Special Edition: Teaching the great, great-great, and great-great-great grandchildren about Sara Aldrich Richardson

          While I was not able to attend Continental Congress this year, God had an awesome plan for me at the end of Congress week.  Although I missed seeing so many of my friends that I have made over the years, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime once again.
          If you remember from my very first blog post explaining why I had created my project, "Reflections of Our Treasured Past," you will remember the story of how I ended up teaching the family of Grace Marshall about her work for God, Home, and Country.  You will remember hearing that by the end the tissues were being passed around.  It was an emotional time for all in attendance, and an event I will never forget.  Well, I had the opportunity to teach another family about the remarkable life and work for God, Home, and Country of a family member about which they know nothing or very little.

          This story begins following the first time I had my display about Grace Marshall at state conference.  My dear friend, Sara Stork, approached my mother who was manning my display and told her that she had the scrapbook belonging to her great-grandmother.  Since she had seen the display on Grace Marshall and had seen the love, care, and passion that I had for teaching others about our history, she wanted to entrust me with the scrapbook belonging to her great-grandmother.  Of course, my mother said we would love to have it without fully understanding the significance of the scrapbook.  The next sentence is what got Mama.  Sara then said that she was the namesake of her great-grandmother who had served as state regent.  I think my mother almost went into shock., and she told me that she couldn't get the message to me fast enough!
         I was performing my duty as then state historian; therefore, it took a few minutes for Mama to get the message to me.  Needless to say, I was ecstatic!  When I had the opportunity to speak with Sara, she told me that she didn't know very much about her great-grandmother and would love for me to teach her.  I went right to work doing research on Sara Aldrich Richardson and once again was amazed at what I learned.  I created my Power Point presentation about Sara as well as her corresponding display and presented it first to my chapter.  (I always present new programs to my chapter first in order to work out any kinks before showing it elsewhere.)  I invited Sara to come to this presentation, but a prior commitment prevented her from attending.
     
          With the approaching 125th anniversary of the SCDAR, I wanted to ensure that Sara and her sister, Tracy, had the opportunity to see the program.  I went to Sara's house and presented the program to them and Tracy's daughter.  They were amazed at what I had learned thus far, but I told them there was more out there.  The scrapbook was only one year of her time as state regent.
        Sara's children and grandchildren were going to be coming to Columbia over the Fourth of July holiday, and she told me that she would love for them to see the program.  I told her that I would make myself available to them to just let me know when.


The pictures purposely do not reveal the faces of the children.

        On July 1, I had the awesome privilege of teaching Sara Aldrich Richardon's great-great-grandchildren and great-great-great-grandchildren about her life and work for God, Home, and Country!  I took the program that I have for DAR chapters and extemporaneously adjusted the content to meet the levels and interest of the age range of the 7 grandchildren.  I will honestly admit that it wasn't my best, but I know the children understood the amazing work that she did by their response to a question I asked at the end of the presentation.  I asked each of the great-great-greats what their favorite part of Sara's story was.
          One said her escape from the burning of Columbia and being a part of the group that saved Wade Hampton's home during the War Between the States.

The Hampton Preston Home saved by Mother Superior Baptista and the nuns and students of Ursuline Convent.

One said how she persevered the 70 mile walk home from Columbia without having provisions to take with them.

map demonstrating the length of the walk from Columbia to her home in Barnwell

The one statement that got me was when the middle boy and next to the youngest of the group said that his favorite was how she brought women's rights to her and her husband's plantation.  He went on to add that she was ahead of her time.  Wow!

Oak Grove Plantation in Hampton County

          You see after the slaves were freed the former women slaves entered into another type of slavery, domestic violence.  Men not only received their pay but the pay of their wives and often times spent the money on alcohol and gambling.  With the money lost from gambling, there was no food for the families. In their drunken state, the men would beat their wives and children.  Sara put an end to this on her and her husband's plantation.  Women would receive their pay, and the men could not touch it.  If any man beat a woman or child, he would be arrested and put in jail.  Sara also worked diligently to teach these women skills: financial management, how to run a household, how to rear the children, how to cook, sew, provide medical care, etc.  which would give them self-respect, cleanliness, and industry.
          One Sunday afternoon when she and her husband were returning from church, the couple was hastened to their front porch to find a woman beaten nearly to death.  As Sara cared for the woman, her husband searched for the wife beater, had him arrested, and thrown into jail.  This act stopped domestic violence on their plantation!  The women had the greatest respect and love for Sara looking at her as a patron saint.  She brought women's rights to women before it was even in vogue.  Let me just say that it didn't stop there.  She continued to ensure women's rights in other work that she did.

          
          My favorite part of Sara's story will be revealed at our 125th celebration at state conference if all goes as planned.  You will have to come to state conference to hear it.  I will give you a hint, though.  Sara is connected to the Montana Spade that I shared with you in the Continental Congress Treasure Hunt.

I am also impressed with all of the work that she did for DAR Day at the South Carolina Interstate and West Indian Exposition.  Most South Carolinians have no idea about the World's Fair held in Charleston in 1902.  Sara's influence brought the cream of the crop from our national government and armed forces as evidenced by the hand written responses to her invitations that are in her scrapbook.  Reading these has been so interesting.

          Following the Power Point presentation, everyone had the opportunity to see the display, her scrapbook, and other items of interest.  The children then went swimming allowing the great-greats to  ask questions and get more in depth information.   They also found it fascinating that their mother is chapter regent of one of the chapters that was organized  under Sara Aldrich Richardon's term as state regent.

         SCDAR is blessed to have been led by so many phenomenal women, many of which were ahead of their times such as Grace and Sara!  I always look forward to the upcoming opportunities I have to share these programs with chapters and hear the comments of our members about our treasured past.  I can't wait to see what else is just waiting to be discovered!