Lea Sinclair Filson was born in Salem, Illinois to Gerald Gene Sinclair and Ellen Idean Moore. She graduated from Eastern Illinois University with honors, earning both her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in speech communication. In addition to her work in genealogy, she has been a television anchor, radio talk show host, and is now President/CEO of See Plymouth the official tourism organization for the town and county of Plymouth, MA. She resides in Plymouth, MA on Leyden Street, known as the oldest Main Street in America, on the location the Mayflower Pilgrims settled. 

Lea Sinclair Filson is President of the National Pilgrim Memorial Meetinghouse Charitable Trust and is a former Governor General of the General Society Mayflower Descendants (GSMD), the prestigious international organization that has recorded lineal descent to the Mayflower Pilgrims since 1897. During her tenure, the Europe Mayflower Society was chartered with membership from seven countries. She is known for advancing and expanding the mission of GSMD through partnerships in the areas of lineage research and DNA with New England Historic and Genealogical Society, Family Search, many of the Mayflower Family Societies and others.

She is descended from Mayflower Pilgrims Isaac Allerton, Mary Norris Allerton, Mary Allerton Cushman, Degory Priest, Stephen Hopkins, Elizabeth Fisher Hopkins, Francis Cooke, and Edward Doty.

She is author to numerous articles about the Mayflower story, and has been featured on CNN, FOX Nation, BBC, and PBS. She has been quoted in the New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today. She regularly writes for the Mayflower Quarterly Magazine.

Memberships

• National Pilgrim Memorial Meetinghouse Charitable Trust (President)

• General Society Mayflower Descendants (former Governor General)

• Massachusetts Mayflower Society (Governor)

• New England Historic Genealogical Society (Councilor)

• Plimoth Patuxet Museum (Chairman’s Society)

• Pilgrim Society (Life Member)

• Plymouth Antiquarian Society (Life Member)

• Descendants of Cape Cod and the Islands 

• National Gavel Society

• Duxbury Daughters of the American Revolution

• Colonial Dames XVII Century (Robert Ruffin Chapter)

• Clan Sinclair

• Louisiana Mayflower Society (former Governor)

• Australia Mayflower Society

• Europe Mayflower Society

• Historic New England

• Massachusetts Historical Society

• Pilgrim Hopkins Heritage Society (former Governor)

• Allerton Family Society (former Deputy Governor)

• Pilgrim Francis Cooke Society

• Pilgrim Edward Doty Society

• New England Historical Society

Other Organizations

• Board of Plymouth 400 Commission

• Member of Plymouth 400th Anniversary State Commission

• Advisory Council on Travel and Tourism, appointed by Charles D. Baker, Governor of MA

• Massachusetts Marketing Partnership, appointed by Charles D. Baker, Governor of MA

• Head of Plymouth County Regional Tourism Council

• Board of Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce

William Pless Lunger was the son of Lt. Col. and Mrs. Richard T. Lunger. Of note, Pless’s father Richard was stationed in Los Alamos, N.M., where much planning for the hydrogen bomb unfolded. There is a Life Magazine, date April 12, 1954, with the first photos of the H-Bomb test (Operation Ivy). That epic event took place on the Pacific island of Elugelab (destroyed) in November 1952, in Eniwetok Atoll.  A photo shows Pless’s father wearing a headset performing the countdown, the once-classified typescript for which survives.

 Pless is married to Mary P. Lunger. He was a Major in the US Army Reserves, and completed his undergraduate work at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, earning a B.A. During the 70’s Pless worked at Ferris & Co.; at Thomson & McKinnon; Paine Webber Jackson & Curtis, until he founded Distinctive Real Estate Companies in McClean, Virginia in 1978.  The companies mortgage correspondents included Bank of America, Wachovia and Citibank.  For more than ten years, the company was rated in the top twenty independent real estate companies in the Washington metropolitan area by the Washington Business Journal.

