Harrison Township resident Lindy Brozovic’s ancestor marched with other American soldiers to South Carolina to face British Gen. Charles Cornwallis during the American Revolution, according to historical documents.
“And face him we did,” wrote her ancestor, James Owens.
Brozovic said learning about her connection to Owens has changed how she looks at the Fourth of July. But when she read this passage from Owens a decade ago while looking through his application for a pension in 1832, she burst out laughing.
“That was pretty funny,” she recalled.
Brozovic, 73, is one of more than 3,600 Michigan women who are part of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a service organization whose members have proven lineal descent from a “patriot” of the American Revolution ― someone who either fought in the war or contributed to the American cause in another way. The organization has 55 chapters across Michigan.
As the 250th anniversary of America approaches, DAR members shared their unique stories of connection to the American Revolution. They expressed pride for their ancestors and their roles in the creation of America. Their ancestors’ service ranged from bodyguard duty for Gen. George Washington to paying taxes intended to support the American cause.
Elizabeth Heller, regent of the DAR Ypsilanti chapter, said her ancestor, Andrew Clark, signed an “oath of fidelity,” or a document saying he would support the cause of American independence at a town hall meeting. She doesn’t have any proof that he served as a soldier, but he might have. Another ancestor, Aaron Farr, signed an “association test,” which means he signed an oath to support the cause.
Heller said her ancestors weren’t “famous people” or “fancy people.”
“But that was a backbone of the American Revolution,” she said. “It was ordinary people with ordinary lives sacrificing, whether it be a person being a soldier, a tavern keeper feeding American soldiers, women who nursed and fed and clothed the soldiers. I mean, it was ordinary people banded together for a common cause.”
Brozovic’s ancestor, whose last name was either spelled “Owen” or “Owens” in documents, was a Virginia resident who fought in his home state and South Carolina during the American Revolution before settling in Tennessee. When she found out that she had an ancestor who fought and sacrificed for America during the Revolution, she said it changed her outlook on “what Independence Day was.”
“It became … more personal,” Brozovic said. “It became not just a story in a book.”
Brozovic and other members of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) are commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4 in various ways. DAR chapters have been marking the graves of patriots buried in Michigan, and some are reading the Declaration of Independence aloud this summer. Members of the Alexander Macomb Chapter of the DAR in Mount Clemens, of which Brozovic is the regent, read the declaration during the opening ceremony for Mount Clemens’ Independence Day Celebration last Friday, some wearing colonial attire.
Bruce Township resident Eileen Rhodes, another member of the Alexander Macomb Chapter, said the anniversary is “so important” to her and other Daughters of the American Revolution.
“Because we then have a chance to show the world, we have a chance to show the United States, we are here. We are honoring what our family did to help shape this country,” Rhodes said.
DAR member’s ancestor assisted George Washington
Rhodes said her ancestor, Simeon Prior, was a private in the Continental Army and served as one of Washington’s bodyguards. Prior, a blacksmith from Connecticut, fought alongside Washington at the Battle of Trenton.
“It is so important to me that I’m able to honor my family,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes, who serves as the state chaplain for the DAR of Michigan, said she has proven descent from seven other patriots as well. Most of them saw action in battle, but one took an “oath of fidelity” to America. They all came from New England.
She is also related to Benedict Arnold, a general in the Continental Army who became a traitor when he started working for the British, though she isn’t a direct descendant of his.
“You can’t make it any different,” Rhodes said of Arnold being in her family. “I mean, no matter who Benedict Arnold was, he is still my relative, you know. I can’t change that.”
Rhodes, 64, is also related to other historic figures, including her ninth great-grandmother, Anne Dudley Bradstreet, who was the first published female poet in what later became the United States.
Rhodes, who retired in 2024 from a 43-year career at the Bruce Township Fire Department, said her grandmother couldn’t afford to join the Daughters of the American Revolution. She raised three daughters during the Great Depression.
“They didn’t have money to throw around for that stuff, … but she was very proud to be able to say, ‘We are eligible to be Daughters of the American Revolution,'” Rhodes said.
