03/13/2026
Revolutionary War ancestry leads TH woman to DAR's America 250 role.
Four years ago, Angie Morgan became an empty- nester, moved from Hamilton County to Terre Haute and opened a dog grooming, boarding and daycare business.
She didn't know many people here. A client told Morgan about the Daughters of the American Revolution's local Fort
Harrison chapter. Morgan studied her family genealogy and discovered she has 10 ancestors who qualify as Revolutionary War "patriots," according to the DAR. She joined the organization.
Today, she's the Fort Harrison
DAR chapter's chairwoman for the America 250 project, a nationwide celebration of the nation's semiquincentennial on July 4, two and a half centuries after the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on the same date in 1776. Morgan and the 106-member local organization will be busy.
"We do have quite a few things planned," she said Wednesday. Their agenda began with a January visit to the Indiana Statehouse, along with members of similar historical lineage groups the Sons of the American Revolution and Daughters of 1812. The gathering served as a kickoff of statewide semiquincentennial observances. The Fort Harrison chapter was just getting warmed up.
Its members will walk in the Indianapolis 500 parade in May, wearing 1776-style costumes, which they'll also don in July 4 activities. The chapter also will dedicate a commemorative plaque and place a Liberty Tree in a June 20 ceremony at the Vigo County Courthouse.
On July 8, also at the courthouse, they'll participate in a nationwide reading of the Declaration of Independence at 6 o'clock that night. Patriotic DAR billboards celebrating America's birthday will be placed along U.S. 41. They'll volunteer in a 250 Acts of Kindness campaign. Morgan said the chapter hopes to bury a time capsule to be opened on July 4, 2076 — the USA's tricentennial. Four members, including Morgan, are serving as delegates to the annual DAR Continental Congress, set to assemble June 24-28 in Washington, D.C., with several America's 250th events.
And the Fort Harrison DAR will recognize more than 30 Revolutionary War patriots believed to be buried in Vigo County.
In addition to those efforts, DAR members regularly volunteer at nursing homes, for veterans and schools, Morgan said.
She's energized about the year ahead.
"The fact that our forefathers were part of creating this beautiful country, it's an honor to be part of the DAR," she said, "and I'm looking forward to celebrating America's 250th."
The DAR has nearly 190,000 members with 3,000 chapters around the world, according to its official website. To qualify for membership, a woman must be 18 years or older with documentation of "lineal, bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence."
Patriots of the Revolutionary War in Morgan's family tree primarily migrated from Pennsylvania and North Carolina to Kentucky and Indiana. Several were Quakers. Family stories about its links to the American Revolution were confirmed through her DAR genealogy research.
"I wish I'd known about my patriots decades ago," Morgan said. "It's a tremendous honor to be descended from American patriots, especially in American's 250th."
One of those men in her family line was Plikrd Dederic Siler, Morgan's sixth-great-grandfather, the namesake of a small town in North Carolina. Loyal fans of TV's 1960s "Andy Griffith Show" remember Siler City as the hometown of the comedy's character, Aunt Bee.
Like other DAR members, Morgan's research connects her family's generational dots from the Revolutionary War — waged with British forces from 1775 through 1783 — to the 21st century.
"They're kind of the gold standard in genealogy, and you really have to document your lineage," she explained. That documentation includes birth, marriage and death records, as well as military service records.
Their actions led to the lives of Americans in the 21st century, when the nation is deeply polarized.
Morgan hopes the 250th celebrations can bridge the divide. The division, she said, "is soul crushing."
Americans will always disagree on issues, which is part of the nation's fabric. But there is common ground, she believes.
"I just want people to remember where we are and how we got here," she said. "I would love to see more unity. I would love to see more patriotism. And it's still there.
Anyone with questions or an interest in helping with DAR events can send an email to [email protected].
