The March meeting of the Thomasville Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) featured an interesting program by Dr. Terrel Solana, a descendant of the Solana family in St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest family line in America. He was introduced by his wife, Linda Solana, who is a DAR member and admissions secretary for the Thomasville Chapter.
Dr. Terrel Solana moved to Thomasville in 1982 and is the former superintendent of Thomas County Schools. He is the 13th generation of the oldest documented family in the United States. The oldest existing document in America is the marriage certificate of Vincent Solana and Maria Viscente, recorded on July 4, 1594 in St. Augustine, Florida. Dr. Solana displayed a copy of this document during his program.
“A young Spanish nobleman, Juan Ponce de Leon, came to the new world in search of gold and silver,” said Dr. Solana. “On Easter Sunday, 1513, he landed in St. Augustine, where instead of gold he found beautiful blooming wildflowers and dogwoods, which the La Florida area called” the place of flowers. ” Solana said the King of Spain was only interested in gold, not flowers, so Ponce de Leon continued his exploration in search of gold, which was later found in the areas of Puerto Rico and Cuba.
In 1565, St. Augustine was founded by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés from Spain as the first permanent European settlement in America.
Dr. Solana showed several documents about the history of the Solana family. The family crest is a sun surrounded by snakes. The family was featured in the February 1966 issue of National Geographic in an article about the 400th anniversary of St. Augustine. It contained a photo of the original and oldest marriage document of Vincent and Maria Solana, which is in Spanish. Around 20 Solana families still live in St. Augustine today. Dr. Solana also showed a piece of Coquina stone that the Spaniards used to build the Fort Castillo de San Marcos. Coquina is a stone made from shells.
At the March meeting, Thomasville Chapter DAR Regent Shelba Sellers and Chaplain Drucilla Bennett introduced new member Heather Gideon, who demonstrated their ancestry from their Revolutionary War ancestor Peter Little, who served in North Carolina. New members take an oath of membership and receive a DAR pin. Thomasville Chapter Chancellor Pamela Tucker introduced potential members and guests.
Regent Shelba Sellers gave the veterans a minute on their grandfather, Laurine Sands, who served in World War I. It also displayed several military medals from Sands and a photo of him in uniform.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote the preservation, education, and patriotism of history. Its members are descended from the patriots who gained American independence during the Revolutionary War. With more than 185,000 members in around 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world’s largest and most active service organizations. More than a million women have joined the DAR since its inception. To learn more about the work of today’s DAR, visit www.DAR.org.
For more information on the Thomasville Chapter DAR, visit thomasville.georgiastatedar.org or visit the chapter’s Facebook page at facebook.com/ThomasvilleChapterNSDAR.
Comments are closed.