The group held their monthly meeting, before enjoying lunch at the Swan Coach House, once the garage of the Swan House Mansion. Regent Kitty Watters presided over the meeting. Special thanks to First Vice Regent Ann Story for organizing the tour, Treasurer Anne Lockhart and Second Vice Regent Connie Rifkind for their many efforts on this project. This was the Chapter’s fourth annual chartered bus event and has become very popular with members and their guests.
Regent Kitty WattersThe name of the Swan House is drawn from the swan or bird motifs that grace many of the interior rooms. Built by Edward and Emily Inman, heirs to a cotton brokerage fortune, the house was designed by well-known Atlanta architect Philip Trammell Shutze in 1928 and decorated by Ruby Ross Wood of New York. The tour is interactive with Whitni Kent, an historic interpreter, in the role of Ruby Ross Wood. Most recently, the Swan House was used as a film location for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2.
2018-20 New Officer Slate to be installed in May, from left to right, Regent-elect Ann Story, First Vice Regent-elect Connie Rifkind, Second Vice Regent-elect Lynn Jacques, Recording Secretary-elect Traci Zierk, Corresponding Secretary-elect Vivian Wiegand, Treasurer-elect Anne Lockhart, Registrar-elect Valerie Craft, Librarian-elect Becky DavenportThe Tullie Smith Farm is also located at the Atlanta History Center. Several members of the group visited the farm. Here’s an interesting tidbit: Two years ago a Supplemental application on William Robertson, whose daughter Elizabeth married Robert H. Smith, was submitted to national headquarters in Washington, D.C. However, they needed more information to prove the generational link to the Smiths’ son Nathaniel. Having exhausted all avenues, an appeal was made to State Lineage Research Chair and Philadelphia Winn Chapter Regent Kitty Watters for help. Talented researcher and State Lineage Research Vice Chair Connie Rifkind went to the DeKalb County Courthouse, and there, in a box of “Miscellaneous” papers, was the will of Robert H. Smith. It held the proof needed! The Supplemental was approved, and a copy of the will was given to the Atlanta History Center.
No discussion about the NSDAR would be complete without mentioning the two requirements for membership. A woman must be 18 years or older and have proven lineal descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence. There are currently 219 Philadelphia Winn Chapter members.
Swan House
130 W Paces Ferry Rd NW
Atlanta, GA
National Historic Landmark
Listed on National Register of Historic Places
