Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865

THE ORGANIZATION OF BARBARA FRIETCHIE TENT N0. 2
Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861-1865
SALEM, OREGON

On the evening of July 2, 1919, a group of ladies, daughters and granddaughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, met at the home of Mrs. LaMoine R. Clark, for the purpose of organizing a Tent under the corporation known as the "National Alliance of Daughters of Veterans of the United States of America."

Thus reads the first record kept by Barbara Frietchie Tent No. 2, Department of Oregon. The record unfortunately does not state how many were present, but it is recalled that the spacious double parlors of Mrs. Clark's home were filled.

Mrs. Clark was chosen chairman and Mrs. Mary Entress, secretary.

Excerpts from the Constitution were read and discussed. The first act of this nucleus organization was the appointment of a temporary Floral Committee to "furnish flowers for deceased Veterans as might be needed."

On July 12, at a special meeting, with Mrs. Frances Mackey of Washington-Alaska Department, deputized Instituting and Installing Officer; acting as chairman, a staff of officers was elected, Mrs. Marguerite P. Elliott, being chosen President. And on July 16, 1919, with Mrs. Mackey as presiding officer, Miss Caroline Scherer (National Patriotic Instructor) as Guide, and Mrs. Florence Sturdevant (President of Betsy Ross Tent No. 1) as Chaplain, Barbara Frietchie Tent No. 2 was formally instituted with a charter membership of forty?six, of whom thirty-two were present and took the obligation. Mrs. Elliott and her staff of officers, elective and appointive, were duly installed; meeting dates were decided upon, and a unanimous desire to assist in the formation of a Department expressed. Invitation was also extended to hold the Departmental organization meeting in Salem. As a preliminary, delegates to assist were names as follows; LaMoine Clark, Julia Webster, and Mary M. Entress; alternates, Lizzie Waters, Mary Cook, and Florence Shipp.

There is no record relative to the choosing of the name of Barbara Frietchie. It seems to have been proposed and generally accepted with no discussion or vote. The purchase of necessary equipment was authorized, and dues were fixed at $1.00 per annum, and with these preliminaries completed, Barbara Frietchie Tent No. 2 began making history.

In 2007 Tent members began discussing the possibility of changing the name of our tent to honor a local veteran and discovered that there were two civil war nurses buried in the Eugene (OR) IOOF Pioneer cemetery. We selected Thirsa Gossett as it was easy to prove her service and locate her military records. Thus began the process of our name change which was approved in April 2008. We suspect that she may have belonged to the Portland Ladies of the GAR.

Return to Thirsa Gossett Home Page

This page last modified 9 June 2014