Mrs. Potter Palmer was a Daughter Too!
Above: Bertha (Honore) Palmer at right (1849-1918)
A Special Edition Blog Compliments of The Ladies Were Daughters Too
Conflicting Narratives
During the question phase of my presentation to the Sara
De Soto Chapter of The Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) recently, a member commented that their Society had been informed that the wife
of Chicago’s esteemed Potter Palmer had “declined joining The Daughters of
the American Revolution at the request of her husband.”
The comment was indeed appropriate, for I had just
then informed the members that Bertha (Honore) Palmer had been the “first-ever
NSDAR State Regent.” I had contradicted information previously supplied to the Chapter
regarding the incomparable Mrs. Potter Palmer of Chicago and Sarasota, the
woman described by VisitSarasota.com as “The Woman Who Tamed Wild Sarasota.”
Although I did respond by saying that I had full
confidence in my statement, time, unfortunately, prevented me from doing
justice in responding to her question. Therefore, for the Sara De Soto NSDAR Chapter members who attended my January presentation, and to those curious to
know, this Special Edition blog is intended especially for you.
From the Capital City to the Windy City:
My Sarasota presentation was about the similarities of
the Mount Vernon Ladies Association (MVLA) founders and the organizers
of the NSDAR, a talk based on snippets from my new book, The Ladies were
Daughters Too. The MVLA had been formally established in 1858, whereas the
NSDAR was founded in Washington, DC in 1890. Both organizations were to be
national in scope with each founded by patriotic women having lineal family
ties with the founders of this great Nation.
Although founded in the District of Columbia in
October 1890, the first NSDAR State organization and the first
NSDAR Chapter were established 700 miles west of DC in Chicago, Illinois.
Chicago, the first NSDAR Chapter, and Illinois, the
first DAR State organization, were each formed on 16 March 1891. Twenty-eight
Chicago ladies attended an organization meeting for both the State and local
Chapter on that date. The first of 28 names listed in the 17 March 1891 news
article about the NSDAR Society’s was “Mrs. Potter Palmer.”
Chicago Meeting of 16 March 1891
“Mrs. Frank
Osborne presided over a meeting of Chicago ladies, who assembled at the World’s
Fair headquarters yesterday to form a Chapter of The Daughters of the
American Revolution." Among (28) ladies listed as present at the meeting was "Mrs.
Potter Palmer.”
“They were all descendants of men who fought in the Revolution. The first work to be done will be to secure an extensive collection of revolutionary relics for the Exposition.”
“Mrs. Potter Palmer is Regent of the Illinois organization, and Mrs. Frank Osborne has been made Regent of the Chicago Chapter.”
Chicago Tribune, 17 March 1891”
Important takeaways of this Chicago Tribune
article, released the very next day of the organizing meeting to establish both
the Chicago and Illinois organizations, are this:
1. Mrs.
Potter Palmer was identified as Regent of the Illinois organization.
2. The
meeting took place at the World’s Fair Headquarters.
3. The
Daughters of the American Revolution planned to have an exhibit at the
World’s Fair.
Membership in the NSDAR grew quickly after the
founding of the Chicago Chapter, and for good reason: Exposure! The birth of
the Illinois State DAR organization and the Chicago DAR Chapter coincided with Bertha
Palmer becoming the head of a World’s Fair sub-organization called Lady
Managers, women from every state in the Union taking part in the
planning of the Chicago World’s Fair Exposition of 1892-93. The two
organizations were in fact founded, as the article above said, "at the World's
Fair Headquarters."
Exhibit 72 of The Ladies were Daughters Too
There were 117 World’s Fair Lady Managers in all,
women who were NOT representing the NSDAR but rather ladies working for the
Lady Managers Committee funded by the United States Congress. Although
introduced to the DAR organization when the Chicago Chapter and State
organization were formed, it seems the DAR organizers decided to separate
themselves from the government funded World’s Fair organization of Lady
Managers.
At a meeting of 30 April 1892, reported the Great
Falls Tribune: “It was decided that it will not be feasible for The
Daughters to have a colonial exhibit at the Columbian fair.” The reason for a change of heart was that the Lady Managers were to have the exhibit in the Women’s
Building – all paid for by taxpayer money. In what appears to be a prudent
move, Mrs. Potter Palmer, President of the Lady Managers, surrendered her Illinois
State Regent position to Mrs. Frank Osborne, aka Effie (Reeme) Osborne.
