ancestor's daring deeds, no one was rejected...When all had arrived and each lady presented...I watched their smiling discerning faces...their poised and facile mind...I tried to reason why they search to find...through all the crowded years, their ancestors' fame -- of lesser deeds...to glorify their name...So deep was my questioning meditation, that I didn't hear someone say...Mrs. Scott, there is no time for speculation...We must begin, each lady a little time for exultation...So great was my surprise and so great my consternation, when I was asked to take down the proceeding...of the meeting... I nearly became unseated...Someone handed me a pencil and paper without deception, this is how the Chapter had its inception."

Within four years, the number of members increased rapidly to 68, including four Real Daughters.

Historic Highlights:During the Texas Centennial in 1936, members participated in the formal opening of the Centennial gates, were recognized in an honored position in the opening day parade and attended the luncheon honoring First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and dinner for Vice President and Mrs. John Nance Garner during the dedication of the Hall of State.

Preceding the Texas Centennial in 1936, on April 21, 1931, the Dallas Park Board and the State Fair Association presented the Chapter with the perpetual guardianship of the replica of the Alamo located on the grounds of the State Fair of Texas.

On January 12, 1940 the James Butler Bonham Chapter of the Children of the Republic of Texas was chartered with twenty six (26) members. Mrs. Jesse M. Smith conceived and promoted the idea of the annual presentation of members of the CRT to DRT officials and of the Pilgrimage (CRT Convention) for the Children in 1960.

In 1949/1950 the Chapter Committee for Preservation of Historic Spots located and listed pioneer graves in Dallas County cemeteries and filed the records in the Hall of State. Mrs. Willie Flowers Carlisle researched and published a booklet that described most of the sites. The Chapter’s beautification and restoration of the old Masonic Cemetery, adjacent to the present Convention Center in downtown Dallas, where many pioneer citizens are buried, were recognized in the City Council’s master plan.

During WWII, the chapter sold War Bonds and stamps; served as hostesses and donated furniture and needed articles to the USO; served in Civilian Defense and Red Cross programs; and staffed recruitment booths for the Sarah Dodson Unit of Waves and Spars Reserves, for which a citation was issued to the chapter by the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard.

The Chapter assisted in the preservation, restoration, and custodianship of the John Neely Bryan Cabin, the first home in Dallas County. During the U. S. Bicentennial Celebration, Chapter members served as hostesses for the cabin.

As a Texas Sesquicentennial project in 1986, the Chapter handmade one of every flag that has flown over Texas and continues to use them in programs on Texas and its Flags.

Real Daughter was a special recognition — a classification — conferred upon a unique group of members in The Daughters of The Republic of Texas up to 1997. In 1997, the last two living Real Daughters— one of whom was a member of our beloved James Butler Bonham Chapter —Ruth Linda Sneed— died. Gone was that first generational tie to those we call our Ancestors of the Republic and for whom they called “Mother” and “Father.”

The status of Real Daughter was for a DRT member whose father or mother served The Republic in a civil or military capacity, or received a Land grant, prior to February 19, 1846. Originally, in DRT history, only the women who were daughters of adult citizens were eligible for membership in DRT, therefore only the members with that lineage were eligible for the title “real.” Later in our history, a campaign began to broaden the definition and include, what members referred to as, "The Infant Ancestors." Those were the ancestors who were born into the Republic or who were children who came to the Republic with their parents. It not only impacted membership in DRT, the change also made more members eligible for the title “Real.”

As stated in the book, Real Daughters, published by DRT in 2007, “It would have been a blessing if our predecessors had become aware of the need to record all of the daughters of our Texas Heroes and Heroines and enroll them in our membership.”

The DRT Bylaws extended special courtesies and recognition of these Real Daughters as they were exempt from paying dues and were always honored guests at the Annual Meeting.

As early as 1934, The Daughters of the Republic of Texas recognized the need to honor its members who were Real Daughters. (That would have occurred AFTER today’s first-honored Real Daughter, Dollie Forester, became a DRT member.) The delegates to the DRT Convention in Austin that year approved the idea and named it “The Centennial Project.”

It took the passing of the LAST two Real Daughters in 1997 to prompt The Daughters of the Republic of Texas — finally — to record the history and names of all the Real Daughters of the Republic of Texas. The Children of The Republic of Texas got into the spirit of completing the record in the later half of the 2000s. They also launched a major fund-raising initiative to purchase Memorial Medallions for many of the Real Daughters and distributed them to the DRT chapters.

James Butler Bonham Chapter, originally, had 46 recognized Real Daughters. CRT’s effort revealed six more Real Daughters on JBB’s rolls and it brought the total of the chapter’s recognized Real Daughters to 52.