Southfield resident integrated the DAR
Karen Batchelor, a Southfield resident and Detroit native, said that when she joined the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1977, she was the first Black person that anyone had ever known to join the organization. She said she now believes other DAR members were descended from Black patriots, but didn’t say anything about it.
Through genealogical research, Batchelor had learned that she is a descendant of William Hood, a White Pennsylvania resident who served in the American Revolution. Hood was part of a militia unit that tried to come to the rescue of Fort Freeland, a Northumberland County, Penn., fort that had been attacked by the British and their indigenous allies. By the time the unit got there, the fort had fallen to the British. Many militia unit members died in battle, but Hood survived, Batchelor said.
Batchelor, 75, said she initially wrote letters to two local DAR chapters seeking membership and didn’t hear back from either chapter. She later learned that one of the chapters voted against her membership because of her race.
“So it was not an easy journey back then,” Batchelor said. “I’m really pleased to say that … I have a number of sister daughters who are African American now. I’m really proud that the organization has moved forward, but … it’s been a journey.”
The Ezra Parker Chapter in Royal Oak ultimately volunteered to sponsor her membership.
Over the years, Batchelor has proven descent from eight Revolutionary War patriots, all of whom are White, Batchelor said. One of them was Thomas Crafts of Boston, who was an older person during the Revolution and gave “patriotic service,” including by paying supply taxes. Those were taxes that colonists paid to help support the patriots’ cause, she said.
Batchelor said the 250th anniversary of America is historically significant for her because her family was invested in “creating this fragile thing we call democracy.”
“I’m proud to be part of that history,” she said, “and for me, as an American, I stand taller and prouder … these days as an American because of this history I have of eight patriots ― eight people, eight men who stood up and said we want a different way of governing ourselves, and we’re willing to go to the mat for it, and they did.”
Jackson resident’s ancestor was a prisoner of war
Judy Van Poperin, a member of the Sarah Treat Prudden Chapter of the DAR in Jackson, has ties to several patriots, including Capt. Edmund Richards. At one point, Richards was shackled in a prisoner of war ship. He was released and then re-enlisted.
Richards, in fact, re-enlisted several times during the war.
“He was so devout” in seeking “the independence of our nation,” Van Poperin said.
Another one of Van Poperin’s patriots is Nathanial Nichols, who had a choice to join the local militia or be imprisoned after committing a minor crime. Nichols joined the military.
Another ancestor, Ebenezer Dorr Sr., served on the Boston Committee of Correspondence, which Van Poperin said wrote letters explaining why some British actions weren’t good for the colonists.
Van Poperin said her ancestors “stuck by their convictions.”
“It makes me proud that they stood up for something and stood by it,” she said.
DAR chapters prepare for America 250
Van Poperin, the America 250 co-chair for DAR of Michigan, said the state organization has been preparing for the nation’s 250th birthday for several years.
In 2025, the DAR of Michigan held “patriot picnics” in the four Michigan counties named for Revolutionary War patriots: Wayne County, Monroe County, Jackson County, Crawford County, she said.
The DAR at the state and national levels has also been encouraging chapters to identify and mark the graves of Revolutionary War patriots. Heller said the Ypsilanti chapter, along with the Sarah Caswell Angell Chapter in Ann Arbor and the Huron Valley Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, has marked a few graves over the last few years in honor of America’s 250th anniversary. The most recent, which took place in May in Saline Township, was for a patriot named Timothy Crittenden.
Van Poperin said a grave marker signifies “that this person is not forgotten.”
The DAR of Michigan has also been placing Revolutionary War patriot markers across Michigan since 2022. These are signs in public spaces that honor patriots.
On July 8, Van Poperin’s Sarah Treat Prudden Chapter will dedicate the newest marker, located in Withington Park in Jackson. It will list all of the Revolutionary War veterans who are buried in Jackson County. Almost 250 patriots are interred in Michigan, she said.
Van Poperin said many chapters in Michigan will be involved in readings of the Declaration of Independence on July 8, which is the anniversary of when the declaration was first read in public, according to america250.org.
asnabes@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan women share ties to American Revolution amid America’s 250th
Reporting by Anne Snabes, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Anne Snabes, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
