Use Restrictions

The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Access Restrictions

Collection open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], [box #, folder #], National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Massanutton Chapter Records, 1895-2016, SC 0076, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

The collection was placed on deposit by contract signed by Mrs. Mildred Onsgard, Regent, on November 6, 1985; additions through 2016. The collection was officially donated to Special Collections in April 2017.

Processing Information

Acid-free interleaving paper was used extensively in minute books to buffer text from newspaper clippings; archival tape was used to mount loose clippings on bond paper; and the most brittle single sheets were placed into Mylar sleeves. In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017. This collection was previously cataloged as SC 2001 .

Administrative Information

In the summer of 1895, a group of prominent Harrisonburg and Rockingham County women met to form a local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The group was organized and chartered as the Massanutton Chapter in 1897, with Mrs. John Paul as Regent. The name "Massanutton" and its spelling have been a topic of interest on several occasions through the years.

It has been an active chapter, participating and often initiation public celebrations of such annual patriotic remembrances as Flag Day, George Washington's Birthday, and Constitution Week. The chapter contributed to several national war efforts over the decades, as well as to local endeavors such as equipping a room in the Hospital. It has placed several historical markers in the area, and sponsors programs and essay contests in local schools to stimulate an appreciation for American history. In the 1960s and 70s, members compiled several lists of otherwise unnoted county graveyards (A Record of Burial Places in Rockingham County, Va.; Church and Family Cemeteries, Eastern Section, Rockingham County, Va.); produced a unique list of inns titled Ordinaries of Rockingham County and Harrisonburg, Va. 1778-1855; and compiled Revolutionary Soldiers, Rockingham County, Va. These works were sent to the Virginia State Library. Also in recent years, the chapter has held a ceremony after naturalization proceedings to welcome new citizens.

Scope and Content

The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Massanutton Chapter Records, 1897-2016, consist of ten boxes, approximately 3.56 cubic feet. It consists of the official papers of the chapter and has been arranged into four series: Minutes, Yearbooks, Subject Files, and Scrapbooks and Ephemera.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in four series. Series 1, Series 2, and Series 4 are arranged chronologically. Series 3 is arranged alphabetically by subject.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• American essays
• Cemeteries -- Virginia -- Rockingham County
• Daughters of the American Revolution. Massanutton Chapter (Harrisonburg, Va.)
• Festivals -- United States
• Flag Day
• Historic buildings -- Virginia -- Rockingham County
• Holidays -- United States
• Letters (correspondence)
• Minutes (administrative records)
• Rockingham County (Va.) -- Genealogy
• Scrapbooks
• Soldiers -- United States -- Registers
• Soldiers -- Virginia -- Biography
• Soldiers -- Virginia -- Rockingham County -- Register
• Taverns (Inns) -- Virginia -- Harrisonburg
• Taverns (Inns) -- Virginia -- Rockingham County
• United States (Title of work: Constitution.)
• United States -- Centennial celebrations, etc.
• United States -- Genealogy
• United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
• Virginia -- Emigration and immigration
• Virginia -- Genealogy
• Washington, George, 1732-1799
• Yearbooks