History
In 1896, when NSCDA-OH was founded, Cincinnati had grown from a pioneer settlement to a thriving center of industry, culture and transportation in a hundred years. Cincinnati had a symphony orchestra, a zoo, a public library, the Cincinnati Reds were in their early years, and the University of Cincinnati’s Bearcats had their first game. A prominent group of Cincinnati women, desiring to join the five year old organization, National Society of Colonial Dames, banded together with this purpose, “in the perpetuation of the memory of those men who, in Colonial times and up to the assurance of the Independence of the United States, aided in the foundation of the American Republic.”
On July 1, 1896, Ohio Secretary of State Samuel M. Taylor certified the documents put together by the founders: Elizabeth P. Groesbeck, Virginia Moss Harrison Van Voast, Mary Evelina Dandridge, Fannie Lear Higbee Bates, Josephine R. Lytle Foster, Minnie O’Hara Beecher, Susan Baldwin Gibson, Mary McIntosh Kilgour, and Carrie M.A. Harrison. Elizabeth Groesbeck became the first President of the new Ohio Society.
With a mission of preserving historical records and the historic sites of Ohio, the Society quickly spread throughout the state. Preserving and maintaining two of the early Cincinnati homes has been a consistent interest. The Kemper log home and the earliest brick home in the area, the Betts House, date from 1790, when the new settlement on the Ohio River received its name. James Kemper, a Revolutionary War veteran, founder of Lane Seminary and the first ordained minister in this region, built the log home, and it was occupied by members of his family for almost a century. In another part of the growing city, the Betts family used the clay from their farm to make bricks, and built themselves a home. Martha Tuttle, a descendant of the Betts family and an Ohio Dame, kept the home from ruin and helped turn it into a house museum. It is now the headquarters of the Ohio Society. Another Dame and Ohio Society President, Ruth Shippen Alter, endowed the Colonial and Federal Gallery at the Cincinnati Museum of Art, and established an annual decorative arts lecture and tea which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in May 2025. The gallery remains an elegant and beautifully curated nod to the history of American craftsmanship.
Cleveland, Toledo and Columbus contributed members, talent and treasure over the years, growing the Ohio Society into a strong and thriving group. Today, we work to fulfill the mission of our founders, and we also seek to be relevant to a new generation of women who will help Ohio stay a strong and thriving state. We send students to Washington, D.C. to learn how our government works, and teachers to a continuing education program in Williamsburg, Va. This year we chose the newly forming William Henry Harrison Riverfront Park to receive the American Heritage Award. With a great respect for the past and anticipation of the future, we welcome new members to contribute as they are able, and we invite all Ohio to see and participate in what we have worked to preserve.
Any history of the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in the State of Ohio must recognize the achievements of our organization and many of our members. Ohio became a state in 1803 and the “Ohio Society” as it is called was founded in Cincinnati in 1896.
As an organization charged with preserving history, we have kept excellent records of our own to reference and draw from. Our Ohio Society has third and fourth generation descendants of our first members, continuing the traditions of women who came before us and gave generously to the projects of the Dames of Ohio.
