On April 13, Dorcheat-Bistineau Chapter DAR and Claiborne Chapter DAR toured the restored Moreland House in Homer. The family home has been restored by Sara McDaniel of Simply Southern Cottage, and Dr. John Moreland whose family has resided in the home since 1854. The renovation began two years ago, and is now almost complete. Moreland House has undergone many changes since it was originally built. It began as a dogtrot, a type of house with a long open hallway down the center and rooms on each side. This type of design circulates cool air through a house during the summertime. Later, the hallway was closed and a small front porch with a central dormer was added. The long front porch and additional dormers were added in the 1930s. During the recent renovation, a large beautiful sunporch was added to the back of the house to give additional space to the kitchen and dining room. The house is being furnished with items from the late 1800s as well as items original to the house. Sara McDaniel gave DAR members a guided tour of the house, and John Moreland gave a PowerPoint presentation about the history of Moreland family who traveled from Georgia to Louisiana in the early 1850s. Several members of Dorcheat-Bistineau and Claiborne chapters are descendants of this Moreland family. More information about Moreland House and the Moreland family history can be found on the Simply Southern Cottage blog. Hostesses for this month’s meeting were: Cindy Madden, Judy Reese, and Sue Kinsey, descendants of Joseph Benson Moreland and Mary Amanda Phillips.
Next month, our chapter will welcome the Louisiana DAR State Regent, Cheryl Gott, to our Spring Luncheon and awards ceremony. She will talk to us about Gerstner’s Field, a World War I pilot training field near Lake Charles. It was one of 32 World War I pilot training fields in the U.S. The training field no longer exists, and she plans to ensure that its history and memory are preserved.
We are excited to welcome Maggie Salter as a new member of our chapter! Her installation ceremony took place at Moreland house. Maggie is a descendant of Revolutionary War patriot Robert Corey who was born in 1752 in Belfast, Ireland. Robert moved to Ninety-Six District in South Carolina, where he served as a Private in Col. Thomas Sumpter’s Brigade. Thomas Sumpter was living a life of retirement until the British burned down his home. He immediately organized the local militiamen into an army. In the summer of 1780, Sumter’s Brigade was the only organized opposition to the British in South Carolina.
Dorcheat-Bistineau DAR is a vibrant, growing service organization which meets in Minden. Any woman age 18 years or older who can prove lineal, bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence from Great Britain during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) is eligible to join DAR. For more information, contact Cindy Madden, Regent of Dorcheat-Bistineau Chapter at [email protected] Please like our Facebook page: Daughters of the American Revolution – Dorcheat-Bistineau Chapter.