Pless retired as President and Founder of Distinctive Real Estate Companies in 2015.  In addition to his work with the Society of the Cincinnati, Pless enjoys spending time with family.  He is a member of the Farmington Country Club of Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington Golf and Country Club in Arlington, Virginia.

Rebecca Wetherill Howard Madsen was born in Philadelphia, PA to Thomas Benton Howard and Gertrude Tiers Howard. She is married to Stephen Stewart Madsen and together they have four children Stephen Stewart Madsen, Jr., Lawrence Wetherill Madsen, Christina Wetherill Madsen and Benton Howard Madsen. She attended Princeton University, AB, 1978; the University of Cambridge, England, Honours B.A in Law, 1982 and the University of Virginia, LLM, 1983. Her occupations include attorney, wife and mother. She is also a Board member and serves as an advisor for numerous hereditary societies.

 Society Memberships

• Colonial Dames of America (President General)

• New England Historical & Genealogical Society (Member, Advisory Council)

• Free Quakers of Philadelphia (Recording Secretary)

• Hereditary Order of the Society of Colonial Governors (Councilor General)

• Order of the Three Crusades (Troubadour General)

• Order of the Crown of Charlemagne (Board of Councilors)

• Baronial Order of Magna Carta, Templar Knights

• Order of the Merovingian Dynasty

• National Society Americans of Royal Descent

 Other Memberships

• New York Yacht Club

• Cosmopolitan Club

• Harvard Club of New York

• New York Genealogical and Biographical Society

• Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, London, England

• Accademia della Cucina

• IBLA Foundation (Board Member and New York Gala Co-chair)

• Central Presbyterian Church

• Blue Hill Troupe

 Other Interests and Accomplishments

• Dance

• Vocalist, The Hip Replacements (rock band)

• Vocalist, Sundance (rock band)

• Vocalist, Solo Cabarets, some classical performance

• Lead Vocalist, The Hip Replacements (rock band)

• Institute of Classical Art and Architecture, graduate of Beaux-Arts Atelier program

• Member, Parish Council, St. Bartholomew’s Church

• Knickerbocker Greys, Past President

• Yoga, certified instructor

• Various US Sailing certifications

• Languages: French (Diplome de Langue, Alliance Francaise, Paris); Italian

• President, Selwyn College, University of Cambridge Graduate Students Society, 1981-1982 (first woman and first American ever elected); Student representative to College Board, 1981-1982

Betty Kathryn Keener Samaras was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, to the late Claud H. Keener, Sr. and Violet Sampson Keener. She has been married to John Michael Samaras, Sr., for 58 years. Together they have three children Veronica Lynn Samaras (Richie Sutton), John Michael, Samaras, Jr. (Ann Smith) and Lisa Samaras Bobbitt Lucas, ten grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Mrs. Samaras and her husband have been residents of Valdosta, Georgia, for the last thirty-seven years.

Mrs. Samaras is a graduate of Guilford High School; she attended Application State University and is a graduate of Valdosta State University with a BS Degree in Primary Education. 

Memberships

• The Hereditary Order of Descendants of Loyalist and Patriots of the American Revolution (Honorary Governor General) 

• Continental Society Daughters of Indian Wars (Organizing Governor, Bushy Creek Chapter; Honorary Governor, Georgia Society; Former First Deputy Governor General) 

• National Society Daughters of the American Colonists (Organizing Regent, Colonial Governor Chapter; Honorary Regent, Georgia Society; Marshal, National Society; State Regent's Club) 

• National Society Daughters of the Children of the American Colonists (Life member)

• National Society United States Daughters of 1812 (Honorary President, Valdosta Chapter; Honorary President, Georgia Society; Past President of State Presidents Past and Present, National Chairman’s Club)

• National Society Daughters of Colonial Wars (Honorary President, Georgia Society)

• National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (Secretary, Outstanding Junior, Waxhaws Chapter; Honorary Regent, General James Jackson Chapter; District Director; State Curator; Georgia Society Chorus; National Society; Chorus, Secretary; Georgia Regent's Club; National Theme Award for the American Heritage Committee) 