A Gala Chicago Celebration
Planning for Chicago’s World’s Fair had begun with an
all-male organization. A 'World Exposition,' the organizers of the Fair had
huge plans from the start, a World’s Fair celebration coinciding with the 400th
Anniversary of Christopher Columbus arriving in the New World. Congress became a
partner in the Fair, as funds were approved in DC to support Chicago’s
extravagant affair.
Although women’s suffrage was afoot in the 1890s, men
continued to exclude women from such matters as voting and making decisions at the World’s Fair. The very reason the NSDAR exists today is because
men denied the ladies memberships in the Sons of the American Revolution,
organized one year prior to the creation of the DAR. A group of women
thereafter decided to form their own organization. Despite the formation of
Lady Managers’ who were not to have decision making authority – they made
decisions. Big decisions!
And the reason the Lady Managers made decisions about
the World’s Fair was because of their leader, Bertha (Honore) Palmer. The
resolve and persuasive powers of Bertha were no match to the
male dominated planning committee. “Mrs. Potter Palmer” became a tough lady to
say no to, including for the Congress, who granted a request of $400,000 to
build the extravagant free-standing Women’s Building shown above, Exhibit 72 of my book, The Ladies were Daughters Too.
UPCOMING TRAILBLAZERS
February: Black History Month Trailblazers
March: Women's History Month Trailblazers
A Perfect Place at a Perfect Time:
Understanding how the World’s Fair played an important
part in the initial development of the NSDAR is to fully appreciate how the NSDAR
membership increased so rapidly throughout the United States during the 1890s.
“When we review,” said Mrs. Potter Palmer in September
1891, “the gradual steps by which we have slowly gained one point after another
– from the directory a superb building, from Congress favorable legislation,
and from the commission the right to take charge of all the interests of women
at the Exposition – we must feel that we have been upheld and sustained for the
accomplishment of a grand purpose; that we have a mission to fulfill which we
must regard as scared, and that to its accomplishment we must bend our untiring
energies.”
The Lady Managers of the World’s Fair were not serving
as members of the NSDAR, but many returned home after the fair to help organize
NSDAR chapters throughout the country. And while Bertha (Honore) Palmer only served
as Illinois State Regent of NSDAR for only a brief time, her role as the
first-ever State Regent is indeed irrefutable. Her powerful influence gave relevance
to the National Society, for which Mrs. Angell is but one shining example.
Sarah (Caswell) Angell (1831-1903)
Exhibit 74: The Ladies were Daughters Too
Mrs. Angell, more properly identified as Sarah Swope (Caswell) Angell, represented Michigan as one of the 117 Lady Managers of the World’s Fair. After the Fair ended, Sarah returned home to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she organized the Ann Arbor Chapter of the NSDAR, a chapter that is today known as the Sarah Caswell Angell Chapter of The Daughters of the American Revolution.
Giving Credit where Credit is Due
It seems unlikely in this author’s view that Bertha
Palmer ended her involvement in the NSDAR at her husband’s request. Potter
Palmer had already achieved success and seems to have supported
his wife’s every endeavor. It is more likely that Bertha relinquished her
role as Illinois Regent to concentrate her time on a demanding position
with the World’s Fair. In that capacity, Bertha not only traveled to DC to testify before Congress, she also traveled the World convincing other nations to have Exhibits in the Women's Building at the Chicago World's Fair.
Mrs. Bertha (Honore) Palmer survived husband Potter and in time became a prominent figure in the story of Sarasota, Florida. Widow Bertha Potter acquired 75,000 acres in Manatee County (Sarasota County did not yet exist), acreage that had been part of Hamilton Disston’s four million acres. First acquired from Disston by Scottish investors in the 1880s, the 75,000 acres were then acquired after Florida's Great Freeze of 1894-95 by investors associated with Joseph H. Lord of Orlando, Chicago, and Sarasota.
The Ladies were Daughters Too is available at Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Ladies-were-Daughters-Too/dp/B0CR82P2ZG/
Having left an indelible mark on the Windy City, Widow Bertha (Honore) Palmer migrated to Florida, where she made magic once again. Bertha the snowbird, however, is a remarkable story all its own, part of which is told in my book, To Sarasota, with Love, Orlando.
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