Service in the Community

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About Our Chapter

Located in the capital city of Missouri, our chapter has been serving in the community for over 125 years, promoting our DAR ideals of historic preservation, education, and patriotism.

Beginning in the 1900’s, by making surgical dressings for the war effort, to the recent global pandemic, by sewing and donating over 3,000 masks in the community, members prove themselves eager and excited to serve! Chapter members devote as many as 10,000 hours of volunteer service each year.

We honor veterans and promote patriotism by

Participating in the Wreaths Across America Program - an effort that places wreaths on the graves of veterans in cemeteries across Missouri
Donating essential items to the Harry S. Truman VA Hospital, in Columbia, Missouri, and area veterans homes
Celebrating Veterans Day at the local nursing home and presenting Certificates of Honor to residing veterans
Writing holiday greeting cards to the military personnel aboard the USS Jefferson City, a submarine named for our chapter charter city
Hand-quilting “Quilts of Valor” to honor and present to local veterans
Hand-crocheting memorial poppies to adorn the Bicentennial Bridge in Jefferson City, Missouri
Purchasing and dedicating a park bench in Jefferson City, Missouri, to commemorate the 250^th Anniversary of America
Serving in the local Honor Flights to support and honor veterans
Celebrating Constitution Week with posters and displays set up in the local businesses and schools

We promote historic preservation by

Serving as docents to promote and illuminate our nation’s history
Cleaning and preserving local historic markers, statues, plaques, and headstones
Presenting history, dressed in period costume, to school children and clubs
Preserving the Rice-Sone Cemetery in Cole County, Missouri
Maintaining a Missouri River Overlook next to the Governor’s Mansion, where a marker, erected by the chapter in 1953 to commemorate the Lewis and Clark Expedition, is located.

We promote education by

Awarding monetary scholarships for education to local seniors
Awarding DAR Good Citizens recognitions to the youth in our local schools
Awarding the Gold ROTC Medal to a Lincoln University ROTC cadet and the Silver DAR Outstanding Cadet Medal to a cadet from the Thomas Jefferson Division of the United States Navy Sea Cadet Corps
Supporting our schools and teachers with back-to-school supplies

The Rice-Sone Cemetery
The wife of American Revolutionary War Patriot James Owens (Elizabeth Marrs) and three of their daughters are buried here. 

Commemorating the wedding anniversary of George and Martha Washington, on January 6, 1897, fourteen Jefferson City women met to organize the third DAR chapter in the state of Missouri, establishing it less than seven years following the organization of the National Society in 1890.

The chapter was named Jane Randolph Jefferson in honor of the mother of Thomas Jefferson and complimentary to chapter charter member Miss Margaret Julia Eppes, a lineal descendant of Thomas Jefferson.

The organizational meeting was held near the Missouri State Capitol, in the historic Capitol Avenue district in downtown Jefferson City, Missouri, in the home of Florence Ewing Towles, who served as organizing chapter regent. She later presented a gavel to the chapter in 1907, which is still in use today to open our chapter meetings. The handle of the gavel was made of holly, and the head was made of cherry. Both woods were grown on the grounds of Mount Vernon near the grave of General Washington.

Over the years, our chapter has played a significant role in the community and nation. The chapter has:

- contributed to the Spanish-American War effort by sending nightshirts and aprons
- organized the city’s first beautification project, the Civic Improvement League, in the early 1900’s
- supported the National Surgical Dressings Committee during WWI, making and shipping over 32,000 surgical dressings
- prepared surgical dressings and comfort kits for use aboard the Battleship Missouri in WWII
- was the first in line to donate blood for the city’s first Red Cross Blood Drive
- donated more than 3,000 hand-sewn protective masks during the COVID-19 pandemic

Lewis and Clark Expedition Marker in the Missouri River Overlook Park next to the Governor's Mansion in Jefferson City, Missouri.

National Surgical Dressings Committee, Red Cross, 1917 (Organized by Jane Randolph Jefferson Chapter, NSDAR).

DAR members are descended from American Revolutionary War Patriots. These men and women fought in the American Revolutionary War or aided in the cause of American independence. The Patriot ancestors of the Daughters of the Jane Randolph Jefferson Chapter, NSDAR, are listed in the searchable table below. Patriot names and numbers can be used to access a Patriot's profile on the NSDAR Genealogical Research System (GRS), an online repository of historical documents and records, using the NSDAR Patriot Search Tool.

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Do you have a Patriot Ancestor?

Researching your family lineage is a major step in becoming a member of the DAR. Documentation proving your direct lineage to a Patriot ancestor who fought in the American Revolutionary War or who aided in achieving American independence is required for membership.

All known DAR Patriot ancestors are cataloged in the NSDAR Genealogical Research System (GRS), an online collection of databases that preserve historical documents and records. The DAR provides this ever-growing wealth of research information as a resource tool for lineage and ancestry exploration.

Begin your Journey in the Search for a Patriot Ancestor Today!
Explore the Genealogical Research System (GRS)

How to Use the GRS

Patriot Ancestor Search Tool

DAR Library

Historic Preservation

Education

Patriotism

Please use the forms below to contact us with any questions you may have about our chapter (contact the chapter regent), membership in our chapter (contact the membership chair), or our website (contact the webmaster).

Disclaimer

The content contained herein does not necessarily represent the position of the NSDAR. Hyperlinks to other sites are not the responsibility of the NSDAR, the state organizations or individual DAR chapters.

Photos are courtesy of chapter members.
♦ ♦ ♦ Last Updated: April 1, 2026