Chapter History
Manor House Chapter NSDAR was organized January 6, 1898, and named for the historic Van Cortlandt Manor located in Croton-on-Hudson, New York.
The manor began with a royal charter for lands from King William III of England to Stephanus Van Cortlandt in 1697. His grandson, Pierre Van Cortlandt, built the stone and brick manor house in the 1750s. During the American Revolutionary War, Pierre was an active patriot leader in New York, and his son Philip was commissioned as an officer in a patriot regiment.
Today, Van Cortlandt Manor is a Hudson Valley historical site and open to the public year-round. Learn the story of the Van Cortlandts and their role in the Revolutionary War at the Historic Hudson Valley website.
Throughout the history of the chapter, Manor House Chapter NSDAR meetings have been called to order by a gavel made from a worm-eaten beam and stair rail taken from the Van Cortlandt Manor which was gifted to the chapter by a member of the Van Cortlandt family.
Photographs courtesy of the Hudson Valley Association.
Founding of the Chapter
Manor House Chapter NSDAR was founded by Frances “Minnie” Fazio Ballinger (Mrs. Madison Adams Ballinger), a native Washingtonian and early member of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. In 2018, chapter members held a remembrance service for our Founding Regent and celebrated Manor House Chapter's 120th anniversary.
Past Chapter Regents
The chapter has benefitted over the years from the leadership of many patriotic women. Truly, Manor House Chapter NSDAR would not be what it is today without its past regents. View them here.