The Iowa Society of the Sons of the American Revolution hosted a ceremony to celebrate the addition of the 41st name to the Iowa Revolutionary War Memorial in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the United States.

About 50 veterans, patriot descendants, members of other lineage societies and supporters gathered for the event on Oct. 4.

The memorial features a central obelisk engraved with the names of Revolutionary War veterans who are buried in Iowa, surrounded by 13 granite pillars representing the original colonies. Between the pillars grow wild roses, Iowa’s state flower.

“Maybe, it was the addition of the 41st name that brought you here, maybe you want to be part of an early celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States,” said Mike Rowley, color guard commander of Iowa Sons of the American Revolution. “Whatever the circumstances are, we hope you feel, as we do, that it’s important to have an accurate and working knowledge of history.”

The name added was Matrom Elmore, Rowley’s fifth great-grandfather.

“Matron was born in 1757 and died somewhere around 1840. He was a native of Virginia who volunteered and served no less than four times,” Rowley said.

Kevin Parmeter, 69, president of the Iowa Sons of the American Revolution, was one of the original board members when the monument was built in 2002.

“There’s a lot of people who go, ‘Well, my ancestor was in the Revolutionary War,’ and they probably were, but you need proof before you put the name on and that’s where the issue is,” Parmeter said.

The proof, Rowley said, requires high criteria and historical research.

Among the descendants attending was Deb Westphal, 67, who said the occasion was inspiring.

“I knew my grandfather, William Potter’s name, through our family, but I didn’t really understand until doing some research, as to everything that he did,” Westphal said.

Another descendant, Heather Wells, 36, who traces her lineage to Timothy Brown, said being present carried personal meaning.

“It’s really cool to be able to be here and to represent his line,” she said. “It’s humbling to be here.”

Laura Kozin, 70, a member of the Abigail Adams Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, said she was moved by the ceremony.

“It means a lot,” she said. “I just like to think that somebody would do this for my ancestors, and I’m sure they do. We’ve lived in Iowa for 20 years, and I think it’s a really neat thing for people to remember.”

Thai Theodoro is a reporter at the Register. Reach her at ttheodoro@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 41st Iowan, who served at least four times, added to Revolutionary War Memorial

Reporting by Thai Theodoro, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register

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