Hannah Weston, Our Chapter Namesake
Our chapter is named after the Revolutionary War heroine and DAR Patriot Hannah Watts Weston, who carried lead and pewter to make ammunition with, along with powder, through 16 miles of wilderness for the men who were engaged in the first naval battle of the war, which took place in the waters of Machias Bay.
Hannah Watts was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on the 27th of November, 1758. She was the daughter of Samuel Watts (1716-1787) and Elsie Bean (1736-1788). The family soon moved to Machias, Maine, and there, in October 1774, Hannah married Josiah Weston, son of Joseph Weston (1716-) and Hannah Parker (1722-1800). Josiah also served in the Revolution and is a proven DAR Patriot.
Hannah died on the 12th of December, 1856, living very nearly a hundred years. Over 60 women have joined DAR under Hannah Watts Weston.
For further reading about the life of Hannah Weston:
Drisko, George W. (1903) The Revolution; Life of Hannah Weston, with a brief history of her ancestry. Also a condensed history of the first settlement of Jonesborough, Machias, and other neighboring towns. The chapter printed a special indexed edition of The Revolution: Life of Hannah Weston in 2012.
Read the biography of Hannah Watts Weston from The American History and Genealogy Project – Women of America.
A pamphlet summarizing events at the naval battle at Machias and capture of the Margaretta during the U.S. Revolutionary War. Published 1917, Parlin Printing Company, Daughters of the American Revolution, Hannah Weston Chapter, "Naval Battle at Machias, June 12, 1775" (1917). Maine History Documents. 301.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistory/301
The Maine Women Veterans Plaque, created by Maine artist Gary Cooper, is a design depicting Maine women who served in different U.S. military capacities over four centuries. This included the:
• 18th Century – Hannah Watts Weston, Revolutionary War—PATRIOT;
• 19th Century – Emily W. Dana, Civil War Union Army—NURSE;
• 20th Century – Patricia A. (Chadwick) Erickson, WWII Army Air Force—SERVICE PILOT;
•21st Century – Annette M. Bachman, War on Terrorism—Maine Army National Guard.
Hannah Weston Memorial Plaque
“THIS STONE WAS ERECTED
JUNE 12, 1902
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF
THE HANNAH WESTON CHAPTER
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
OF MACHIAS
IN MEMORY OF
HANNAH WATTS WESTON
WIFE OF JOSIAH WESTON
BORN IN HAVERHILL, MASS., 1758
DIED IN JONESBORO, DEC. 12, 1855
SHE WAS A WOMAN OF GREAT COURAGE
AND BRAVERY; SHE MANIFESTED IT
DURING THE BATTLE AT MACHIAS IN
1775, BY COLLECTING AMMUNITION
AND CARRYING IT THROUGH THE
WILDERNESS TO AID THE CITIZENS
IN DEFENCE OF THE TOWN.”