About Sarah Ann Cochrane Chapter, NSDAR
Our Chapter History
At a luncheon on December 13, 1926, in the home of Mrs. Mary Crist Lendrum, eight DAR members-at-large and six new members met to organize a new DAR chapter in Plymouth, Michigan. Mrs. Lendrum, who had been the organizing regent, was asked to become the first regent and served until 1928.
At a meeting in February 1927, the members decided to invite the women of Northville who were eligible for membership to join the chapter. When the charter was granted on March 8, 1928, there were 24 members.
The last charter member, Ruth Shattuck Garlett, died in 1988.
The newly-organized chapter was named after Sarah Ann Cochrane, who was a daughter of a pioneering Michigan family and a direct descendent of five American Revolutionary War soldiers.
Our Chapter Today
The Sarah Ann Cochrane Chapter, NSDAR, has grown over the years to over 118 members strong!
Our members come from all walks of life. We are professional women, homemakers, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, and spouses. We have joined the DAR to celebrate our heritage and to pay homage to our patriot ancestors through volunteer work in historic preservation, education, and patriotism.
Sarah Ann Cochrane, the woman
In 1843, Sarah Ann Cochrane moved to Northville, Michigan. Originally from Vermont, her family relocated when her father, the Reverend Sylvester Cochrane, was asked to become the minister of a new Presbyterian Church in the village. Two years later, her father founded the Northville Academy. Sarah and her brother, Lyman, who became a judge in Detroit, helped their father teach in the school.
After the deaths of her parents and her brother, Sarah became associated with the Detroit Public Library. It was under her supervision that the Dewey decimal system was implemented in the library.
Sarah and her family are buried in Northville, Michigan. It is interesting to note that the Cochrane family owned the first kerosene lamp in Northville and that it is now in the safe keeping of the Northville Historical Society. They also have a pair of her glasses and a case. The chapter has her Bible.
Our Chapter Regents
1926-1928 *Mary Crist Lendrum
1928-1932 *Myrtle Peck Randall
1932-1934 *Hattie Marshall Baker
1934-1936 *Louise Thayer Bryan
1936-1939 *Alice Vincent Strong
1939–1941 *Lucille Clizbe Bennett Moss
1941-1943 *Glendine Hall Baker
1943-1945 *Laura Trufant Buckley
1945-1947 *Margaret Rowe Mastick
1947-1948 *Ruth Yerkes Burkman
1948-1949 *Hazel Conner Moon
1949-1950 *Mildred Balch Litsenburger
1950-1952 *Winifred Hyde Cutler
1952-1952 *Esther Blake Hulsing
1952-1955 *Gladys Chapman Deyo
1955-1957 *Marie Cushman Crusoe Menendez
1957-1959 *Dorothy Dodson Gemperline
1959-1961 *Maxine Geddes Willoughby
1961-1963 *Virginia Woodworth Bake
1963-1965 *Elizabeth Chadman Hoheisel
1965-1967 *Jan Miller Geitgey
1967-1969 *Barbara Ruth Stark Saunders
1969-1971 *Laura Newkirk Merwin
1971-1973 Anne Marie Carman Christensen
1973-1975 *Jane MacGregor Armstrong
1975-1977 Shirley Edwards Lafferty
1977-1979 *Annette Wilkes Heindryckx
1979-1981 *Laura Crotty Baumhart
1981-1983 *Doris Williams Richard
1983-1985 *Maxine Geddes Willoughby
1985-1987 Mimi Merwin McDonald
1987-1989 Christine Briggs Campbell
1989-1991 Jacqueline Merwin Gonterman
1991-1993 *Gladys Vee Mallison Scott
1993-1995 Rosita Lindberg Smith
1995-1997 Susan Bensinger Petres
1997-1999 *Laura Newkirk Merwin
1999-2001 Ardis Ewing McLeod
2001-2002 Kitty Kelley Percival
2002-2005 *Phebe Pustmueller Huff
2005-2007 Pam Hess Westerhold
2007-2010 *Jacqueline Zipp Kenyon
2010-2015 Kathleen Ripley Leo
2015-2017 Deborah Jean Davis
2017-2019 Phyllis DeKiere
2019-2021 Darci McIntosh
2021-present Linda Brandis
* deceased