OUR CHAPTER’S HISTORY

Organizing Regent:  Elizabeth Edrington Combs Peirce

Organized:  April 17, 1953

 Location: Lancaster County, Virginia

Cobbs Hall was the first Northern Neck home of the Lees.  Major Charles Lee built the current house in the 1850s on land patented in 1656 by Major Lee’s grandfather, Colonel Richard Lee, who arrived at Jamestown in 1639.  Colonel Lee is the great-great grandfather of Henry Lee III, Revolutionary War patriot, ninth governor of Virginia, and member of the House of Representatives, and the great-great-great grandfather of Robert E. Lee.

Cobbs Hall Chapter members have been active and engaged since the chapter’s founding.  Through the years, interests and projects varied, but love of country, remembrance of patriot fathers, and education of chapter members and the community are the purpose of all endeavors.

Cobbs Hall was organized April 17, 1953 with sixteen organizing members.  There were ten charter members.  The chapter supported historic houses including Stratford Hall, Kenmore, and Woodlawn as well as the old Yorktown Customs House. The chapter made donations to the Blue Ridge School, and the Pamunkey Indians.  The chapter gave annually to National DAR to restore records at the DAR Library, and members copied local deed books and wills and sent them to State and National DAR.  Cobbs Hall sponsored the Mary Ball Chapter, Children of the American Revolution, organized in 1955. They provided monetary support and adult leadership.  Local elementary and high school students were annually honored with awards known at the time as history medals and good citizenship medals.

In 1956, the chapter placed a plaque in the village of Lancaster marking the second Presbyterian Church in Lancaster County.  In 1960, the chapter placed the Gaskins Plaque in the Northumberland Courthouse, and in 1961 they placed the James Ball grave marker.  In 1962, Cobbs Hall Chapter marked the grave of patriot James Moore in Heathsville.  In 1963, the chapter marked the grave of patriot Lewis Booker in Essex County.  In 1970, Cobbs Hall Chapter marked two cedar trees planted by the chapter at Christ Church in Weems and marked the grave of patriot Charles Taylor in Weems.  In 1976, the chapter placed an historic marker for Cobbs Hall Plantation and marked the grave of patriot William Blackwell in Reedville. 

Cobbs Hall Chapter donated a rare 1740 coin to the DAR Museum in 1964 and gave a memorial gift to the museum in memory of Marguerite Shell Ritchie in 1981.

In 1961, the chapter donated twelve Spode dinner plates for the President General’s suite.  Members added a Spode china platter in 1968.

Cobbs Hall Chapter donated rare books dated 1776 to 1890 to the DAR Library in 1975. By 1991, the chapter had donated copies of Lancaster County Wills From 1650 to 1800, and chapter members copied Lancaster County Will Books 28 and 29 and presented them to the library along with 100 Richmond County marriage records.  

Circa 2004, Cobbs Hall gave the DAR Library a copy of In Remembrance, Gravestone and Burials of Lancaster County, Virginia, compiled by Cobbs Hall member and regent (1992-1995) Margaret Lester Hill and Clyde H. Ratcliffe.  

In 2013, a Cobbs Hall member donated to the DAR Library “Lancaster County, Virginia Abstracts of Wills, Administrations, Deeds, Inventories, Etc., 1758-1763 #36885” in memory of Louise Towles Dobyns, Cobbs Hall Regent (1969-1971).

 In 2014, the chapter sent photographs of and information from family Bibles to the DAR Library to increase holdings of unpublished genealogical source materials. The chapter sent information  from the Bibles of L.M. Bryant, Richmond County, VA (1892-1995), Edgar Sanders Dobyns, Lancaster County, VA (1882-1893), William Kendall Lee, Lancaster County, VA (1856-1892), Eleazer Overton , Southold, New York (1767-1912), Azariah and Sarah Reeves, Salem County, New Jersey (1738-1876), Oliver Towles, Lancaster County, VA (1838-1856).

In 2011, Cobbs Hall made a contribution toward the restoration of the lay lights in Constitution Hall.

In 2015, Cobbs Hall held a Colonial Tea and donated the proceeds and subsequent contributions of over $4500 to the construction of the Ferry Farm house on its original foundation. 

For many years, District II DAR chapters have gathered at Stratford Hall for their November meeting.  The chapter supported the historic house for years but was recognized for outstanding support in 2017 and 2019.

