Chapter History… Travel through our 100 plus years!
Among the fourteen organizing members who signed the chapter charter in 1918, many were daughters of San Fernando Valley pioneers. Early chapter members included Adelaide Rice Granger and Annie Marshall Wade Young, "real granddaughters" whose grandfathers were Patriots, or soldiers in the American Revolutionary War. They named the chapter after the town of San Fernando and the mission founded as part of Father Junipero Serra’s chain of twenty-one missions.
Through the years the chapter has achieved many milestones:
- October 25, 1918: The San Fernando Valley Chapter, NSDAR, was approved by NSDAR to be the 43rd California chapter.
- June 7, 1919: A copy of Regent Julia M. Powell’s pledge was placed under the bark of an oak tree in Arcadia. The tree was named the San Fernando Valley Chapter, NSDAR, Charter Oak.
- June 14, 1920: The chapter dedicated a memorial to those who served in World War I. Currently, the memorial can be found at the Robert G. Morton Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 3834 in San Fernando, California.
- 1924: The chapter wrote and published “The Valley of San Fernando,” the history of the valley. A copy can be found at the Los Angeles Public Library.
- 1961: Established the Catherine Hubbard Dace American History Memorial Award, which is annually awarded to an outstanding female student at San Fernando Valley High School. Ms. Dace was a charter member of the chapter, granddaughter of Senator Charles Maclay, founder of the city of San Fernando, California, and the only female graduate of San Fernando High School in 1903.
- 1970: Contributed to the placing of a bronze plaque at the San Fernando Mission honoring its founder Padre Lasuen.
- 1988: Chapter Daughters assisted in the organization of the Fray Fermin Lasuen Society, Children of the American Revolution (C.A.R.), the first C.A.R. society in the San Fernando Valley.
- 1993: The chapter celebrated its 75th anniversary with the creation of a chapter banner. The banner was made by member Janet Malagnini's daughter, Margaret Klomp.
- April 18, 1998: The Achois Comihavit Chapter, NSDAR, merged with the San Fernando Valley Chapter, NSDAR. The Achois Comihavit Chapter, NSDAR, was originally organized on May 8, 1954, in North Hollywood, California.
- April 23,1999: The Potreros Verde Chapter, NSDAR, merged with the General Richard Gridley Chapter, NSDAR. The Potrero Verdes Chapter, NSDAR, was organized on February 1, 1955.
- July 5, 2005: The General Richard Gridley Chapter, NSDAR, merged with the San Fernando Valley Chapter, NSDAR. The General Richard Gridley Chapter, NSDAR, was organized on December 19, 1913.
- February 9, 2019: Chapter members attended the 90th birthday celebration of the Madonna of the Trail, in Upland, California.
- June 14, 2020: During the pandemic on Flag Day, a few chapter members met at our WWI memorial in San Fernando, California, to place flags, lay a wreath, and honor our WWI servicemen.
Photos courtesy of chapter members.
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
California State Society Daughters of the American Revolution