DUANE
Duane's take
The way the marker tells it — and I'm stickin' close to every word — here's what went down at this very spot in Houston, Texas. November 14, 1899. The Capitol Hotel stood right here, a grand establishment that would later be known as the Rice Hotel, occupying this site from 1882 all the way to 1911.
And on that November evening, ten women walked into the western parlor — ten of the original seventeen organizing members — and they got to work. What they built that night was the Lady Washington Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. First chapter established in Houston.
Fifth in all of Texas. Not a bad evening's work for ten women in a hotel parlor. The chapter took its name in honor of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, wife of George Washington.
A name that carries weight. A name that meant something to these women, who were themselves descendants of those who had served, sacrificed, and believed deeply enough in something they couldn't yet fully see. Now the NSDAR itself had been founded in 1890, with a mission that doesn't mince words — promote patriotism, preserve American history, and secure America's future through better education for children.
Membership wasn't handed out lightly. To join, a woman had to be descended from a man or woman who served as a sailor, soldier, or civil officer, or was a recognized patriot who rendered material aid to the Revolution. These were women who could trace their bloodlines back to the founding fire.
The Lady Washington Chapter's founding officers read like a roll call of Houston determination. Regent Ella Hutchins Sydnor led them. Lelia L.
Crane served as vice-regent. Mary Botts Fitzgerald kept the recording minutes, while Margaret Hadley Foster handled corresponding secretary duties. Bettie Palmer Hutcheson served as registrar, Bettie Heath Stuart as treasurer, and Julia Hadley Franklin as historian.
Seven officers. Seventeen organizing members. And a city that didn't yet know what was about to be built alongside it.
Less than three months after that November night, on February 21, 1900, the chapter hosted its first social function — a patriotic reception, held right back in that same western parlor of the Capitol Hotel. They'd come full circle before the calendar had even turned good. But here's the thing about these women that the marker wants you to hold onto.
They didn't stop at receptions and parlor meetings. The founding members of the Lady Washington Chapter went on to organize and serve on many of the social, patriotic, environmental, and educational organizations that helped shape what Houston and Harris County would become. The City Federation of Women's Clubs.
The Houston Public School Art League. The board of the Houston Lyceum and Carnegie Library. The city you might be drivin' through right now carries their fingerprints on it, whether it knows it or not.
Ten women in a western parlor. One November night in 1899. That's where it started — right here, on this very ground.
What the marker says
The Lady Washington Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) was organized on November 14, 1899, when 10 of the original 17 organizing members met in the western parlor of the Capitol Hotel (later known as the Rice Hotel) that occupied this site 1882-1911. The chapter was named in honor of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, wife of George Washington. The chapter was the first established in Houston and the fifth in Texas. The first social function hosted by the chapter was a patriotic reception held in the western parlor of the Capitol Hotel on February 21, 1900. The Lady Washington Chapter founding officers were regent Ella Hutchins Sydnor, vice-regent Lelia L. Crane, recording secretary Mary Botts Fitzgerald, corresponding secretary Margaret Hadley Foster, registrar Bettie Palmer Hutcheson, treasurer Bettie Heath Stuart, and historian Julia Hadley Franklin. These founding members organized and served on many of the social, patriotic, environmental, and educational organizations that helped form today’s Houston and Harris county, including the City Federation of Women’s Clubs, the Houston Public School Art League, and the board of the Houston Lyceum and Carnegie Library. The NSDAR was founded in 1890 to promote patriotism, preserve American history, and secure America’s future through better education for children. Membership is open to women who descend from a man or woman who served as a sailor, soldier or civil officer, or was a recognized patriot who rendered material aid to the revolution. (2009)