The Honorable Richard Bender Abell (ne Richard Lon Welch) was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Lon Edward Welch, Jr. and Charlotte Amelia Bender Welch Abell. He was married to Lucia del Carmen Lombana-Cadavid de Abell, daughter of Dr. Ezekiel Lombana-Duque and Maria de los Dolores Cadavid-Diaz of Medellin, Colombia. The Abells have three children: David Joseph Abell, Christian Aven Lombana Abell, and Rachel Mercedes Cadavid Abell. Judge Abell was a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia, South America, 1967-1969. He served with the United States Army Infantry, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, First Air Calvary Division in Vietnam, 1969-1971. Judge Abell was awarded the Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal for Heroism, Air Medal, and Combat Infantryman Badge. Judge Abell retired from military service for wounds received in combat.
Judge Abell attended The George Washington University where he was graduated with a B.A. in International Affairs, 1966. He completed his Juris Doctor at The George Washington University School of Law, 1974. Judge Abell was appointed by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the United States Senate as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice, 1986-1990. He was also appointed by President Reagan to serve as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Prison Industries, Inc. 1985-1991; as a Commissioner, President's Commission on Agricultural Workers 1988-1993; and as a member of the President's Task Force on Adoption 1987-1988. His wife, Lucia, served in two presidential appointments. Judge Abell served in the Federal Judiciary, United States Court of Federal Claims, Washington, D.C., until his retirement in November, 2010. He resided in Alexandria, Virginia.
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Notes
Judge Abell was a member of numerous veteran’s groups, masonic associations, and historical and genealogical societies, including The Society of Independent Southern Historians. He was Anglican-Catholic by faith.
Honorary President General Ann Turner Dillon, who has been a DAR member for over 39 years, brings a wealth of experience to the role of President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her extensive service record includes terms as First Vice President General, Registrar General, Colorado State Regent and National Chair of the Chapter Development and Revitalization Commission, among other leadership positions at the national, state and chapter levels.
Mrs. Dillon leads the 126-year-old women’s volunteer service organization with a current membership of 185,000, spread across nearly 3,000 chapters in the United States and abroad. As Chief Executive Officer of the nonprofit organization, she also oversees a professional staff of 140 at the Society’s National Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Her oversight includes upkeep and preservation of the DAR Headquarters, which consists of three adjoining buildings, two of which are designated National Historic Landmarks, occupying an entire city block near the White House.
“Moving Forward in Service to America,” the theme of the Dillon Administration, expresses both a continued emphasis on meaningful service and a commitment to providing programs and resources that will enable the National Society’s mission, its members and its historic buildings to endure and thrive long into the future. A wide-ranging set of initiatives has been put in place to help achieve these goals, from new classroom resources and membership training opportunities that will provide support and encouragement to teachers and DAR members, to renovation and restoration projects that will transform the public spaces at National Headquarters. DAR members also are challenged to record 19 million hours of volunteer service to honor the 100th anniversary of Congress’ passage of the 19th Amendment.
The decision to make education and training a focus of her Administration underscores Mrs. Dillon’s ultimate goal. She hopes that DAR members will know more about the National Society by the end of her term than they did when it began, and that they will have more confidence in talking about who DAR members are.
“We are a service organization whose members have proven their lineage back to a Revolutionary War ancestor,” said Mrs. Dillon. She wants members to identify with and take pride in the National Society, an organization that that awards millions of dollars in scholarships every year, supports veterans, gives
back to the nation, and preserves priceless historical records and artifacts that help illuminate our nation’s shared past. “There are so many reasons to be part of our organization,” she said.
Mrs. Dillon is the first Colorado Daughter to be elected President General. “Even though the history of our Western states postdates the Revolutionary War, members in those areas still find plenty of opportunity to promote the history of our country,” Mrs. Dillon said. “The men and women who stretched America demonstrated the same independent thinking that created the nation.”
She was also the first woman in her family to join the National Society, beginning a tradition of membership that grew to include her mother, aunt, daughters, granddaughters and cousins. In DAR, she found a sense of belonging, and of doing meaningful work. Over time, as she took on more responsibilities, Mrs. Dillon focused on doing the best job she could while cooperating with other DAR members. She hopes to foster a similar attitude in others through the New Horizons membership training program, aimed at empowering members to take the next step in leadership.
In 1990, Mrs. Dillon became Organizing Regent of the still-thriving Toll Gate Creek Chapter in Aurora, Colo. The experience, which she counts as one of her most rewarding DAR endeavors to date, taught her that leadership is not about one person doing all the work, but rather about building a group that can work together. It’s a philosophy that informed her subsequent leadership positions, which included 12 years of service on the National Board of Management.