• United Daughters of the Confederacy (Secretary, Lancaster Chapter; President, Valdosta Chapter; Great Granddaughters Club)

• Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War

• Daughters of the Union Veterans of Civil War Ancestor Star

• Descendants of Colonial Mothers (Founding Historian; Recording Secretary General) 

• Descendants of Continental Colonial Officers (Founding Member; Adjutant)

• Descendants of Early First Responders (Charter Member)

• Guild of Colonial Artisans and Tradesmen (Former Recording Secretary General;  

Corresponding Secretary General)

• National Society Dames of the Court of Honor (Page)

• National Society Sons and Daughters of Antebellum Planters (First Deputy Governor General) 

• National Society Daughter of the Union 1861-1865

• Order of Bacon’s Rebellion 1675-1677 (Historian; Parliamentarian) 

• Order of Founders of the Granville District 1663-1763 (Secretary) 

• Sons and Daughters of Colonial Antebellum Bench and Bar

• Society of the 1704 Virginia Quit Rents (Librarian)

• Civil War Round Table of Cobbs County

• Friends of Friends (Associate Member)

• Hereditary Order of the Red Dragon (Honorary Member) 

• National Order of the Blue and Gray

• National Society Southern Dames of America (Honorary President, Piedmont Wiregrass Chapter, Former First Vice President, Georgia Society)

• The National Gavel Society 

Contributing Editor

The Lovingood Family, co-authored by Noah and Bea Lovingood

Co-Indexed

• The Tabernacle United Methodist Church Cemetery, Mattie A. Plyler and Betty K. Samaras

• The Unity Methodist Church Cemetery, Mattie A. Plyler and Betty K. Samaras

Other

Mrs. Samaras is a life member of New Garden Friends Meeting. She is a 36-year member and Honorary President of Amaryllis Garden Club, a Life Member of the Garden Club of Georgia and the National Garden Club. She maintains both floral and vegetable gardens. She was a grade school and high school Girl Scout, and a leader for fifteen years. She has been a member of the Lake Park Methodist Church for twenty years and has served as the Bazaar Co-Chairman, Historian and Librarian. Her hobbies include gardening, travel, grandchildren, crafts, genealogy and reading.

Stephen Payson Shaw, a native of  Massachusetts, is the ​second son of John Carlyle Shaw and Nancy Rood Bristol.  Stephen began his genealogical journey when he was 13 years old due to a 7th grade project to create a family crest. He thought to himself, “why should I create one when I have them hanging on the walls at home?” At that point Stephen really began to dig into and build out the research that his great-grandmothers had completed when they joined the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution many decades earlier.

At 16 with a fresh driver's license, Stephen began regular trips to the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston.  After initiating his career in the tech industry in Hartford, CT, Stephen would go to the state library on most Saturdays to do additional research, at which time he became familiar with hereditary societies, joining the SAR at the age of 25.

Stephen is an avid hiker. He has redlined the entire 800-plus miles of the Connecticut Blue Trail system and has hiked all 115 of 4,000-footers in the northeastern United States, as well as the hundred highest peaks in New England.  Currently, Stephen has completed 60% of the redline of the 1,400 miles of the White Mountain guidebook and is 25% into the grid of the 48 4,000 footers in the White Mountains.

Society Memberships

• General Society Sons of the Revolution (President, Connecticut Society)

• General Society of Colonial Wars

• General Society of the War of 1812 (President, Connecticut Society)

• Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States

• National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (President, Connecticut Society)

• Order of Cloak and Dagger (President General)

• Order of Descendants of Pirates and Privateers (President General)

• Order of the First World War

• Order of the Founders and Patriots of America (Genealogist General)

• Society of Descendants of the Founders of the New Haven Colony

• Society of the Cincinnati (President, Connecticut Society)

• Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford (Counselor)

• Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

• Son of a Witch (President General)

Nathaniel Lane Taylor holds a Ph.D. in Medieval History from Harvard, where he taught history as a junior faculty member for several years, with visiting appointments at, among other schools, Brown University and the University of Kentucky. Since 2015, he has been Editor and Publisher of The American Genealogist. Genealogy and history publications range from medieval Spain, France, and Britain, to colonial New England and Virginia, with special topics including testamentary probate, medieval-to-modern descents, heraldry, and the history of genealogy. He is Registrar of the Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and serves some hereditary societies professionally as the genealogical officer, and participates in others as a member and (volunteer) officer. He was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists in 2011 and he was its Secretary from 2019 to 2022 and became Vice-President in 2022. He has spoken frequently on genealogy and heraldry in varied settings in the United States and abroad.

