10/12/04

Proud of Her Heritage

By JULIE FARREN
Special to The Press-Enterprise

Paul Alvarez / The Press-Enterprise Daughters of the American Revolution member Helen Shadwick, of Murrieta, can trace her roots to American Revolution Pvt. Job Colman.

SUN CITY - Marsha Timberlake is proud of her paternal ancestors, Benjamin and Paul Hayward.

The father and son duo founded two towns, Jamaica and Townshend, in Vermont. Paul Hayward was a private in the Vermont militia during the American Revolution.

Because of her lineage, Timberlake, of Murrieta, was eligible to become a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Luiseño Chapter, Menifee Valley.

"I was proud of them," Timberlake said of her ancestors.

Joining the Daughters of the American Revolution is no small feat. Members have to have documented proof that their ancestor was a patriot in the American Revolution.

Some of the members have done extensive genealogical research to prove their ancestry, while others have proof through documents handed down over the generations.

On Monday, the Daughters of the American Revolution celebrated its 114th anniversary nationwide. Currently, there are more than 170,000 members across the United States.

The Menifee group has 55 members, said Helen Shadwick, regent for the Luiseño Chapter, which is 38 years old. The group meets at 11:30 a.m. the fourth Tuesday of the month at Provident Bank in Sun City for lunch and to hear guest speaker.

Shadwick, of Murrieta, became a member because of her ties to Job Colman, a private in the 1st Massachusetts Regiment. He served for nine months. But tragedy struck his family in the early 1800s when he and his wife, Mary, died of typhoid fever within a month of each other. Four of their 11 children also died of the disease.

Shadwick's direct ancestor, Samuel Colman, one of Job's children, survived because he was living in New York.

"He was out of the house and he didn't get it," Shadwick said.

Sandy Wray, of Menifee, proudly recalls her maternal ancestor, Jesse Hooper. He was a private in the 1st Georgia Regiment and fought in the Battle at Kettle Creek in 1779.

Wray said learning that Hooper was barely out of his teens when he enlisted really surprised her.

"The fact that he was so young. He was 18 when he went in," Wray said. "He stayed for the whole war. He lived to be in his 80s."

The DAR chapters are involved in community programs, national and international projects.

In 2003, the Luiseño Chapter participated in Operation Interdependence. The project focused on mailing care packages to U.S. troops in Iraq. The Luiseño Chapter sent 75 care packages, said Wray.

Another project the group is getting involved in is Operation Iraqi Children, founded by actor Gary Sinise and "Seabiscuit" author Laura Hillenbrand. School supply kits will be organized in the United States and sent to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which will give the kits to U.S. troops. The troops will go to Iraqi villages to deliver the kits.

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