Most recently, as First Vice President General from 2013–2016, she oversaw the revision of the DAR Handbook and National Bylaws and provided guidance on matters related to the DAR Headquarters staff as chair of the Human Resources Committee. Mrs. Dillon served as Registrar General from 2001–2004, a time during which the National Society embarked upon an ever-expanding effort to digitize its genealogical and historical records, thus making them more accessible to researchers. As Colorado State Regent from 1995–1997, her State Regent’s Project involved the compilation and publication of an every member index of Colorado DAR members.
When Mrs. Dillon is not immersed in DAR work, she enjoys spending time with her six grandchildren, as well as her husband, Bill, their two daughters and two sons-in-law.
Memberships
John Frederick Dorman was born in Louisville, Kentucky, 25 July 1928, the only child of John Frederick Dorman and the former Sue Carpenter Miller. His father was the child of German immigrants; his mother was descended from colonists in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania who had migrated to Kentucky at the end of the eighteenth century. It was through this maternal ancestry that Fred developed the interest in Virginia genealogy that defined his career. Fred received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisville in 1950. He served from 1951 to 1953 in the United States Army’s Army Security Agency, the successor to the SSA (Signals Security Agency), which conducted military signals intelligence in the Second World War. He then served as assistant archivist at the College of William and Mary from 1953 to 1955, simultaneously earning a M.A. in library science from Emory University in 1955. In the following year he moved to Washington, D.C., and became an independent professional genealogist.
Fred was deeply involved in the leading educational and professional organizations of the genealogical world. He served the National Genealogical Society as its librarian in 1959-1960 and vice president in 1958-59 and 1968-70, and a councilor in the 1950s and again in the 1970s. He was one of the founding board members of the Board for Certification of Genealogists in 1964, and after many years as a trustee, served as its president in 1979-80 and executive director from 1982 to 1996. Fred was only thirty when he was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists in 1958; he was its treasurer from 1959 to 1966 and served as president from 1982 to 1985. He taught for many sessions of the National Institute of Genealogical Research (now Gen-Fed) in Washington, D.C., and the Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research at Samford University, Birmingham, Ala. Beyond these involvements, Fred saw participation and membership in hereditary societies as entirely consistent with the scholarly pursuit of genealogy. He was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Virginia, Sons of the American Revolution, Sons of the Revolution, Society of Colonial Wars, General Society of the War of 1812, Jamestowne Society, Descendants of Colonial Governors, and other hereditary societies. He served some of these in a volunteer capacity as a state- or national-level officer; he also served others professionally as the verifying genealogist.
Published
Fred’s first genealogical article was published in Louisville in 1949, while he was still an undergraduate (“Descendants of General Jonathan Clark, Jefferson County, Kentucky, 1750-1811,” Filson Club Historical Quarterly 23 [1949], nos. 1, 2, and 4). This launched a publication career that few, if any, will ever match. Aside from several comprehensive book-length genealogies of colonial Virginia families (Robertson, 1964; Farish, 1967; Preston, 1982; Epes, 1992-1999; Claiborne, 1995; and most recently Slaughter, still unfinished), he published a long list of articles in National Genealogical Society Quarterly, The American Genealogist, and other leading journals. He also published, as editor or co-editor, dozens of volumes of abstracts of Virginia county records and Revolutionary War pension applications. He edited the major reprint sets of Genealogies of Virginia Families from Tyler’s Quarterly, William and Mary Quarterly, and The Magazine of Virginia Genealogy published by Genealogical Publishing Company in the 1980s. In the 1980s, he co-edited the third edition of Adventurers of Purse and Person—the systematic genealogical summary of all Virginia settlers before 1625 who left descendants—and then went on to produce the substantially enlarged fourth edition, in three volumes in 2007. Throughout all this, Fred launched and sustained The Virginia Genealogist, which he published in 200 issues over fifty years from 1957 to 2006.
Other
John Frederick Dorman, CG (Emeritus), FASG, FNGS, FVGS, 73rd Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists.
Thomas Edward Jacks is a native of Huntsville, Alabama and grew up in the nearby town of New Market, where his family settled over 200 years ago. He is the second son of David Bartley Jacks, III and Barbara Lawhorn Jacks.
Tom attended Auburn University, where he earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Master of Science (Mechanical Engineering). He is currently Chief of the Mechanical Engineering Branch at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, MS. Tom has been recognized for his work in the agency’s rocket propulsion testing programs with numerous awards and commendations, most notably the NASA Silver Snoopy Award and the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal.
Tom is married to the former Tara Kathleen Turner, a Certified Public Accountant. Tom and Tara have four children—Collin, David, Clay, and Kate. They are active members of Christ Episcopal Church in Covington, Louisiana, and make their home in nearby Mandeville, Louisiana.
