The two chapters, General Nathanael Greene Chapter and Pettaquamscutt Chapter, were approved for merger by the National Board of Management, NSDAR, on April 17, 2010.

History of General Nathanael Greene Chapter

The General Nathanael Greene Chapter, NSDAR, East Greenwich, Rhode Island, was organized on October 21, 1895. The official chapter gavel, dated October 21, 1895, was made from wood from a tree in Potowomut. On November 6, 1895, the name of General Nathanael Greene was chosen by the charter members as the name of the chapter. On January 28, 1896, State Regent Miss Mary A. Greene, presented the charter to the chapter. She remarked that she was most pleased to do so as her ancestor had been a relative of General Greene. Mr. W. Maxwell Greene of Potowomut, General Greene's birthplace, also presented to the chapter a photograph of a letter from General Greene to his wife.

Charter members of the chapter were: Mrs. Phebe A. Browning, Mrs. Emily S. Chase, Mrs. Phebe Coe, Mrs. Patience A. Darling, Mrs. Elizabeth Reeve, Mrs. Mary Anna Brown, Mrs. Luella Haley Bailey, Mrs. Eliza H. Potter, Mrs. Amanda W. Allen, Mrs. Louise Bateman, Miss Louise Bowen and Mrs. Anna J. Brown Carpenter.

Honorary members of the chapter, in addition to Miss Mary A. Greene, were three great, great granddaughters of General Greene: Mrs. Alva Greene Carpenter, Mrs. Catherine Greene Greene and Miss Mary Ward Greene.

Meetings in the early 1900s were held at the old Spring Street grammar school.

In 1907 the chapter acquired land on Forge Road on the river in Potowomut near the historic Forge Farm, General Greene's birthplace. A stone seat was erected there by the chapter as a memorial to the General and has been maintained ever since. Annual meetings of the chapter and receptions for state officers have often been held at the historic Forge Farm. In the home are many mementos of the Greenes, including General Greene's sword, musket, cradle, and chair. The home has been occupied by members of the Greene family for nine generations. Residing there now is the current owner, Mr. Thomas Casey Greene, who is the 4^th grand nephew of General Greene.

In 1916 the chapter became the owner of "Ye Old Baptist Burying Ground" on Wine Street in East Greenwich. The cemetery has been maintained by the General Nathanael Greene Chapter since that time. Many Revolutionary War soldiers are buried there.

In 1936 the General Nathanael Greene Chapter, NSDAR, and the Historical Society of East Greenwich and the Varnum Continentals raised money to purchase the Varnum House on Peirce Street. Many of the furnishings in the Varnum House, most particularly in the northeast bedroom, belong to the chapter. Miss Helen Malmstead, State Regent at the time, gave a substantial sum of money to refurbish that bedroom in 1970. The large collection of pewter in the Keeping Room is also on permanent loan from our chapter. Chapter meetings are often held at the house.

The letters of General Nathanael Greene are in the process of being published. The chapter, through the kindness of the late Mrs. Thomas Casey Greene, donated a number of earlier volumes to the NSDAR Library in Washington, D.C. In July 1993 the chapter also donated a large picture of General Nathanael Greene to the Homestead in Coventry.

Nathanael Greene, Major-General in the Continental Army, was born on July 27, 1742, Potowomut, Warwick, Rhode Island. He died at Mulberry Grove near Savannah, Georgia on June 19, 1786.

History of Pettaquamscutt Chapter

The Pettaquamscutt Chapter was formed on April 4, 1933, with thirteen members at Sunlit Meadows, the home of Mrs. Louis Charles Newman on Tower Hill Road in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Thirty four DAR guests from other chapters attended the first meeting. The chapter printed a book, “Facts and Fancies of North Kingstown,” which is a fascinating compilation of old legends and stories of the area. The first edition was completed in 1941 at the request of the National Society, NSDAR, to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. This book is still available through the chapter.

“Pettaquamscutt, known early on as Pettacomscott, straddles the North and South Kingstown border. In 1657, five Boston settlers bought 28,000 acres of land from Narragansett Chief Sachems Quassuchquansh, Kachanaquant, and Quequaquenuet, for the reported price of 16 pounds sterling, a British officer’s red coat, and an unnamed number of other goods. Within the next three years, and with the addition of two new buyers, 36,000 acres were added to this Pettaquamscutt Purchase. The buyers were Samuel Wilbor, John Hull, John Porter, Samuel Wilson, Thomas Mumford, William Brenton, and Benedict Arnold. There is not a more beautiful place in the state that can boast woods, fields, hills, springs, rivers, streams, lakes, bay, and ocean.”

Written by J. R. Cole, 1889

Wood for the gavel from Gilbert Stuart House

presented to the chapter: September 23, 1933

Toile Drapes from RI Period Room, NSDAR Museum

returned to chapter in 1973

Gilbert Stuart Birthplace, North Kingstown, Rhode Island