Memberships

Hereditary societies (member and volunteer officer) 

• Descendants of the Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the Kings of Britain (Herald/Genealogist; Archivist)

• MOLLUS (Registrar, R.I. Commandery) 

• Order of the Founders and Patriots of America (Registrar, R.I. Society) 

• Society of Colonial Wars (past Historian, R.I. Society) 

• Society of the Cincinnati (New Hampshire) 

• General Society War of 1812 (Mass.) 

• Sons of the American Revolution (RI) 

Hereditary Societies (genealogical officer)

• Descendants of the Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the Kings of Britain 

• NSCDA in the State of Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations 

• Order of the Crown in America 

• Order of the Three Crusades 

• NSARD 

Other Organizations

• Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (Registrar) 

• American Society of Genealogists (Fellow, 2011–; Secretary 2019-2022; Vice President 2022-)

Authorships

• The American Genealogist (Editor and Publisher; principal ongoing position since 2015) 

• An American Taylor Family: Descendants of Richard Taylor (d. 1679) of Old Rappahannock County in the Northern Neck of Virginia for Seven Generations (the author: 1992-2022) 

• A Roll of Arms Registered by the Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society: Eleventh Part (Boston: NEHGS, 2023)

Numerous articles and book reviews in journals including: 

• The American Genealogist

• The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 

• The Genealogist 

• Mayflower Descendant 

• Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies 

• Anuario de Estudios Medievales 

• Haskins Society Journal 

• Medieval Encounters

Other Notes

Dr. Taylor was born in Concord, Massachusetts, to the late Marvin Hunter Taylor and Elaine Doris Tucker Taylor. He resides in Rhode Island and New Hampshire, is married, and has four children. He is a musician by avocation and was formerly the organist and music director at an Episcopal church in Rhode Island.

Mary Robin Redfearn Towns was born in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia to Clarence Elisha Redfearn, JD, and Phyllis Camille Rycroft. She was married to the late COL Robert Forrest Towns. They have four children and eleven grandchildren, and one great grandchild. Towns is anticipating the arrival of another grandchild in 2024.

Mrs. Towns graduated from the University of Georgia in 1973, with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). She has held the following positions: Narcissus Interiors, Interior Designer, 1984–2011; Verifying Genealogist, The Colonial Dames of America, New York, NY; and Christopher Robin Vintage, Antiques, owner.

Memberships

• The National Gavel (President 2019-2022)

• National Society Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

• National Society Colonial Dames, Seventeenth Century (National Chair)

• National Society Dames of the Court of Honor (State Registrar)

• National Society Daughters of American Colonists (State Chaplain; State Parliamentarian)

• National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (National Vice Chair; Recipient of “Outstanding Regent” Award)

• National Society Daughters of Colonial Wars (National Chair)

• National Society Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America (State President; National Councillor)

• National Society Descendants of American Farmers

• National Society Descendants of Colonial Indentured Servants (Registrar General)

• National Society New England Women

• National Society of Saints & Sinners

• National Society Sons and Daughters of Antebellum Planters

• National Society Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims (State Governor)

• National Society Southern Dames of America (National President)

• Continental Society Daughters of Indian Wars (Registrar General)

• Descendants of Early Postmasters 1607-1900 (Founding Postmaster General; Registrar General)

• Descendants of Sheriffs & Constables in Colonial & Antebellum America (Registrar General)

• Dutch Colonial Society (President)