Memberships
* Ancient Heraldic and Chivalric Order of Albion
* Military Society of the War of 1812
* General Society of the War of 1812 (President General, 2014-2017)
* Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (Associate)
* General Society Sons of the Revolution
* Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
* National Society Sons of the American Revolution (Vice President General)
* General Society of Colonial Wars
* Order of Washington
* Order of Founders and Patriots of America
* Order of Indian Wars in the United States
* Sons of Confederate Veterans
* National Society of Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims (Treasurer General)
* Military Order of the Stars and Bars
* National Society Sons of American Colonists (Vice President General)
* Flagon and Trencher: Descendants of Colonial Tavern Keepers
* Dutch Colonial Society (Patroon)
* Hereditary Order of the Descendants of Loyalists and Patriots of the American Revolution
* Descendants of Washington's Army at Valley Forge
* Descendants of the Founders of New Jersey
* National Society of Sons of Colonial New England
* Hereditary Order of the First Families of Massachusetts
* First Families of Georgia, 1733-1797
* National Order of the Blue and Gray (Chaplain General)
* Order of the First Families of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 1636-1647
* Sons and Daughters of Antebellum Bench and Bar 1565-1861 (President General, 2020-2022)
* Presidential Families of America
* Winthrop Society
* National Society Sons and Daughters of Antebellum Planters (Advisory Council)
* Order of the First Families of Maryland
* Hereditary Order of Families of Presidents and First Ladies of the United States, (Secretary of Engraving)
* Guild of Colonial Artisans and Tradesmen 1607-1783
* Order of First Families of Connecticut 1633-1662
* Descendants of Sheriffs & Constables of Colonial & Antebellum America (Deputy General)
* Descendants of Early Postmasters 1607–1900
* Order of the First Families of the Alabama Territory, (Vice President General)
Charles Bryan Poland was born in San Diego, California, the eldest of four sons, to Clarence Beauregard Poland III and Margaret Albertine White Poland. Chuck resides in Roanoke, Virginia. He is the widower of Karen Iola Milner Poland whom he married in 1965. His son Carl Bryan Poland lives in Washington, DC. His daughter Jeanette Marie Poland is deceased.
Mr. Poland attended schools in California, Washington, and New York. Mr. Poland was Valedictorian of his class at Leigh High School in San Jose, California, He graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science, with honor.
Poland was employed by IBM for 30 years, in New York, Maryland, England, France and Japan. He began his career in large systems hardware and software development, and later shifted to technical support and marketing.
Mr. Poland is the Founder and Inaugural President General of two royal orders, Order of Alba, established for lineal descendants of the monarchs of independent Scotland, and Order of the House of Wessex, established for lineal descendants of the old Anglo-Saxon Kings (prior to the Norman Conquest). He was appointed as a Founder and Inaugural Officer of four additional orders
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Mr. Poland is an Eagle Scout. He is Past President of the Glen Condo Homeowners Association.
Brenton Simons was born in New Haven, Connecticut to Elwyn Simons and Mary Hoyt Fitch. He attended private schools in Connecticut and Switzerland; graduated from Aiken Preparatory School, Aiken, SC; Hamden Hall Country Day School, Hamden, CT; Bachelor of Science, College of Communication, Boston University; Master’s Degree, School of Education, Boston University.
Brenton Simons has changed the face of nonprofit-based genealogy in America by bringing the best scholarship to millions of users for more than a decade as President and CEO of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (2005 to present ~ www.AmericanAncestors.org) anchor location of the PBS series Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. He has orchestrated an historic expansion of the organization ― the founding genealogical institution in America and a frequent partner to national hereditary societies ― it now serves almost 400,000 members and millions of online users in 139 countries with 1.4 billion records. An award-winning author, he has been featured on CNN, FOX, BBC, and PBS, as well as in The New York Times and elsewhere. His most recent book, Boston Beheld, was hailed as “the book Jane Austen might have written had she run into Dickens after his return from his Boston visit of 1842.” He has presented genealogies to or hosted benefits in honor of former UK Prime Minister Sir John Major KG; Pulitzer Prize-winning authors David McCullough, Doris Kearns Goodwin, David Hackett Fischer, Stacy Schiff, and Joseph J. Ellis; filmmaker Ken Burns; actress Dame Angela Lansbury; biographer HRH Princess Michael of Kent; and many others.
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Public office: Vice Chair, Plymouth 400th Anniversary State Commission, by appointment of His Excellency, Charles D. Baker, Governor of Massachusetts, 2019 to present; Commission member, Commission to Review the Seal and Motto of Massachusetts, by appointment of His Excellency, Charles D. Baker, Governor of Massachusetts, 2021 to present.
