Colonial Dames of America

The Colonial Dames of America (CDA) is an American organization comprising women who descend from one or more ancestors who lived in British North America between 1607 and 1775, and who aided the colonies in public office, in military service, or in another acceptable capacity. The CDA is listed as an approved lineage society with the Hereditary Society Community of the United States of America.

Colonial Dames of America
The Society of the Colonial Dames of America
AbbreviationCDA
Founded1890
FoundersMaria Denning Van Rensselaer
TypeNon-profit, lineage society
FocusHistoric preservation, education, patriotism
HeadquartersMount Vernon Hotel Museum,
New York City, New York, United States
Nicole Scholet
Websitecda1890.org

The National Headquarters is at Mount Vernon Hotel Museum in New York City, which was purchased by the CDA in 1924.

History

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National Headquarters at Mount Vernon Hotel Museum in New York City

The organization was founded in 1890, shortly before the founding of two similar societies, The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America and the Daughters of the American Revolution. In April 1890, Mrs. John King Van Rensselaer (Maria Denning Van Rensselaer), Mrs. John Lyon Gardiner, and Mrs. Archibald Gracie King decided to found a patriotic society of women descended from Colonial ancestry.[1]

The original CDA insignia was designed by Tiffany & Co.[1]

Notable members

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References

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  1. ^ a b "About CDA – the Colonial Dames of America".
  2. ^ a b c Binheim, Max; Elvin, Charles A (1928). Women of the West; a series of biographical sketches of living eminent women in the eleven western states of the United States of America. Retrieved 8 August 2017.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ "Dictionary of Virginia Biography - Cynthia Beverley Tucker Washington Coleman Biography". www.lva.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  4. ^ Woodward, Walt (22 November 2021). "A Formidable Founding – The National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Connecticut". Today in Connecticut History. Office of the Connecticut State Historian. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  5. ^ Johnson, Anne (1914). Notable women of St. Louis, 1914. St. Louis, Woodward. p. 166. Retrieved 17 August 2017.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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