My mom has piles of these doilies. I’m sure at one point in time, they graced the backs of couches or the tops of tables.
Now they are packed away in a trunk and unfortunately we’re not sure who made them or who they belonged to. We know that they came from my mom’s mom’s side of the family, but that’s it.
Were they made by my great-grandmother? Maybe we’ll never know.
They are still family heirlooms though.
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My grandpa, Alphonso James Thornton, Jr. served in the Marine Corps during WWII. He is on the right.
I am very excited to be starting the process of joining the DAR. I finally put in an inquiry and got the ball rolling.
A very sweet and helpful 91 year old lady contacted me and I will be meeting with her in the next couple of weeks so that she can go over the paperwork with me. I can’t wait to meet her!
I have at least 5 ancestors that qualify (and I’m sure more that I don’t know of yet). So, I have to decide which ancestor to use for my application.
I had originally thought that I was going to use Patrick Cavit, on my father’s side, but I recently changed my mind and have decided that I’m going to go with Nathan Britton/Nathaniel Brittain – on my mother’s side.
Just this past week, another Brittain researcher contacted me and she happens to be going through the DAR application process also. So, I’m happy to have someone else who is using the same line as I am (at least for a few of the generations.)
Here is my DAR line that I will be using:
Nathaniel Britton/Brittain (who died in 1776 in VA while in service)
Parks Brittain
Milton Price Brittain
Mathilda Jane Brittain
Theodore Francis Sanchez
Donald Arthur Sanchez (my grandfather)
Have any of you joined the DAR? How long did the process take before you became a member? I know that it’s going to take some hard work getting all of the copies of needed proof, but it will definitely be worth it in the end!!
I haven’t found my DAR ancestor yet, but I did join the DFAW – Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor (CT). Getting all the paperwork together was a chore, but still fun. I was worried when I could not find a birth certificate for my father (he was born at home in Chicago in 1906 and certification not necessary). However, his name appeared on the federal census in 1910 and that was enough. The one thing that I could not figure out was why they needed MY marriage certificate! Maybe so that the paperwork would be in hand should any of my children decided to join???
I haven’t started the DAR process yet, but I wish you good luck. Keep us updated on how it goes.
I have to give them a copy of my marriage certificate also. Maybe it’s to verify my married name? Not sure about that one either.
I haven’t heard of the Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor. It sounds pretty cool though!!
I will! I have a feeling that this process is going to take up quite a bit of my genealogical time.
I am starting with “First Families of Pennsylvania”. I understand that I can use the same paperwork for DAR
Hi, Jen! I finally had a chance to check out your blog, and I love it. I’m having a great time going through the DAR process with you. I’m so glad we found each other!! -wen
Hi Jen,
I just ran across your page. I am interested in genealogy too, and started a few years ago on Ancestry.com. What interested me about your page is the fact that Nathaniel Nathan Hilton is an ancestor to me also. I had just typed his name in on the search engine and I eventually got to your site. I live in Augusta, Ga. and saw you live in Savannah. I am originally from Il. Anyway, just wanted to get in touch and say “hello”. I had thought about joining the D.A.R. also, but decided against it in the end.
This is my grandpa – Alphonso James Thornton, Jr. He played basketball during high school in Westfield, Iowa (near Sioux City).
My Papa, Alphonso Thornton, Jr., served in the Marine Corps during WWII on board the USS Cabot. It was hit by a kamikaze on 25 Nov 1944 and he was wounded (although I’m not sure what his injuries actually were. I need to remember to ask my dad about that).
He received the Purple Heart. My dad has it now along with this newspaper clipping.
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Whoever made those did very nice work with such beautiful even stitches. I learned to crochet as a child and have made a couple of doilies so I know the amount of work involved. Those are indeed some wonderful treasures.
I agree, they are beautiful. There are actually about 20 of them. I think that my mom needs to pull them out of the cedar chest and find a nice way to display them.
I have several made by my grandmother – mostly something called Tenerife lace which is done on a wooden circle with holes and later crocheted together. My mother had them framed on dark blue material with white frames. Absolutely gorgeous.
I also have a bride’s hanky crocheted for me by my grandmother’s sister for my wedding. It is a 1-1/2 inch square of taffeta from the underskirt of my wedding dress surrounded by about 5 inches of crocheted lover’s knots. I use is as a dresser piece under glass and after my granddaughter gets married it will get framed. So far both my daughters, daughter-in-law and niece have carried it on their big day.
Framing them sounds like a wonderful idea! I should do that for my mom. Maybe she’d even let me have one for my wall.
I love these old doilies. I have inherited several, as well as hand-embroidered dresser-toppers (don’t know if that’s an official name, but it seemed every dresser 50 years ago had some lovely doily or embroidered needlework gracing it). I have them in various places in my home to enjoy: on the backs of chairs, on dressers, on cabinets. I love to look at them. I framed my grandmother’s embroidery and crocheting sampler so I can look at them every day! It was expensive, but worth it.