The National Society Daughters of the
American Revolution (NSDAR or DAR) is a
non-profit, non-political, volunteer women's
service organization. The Sun Dial-Solomon
Dean Chapter NSDAR was created in 2019 and is
a merger of two long-standing chapters:
The Sun Dial Chapter NSDAR was organized on
October 7, 1907, by Mrs. Anson Marston. The
name of the chapter was suggested by Hattie
Willey, a member who possessed a sun dial that
was the property of Mr. Willey's paternal
ancestor, the Elder William Brewster, beloved
pastor of the Plymouth Colony.
 
Duplicate Sun Dial of Plymouth
Colony
A duplicate of the Plymouth Colony sun
dial was marked by the Sun Dial
Chapter NSDAR in 1907 and is proudly
displayed on a pedestal in the
patriotic area of the Ames Municipal
Cemetery at East 9th Street and
Maxwell Avenue. |
There
are several historic areas in
Ames, Iowa, home of the Sun Dial
Chapter NSDAR.
These historic areas have
been marked by the chapter so they
will not be forgotten in years to
come.
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Site of First
House in Ames
East Ames was settled before Iowa
State College (now Iowa State
University) or "west" Ames. The first
house built was just one block north
of today’s Main Street. Noah and
Matilda Webster built their house here
in 1864. This site was marked by the
Sun Dial Chapter NSDAR, in 1934, with
an inscribed bronze plaque affixed to
a large boulder. You can find the
plaque in Ames, Iowa, on the corner of
5th Street and Douglas Avenue. |
Site of First
House in “West” Ames 
In 1856 or 1858, Washington J. Graham
built the first house close to the
Ames campus area, or “west” Ames. In
1855 he had received a U.S. Government
Land Patent and was influential in
acquiring land for the Iowa
Agricultural College and Model Farm –
now Iowa State University. The
restored house was moved in 1951 from
its original Lincoln Way/Sheldon site
to 216 Hayward Avenue, also in west
Ames. In the 1990s, it was replaced
with an apartment building to better
serve the housing market. The Sun Dial
Chapter NSDAR marked the original site
July 4, 1976, in commemoration of the
American Revolution Bicentennial. The
plaque is located in west Ames, on the
southeast corner of Lincoln Way and
Sheldon Avenue. |
Gravestone of Caroline Collins
Brammer
Marked by the Sun Dial Chapter NSDAR
in 1929, this plaque was placed on the
gravestone of Caroline Collins
Brammer, granddaughter of American
Revolutionary War soldier Josiah
Collins. The plaque and gravestone are
located in the Dedham Cemetery in
rural Carroll County.
The photographs above were taken
by member Susan Harris.
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The
Solomon Dean Chapter, Nevada, Iowa,
was organized on August 24, 1922 by
Miss Carolyn Dean, organizing regent,
and Miss Sybil Danskin, who were
members at large and became charter
members of the local chapter.
The chapter was named for the patriot
ancestor of these two ladies, Solomon
Dean. Solomon Dean was born near
Hartford, Connecticut, and came to
Newburgh, Orange County, New York, in
1772. At the beginning of the
Revolutionary War, he enlisted in the
Third New York Regiment. His
name appears in the pay book of the
Ulster County Militia, Fourth
Regiment. He was one of the
Corps of Engineers under Captain Peter
Mills and Colonel Luther Baldwin, in
General George Washington's command,
and with Washington at Newburgh,
Brandywine, and Valley Forge and
witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis
at Yorktown in 1781. A number of
the members of Solomon Dean Chapter
share this patriot of the
Revolutionary War as their ancestor.
In August 1935, a native boulder, more
than four feet in height and weighing
over four tons, was placed in the
Nevada cemetery. In October of
that same year, a bronze memorial
plate bearing the the year of
organization of Solomon Dean Chapter,
and the year of the placement of the
memorial stone was added.
Smaller bronze plates are inscribed
with the names of some of the deceased
chapter members.
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