HOW THE DAR LADIES "SAVED"THE CLINTON HOUSE TWICE! By Marian Liggera Marian Edmonds Liggera, Historian of Mahwenawasigh Chapter, NSDAR, was Regent of the Chapter one hundred years after the founding Regent, Mrs. Caroline Atwater. She lives in Poughkeepsie and is the mother of four children. The Clinton House in Poughkeepsie and the Mahwenawasigh Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution share a curiously intertwined history. The Clinton House was built in 1765 and named for a famous Revolutionary Patriot, Governor George Clinton. The Mahwenawasigh Chapter of the DAR was founded in Poughkeepsie and its members, like all DAR members, trace their ancestry to one of the Revolutionary War Patriots. Both the DAR and the Clinton House have persevered through the changes of the Twentieth Century to give testimony to forebears whose indomitable spirit would not give up or give in. In 1894 an active, community-minded woman named Mrs. Edward Storrs (Caroline Swift) Atwater organized a local DAR chapter. There were thirteen charter members: Mrs. Atwater, Mrs. Frank Hasbrouck, Mrs. Horace D. Hafcut, Mrs. D. Crosby Foster, Mrs. Martin Heermance, Miss Myra H. A very, Miss Helen W. Reynolds, Mrs. Robert Sanford, Mrs. Spencer VanCleff, Miss Mary Varick, Miss Katherine W ode 11,Mrs. Milton A. Fowler and Mrs. William A. Miles. Mrs. Atwater was deeply involved with many community organizations and had a family tradition of service to others. Shortly after becoming Regent (president) of the chapter, she was dismayed to see an old stone house, the Clinton House, in disuse. Mrs. Atwater began reading through old records and became convinced of its historic value. She decided that the building must be saved and turned into a museum of Colonial and Revolutionary "relics." Mrs. Atwater rallied chapter members to join her in raising money for its purchase and for two years the ladies sold subscriptions and held fundraisers such as a loan exhibition of antiques.
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