From 2017 through 2019, the chapter donated $2600 to the underwriting of a conference room in Claude Moore Hall, Center for the Constitution at Montpelier.

The chapter, stressing conservation, planted fifteen pecan trees and 375 pine seedlings in 1960.  The chapter purchased dogwood trees to plant at Grace Episcopal Church in Kilmarnock and Trinity Episcopal Church in Lancaster.  In 1972, the chapter donated 5000 pine seedlings and 1300 bulbs for roadside planting.  Members continue to plant trees, conserve water, and recycle.    

Cobbs Hall donates books yearly to the Lancaster County, Virginia Historical Society (Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library) in Lancaster County and the Northumberland Historical Society in Northumberland County, VA.  In 2014, the chapter donated six books of wills, inventories, chancery records, cemetery records, court records, and records of white slave children to Mary Ball and gave five books of Virginia deeds, wills, court records, and inventories to the Northumberland Historical Society.

Between 2012 and 2016, Cobbs Hall donated 350 books to various community organizations.  The chapter donated books to high schools, public libraries, nursery and elementary schools, and the local Boys and Girls Club.  In 2017 through 2019, some members tutored in the local schools.  Book donations and literacy continue to be a chapter priority.

In the 1990s, the chapter established a scholarship at Rappahannock Community College for an outstanding graduating high school senior from Lancaster or Northumberland County.  Additional money has been given to other than RCC students. The amount of money varies, but in 2013, Cobbs Hall Chapter gave $750.  By 2016, the amount grew to $1000 and continues at that level.

Constitution Week is a priority for Cobbs Hall Chapter.  Giving age appropriate talks to students, answering questions, and distributing copies of the Constitution are a yearly occurrence. Members place displays in the public libraries in Lancaster and Northumberland counties.   Local businesses display posters, churches ring their bells, and mayors of incorporated towns receive proclamations. 

In 1989, Cobbs Hall was represented at the commemoration of the 200thanniversary of the death of Mary Ball Washington.  In 2020, the chapter was represented at the Jamestown Commemoration of the 400thAnniversary of the First Representative Assembly.  

Throughout the history of Cobbs Hall Chapter, the laying of wreaths has been important, and chapter members frequently attend such services.  The chapter is always represented at the Leedstown Resolutions Commemorative Service and at the POW/MIA Recognition DayService held in Tappahannock.  For several years, Cobbs Hall has joined with Historic Christ Church to sponsor the reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 3rd.  A video is always made of the reading.

In the 1990s, the chapter began a long-term partnership with Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans’ Hospital.  Members knitted lap robes and gave canteen vouchers.  In 2013, the chapter began delivering toiletries to the emergency room and intensive care units after asking nurses and doctors about desired aid. From 2013 through 2019, our committee chairman delivered over 1500 toiletry bags containing toothpaste, toothbrushes, lotion, bar soap, and mouthwash, and more than 150 sweatpants and shirts to the intensive care unit and emergency room.  In 2020, the chapter donated $700 to provide kits to help two homeless veterans set up apartments.

In June 2015, members delivered certificates and pins to local Vietnam veterans.  In 2017, thirty local Vietnam veterans attended a service held in their honor.  There was special recognition of those who did not return from the war. In 2019, the chapter gave pins and certificates to veterans, and they weretreated to pie and coffee at a local restaurant.  On Veterans’ Day in 2020, ‘Thank You for Your Service’ cards and flags were delivered to veterans in three local assisted living facilities.

In 2019 and 2020, the chapter recognized sheriffs’ departments in Lancaster and Northumberland counties.  Members brought lunch to all serving there.

In 2019 and 2020, Cobbs Hall Chapter provided Christmas gifts for a family at The Haven, a facility for abuse survivors.  Four times in 2020, meals were provided for fifteen people at support group meetings at The Haven.

The first static website of the chapter was completed in 2011 and appeared on the VADAR website.  In 2019, the Cobbs Hall website was completely redone and enhanced to meet National DAR standards.  It provides information for members and the public.  The website can now be updated monthly.   

As of December 2020, Cobbs Hall membership is 154.  A concerted effort is made to reach people in the community and inform them of our purpose through articles in local newspapers, Constitution Week, community projects, and donations.  When a lady expresses interest in the chapter, our registrar works diligently to have her approved.  New members bring new ideas, and stronger membership allows the chapter to have additional projects. 

Updated by an Honorary Regent, April 2021.