Honors: The Award of Merit, American Association for State and Local History, 2006; The Spirit of 1812 Award, The National Society United States Daughters of 1812, 2016; Award of Recognition, Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Illinois, 2019.
Memberships: The New England Quarterly (Secretary of the Board of Directors); Plymouth 400 Inc. (Board of Directors); The Colonial Society of Massachusetts (former Council member); Massachusetts Historical Society (Fellow); American Antiquarian Society (elected Member); Boston Athenaeum (Proprietor); Somerset Club; Club of Odd Volumes, French Heritage Society (honorary). Episcopalian.
Sharon Kaufelt Stine was born in Virginia to Richard Henry Kaufelt and Lila Lee Thomas Kaufelt. She has one son, Richard Thomas Stine, and three grandsons. She attended Old Dominion University and has a BS in Secondary Education.
She is currently a part-time administrative aide with the Richmond Virginia Schools. She was previously engaged 29 years as a civil servant for the United States Navy. Her final assignment was as a Logistics Management Specialist serving to equip the United States ships in the Pacific and Atlantis fleets.
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Sharon lived where duty called in the United States of America, Kentria, Morocco, Chipiona De la Frontera, Rota, Spain, Wahiawa, Oahu, Hawaii, and Misawa and Saebo Japan. Mrs. Stine volunteered with the United States Navy Relief by creating hand crocheted baby garments and blankets for the newborns of Navy personnel. She has gifted her design of over 50 needle point national sash holders.
Authorships
Transcribed 7 volumes of original records for the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
Transcribed 13 volumes of original records of the War of 1812.
Martha Ellen Wright Tozer was born in Ozark, Alabama, to Mr. and Mrs. George Dewey Wright, Jr. She is married to David Knowlton Tozer and they have two children, George Knowlton Tozer and Henderson Wright Tozer.
Mrs. Tozer attended Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 1971 to 1975, where she graduated with a BA Degree in Art History and History. She attended Leysin American College, Leysin, Switzerland 1971, Diploma Program, French Language and History, The Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC 1977 to 1980, with Photography Concentration.
Professionally, in Washington, Ellen was employed by the Corcoran Gallery of Art as Director of Retail Operations, where she directed all operations of the Museum Shop business, including opening two off-site stores for the Corcoran and fourteen satellite stores. In 2009, she was asked to consult for a new museum store startup and oversaw the opening of the Katzen Arts Center at American University. She also traveled throughout the Baltic to consult for Boutique Sales for Princess Cruise Lines. Ellen then joined the staff of Tiffany & Co. as an Operations Professional working with inventory management, merchandising, customer service and business accounting. Of particular interest was working with the one of a kind pieces in the Tiffany Blue Book Collection.
In 2011, Ellen began at the National Geographic Society and is responsible for all aspects of the retail store business, including product development, buying, marketing, staffing and budgeting. She especially enjoys developing community relationships with artists, and traveling to source items from around the world for the business. She continues to enjoy her work at the Society and is an active member of the Museum Store Association and the American Alliance of Museums.
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Ellen has been involved at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Potomac, Maryland since 1987. She served four terms on the Vestry as Junior and Senior Warden and was a Board member of St. Francis Episcopal Day School. She has chaired the Potomac Country House Tour, the Auction, the Patrons and Friends Committee and the Art Show. She served as Convener for the Lay Committee for a new Associate Rector and a Seminarian. She is on Altar Guild, the Usher team and is a Chalice Bearer.
Jonathan Tufts Woods was born and raised in the Boston area in the seacoast town of Cohasset, Massachusetts. He is the son of Edward Franklin Woods and Lucia Russell Hedge. On August17, 1991 he married the former Alice Frances Hamilton Bloomer. They have two sons – Edward and Andrew. Jonathan attended Derby Academy, The Fessenden School and The Brooks School. He is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University with a BA in International Business.
Jonathan started his investment career in the Asset Management division of the French Investment Bank, Lazard Frères & Co. in New York City. After more than a decade, Jonathan moved his business to Merrill Lynch and then on to Smith Barney – which became Morgan Stanley in the midst of the Financial Crisis of 2008. In the spring of 2015, Jonathan launched “Woods Asset Management, LLC”. The company is an Independent Financial Services firm committed to world class, unbiased portfolio management for high-net worth investors, institutions and not-for-profit organizations.
After residing in Wilton, CT for 25 years, the Woodses relocated to Charleston, SC in the spring of 2021. They continue to be warmly welcomed by vast numbers of members of the Hereditary Society Community. And they are extremely grateful for the warm reception!
Memberships