• First Families of North Carolina

• Georgia Salzburger Society/Greater Atlanta Salzburger Society (Board of Directors)

• Guild of Artisans and Tradesmen 1607-1783 (Chaplain General)

• The Huguenot Society of South Carolina

• The National Huguenot Society (Recording Secretary General; State President)

• Magna Charta Dames & Barons (State Regent)

• Pirates and Privateers

• Presidential Families of America (President General)

• Order of Wessex

• Order of Fossers (Chief Coroner)

• Order of the Founders of North America (Deputy Vicountress)

• Order of Bacon’s Rebellion (Second Deputy Governor; Registrar General)

• Order of Steel Magnolias (Registrar General)

• Order of the Southern Cross

• Order of the Sovereigns of Ancient Scandinavia (Chaplain)

• Order of the 1704 Virginia Quit Rents (Recording Secretary)

• Purrysburg Society

• Sons and Daughters of Colonial and Antebellum Bench and Bar (President General)

• Descendants of El Cid (Fourth Deputy Governor; Recording Secretary General)

• Descendants of the Monarch of Rheims (Lady of the Court)

• The Colonial Dames of America (Founding President, Georgia Piedmont Chapter; CDA Board of Proprietors; Recipient of CDA “Van Rensselaer Award”)

• United Daughters of the Confederacy (Chapter President)

• United States Daughters of 1812 (State Chaplain)

• Founders Fellowship

• National Society SAR National Ladies Auxiliary (National President)

• National Society Founders of Places of Worship in America

• Military Officers Association of America

Social

• The Erudite Study Club, Athens, GA (Founder, President)

• Peachtree Racket Club, Atlanta, GA

• The Army and Navy Club, Washington, DC

• Athens Country Club, Athens, GA

• Jennings Mill Country Club, Athens, GA

• Country Club of Columbus, Columbus, GA

• Chattahoochee River Club, Columbus, GA

Genealogy interests

• Prepared more than 1,000 approved hereditary society applications for others, pro bono.

• Prepared applications and supplementals approved for more than 50 of her Colonial ancestors.

• Served as Judge for Texas Genealogical College, 2016.

• Co-founded in 2008 - The Georgia Colonial Debutante Ball (DAR-SAR-CAR)

Community Service

• Opera Athens (Founding Director, Board of Directors)

• Athens Symphony (Board of Directors 1994-2014; Vice President Athens Symphony Guild, President, Gala Chair)

• Junior League of Athens, GA, Inc. (Sustaining Member; Community Advisory Board Recipient of the “Spirit of the League” award)

• Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation, Athens, GA (Board of Directors; Gala Chair)

• Athens Welcome Center & Church-Waddel-Brumby House Museum (Chair)

• Athens Museum House Association (Board of Directors)

• Alpha Gamma Delta Fraternity (Gamma Alpha Chapter, The University of Georgia Recipient of “Arc of Epsilon Pi” award; President, House Association (6 terms); President - Alumnae Chapter)

• Minerva Club / Sigma Alpha Epsilon (Mothers Club) - The University of Georgia

• The Ladies Garden Club [First Garden Club in America] Athens (President)

• Foxhall Flower Show, Atlanta (Board of Directors)

• The Girl Scouts of America (member; leader)

• The State Botanical Garden of Georgia (Friends of the Garden member)

• The Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Director’s Circle member, Friends of the Museum (Board Member)

• The University of Georgia President’s Club (Founding member)

• St. Mary’s Hospital Auxiliary, Athens (Vice President; Recording Secretary)

• American Cancer Society Auxiliary, Athens

• Junior League of Columbus, GA, Inc. (Board of Directors)

• Girls Club of Columbus, Inc., Columbus, GA (Board of Directors)

• Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA (Museum Guild, Docent)

• St. Francis Hospital Auxiliary, Columbus, GA

• Wreath Across America (Area Chair)

Authorships

• The Journal, Editor, Newsletter magazine of National Society Southern Dames of America

• The Gazette, Editor, Newsletter magazine of Presidential Families of America

• Dutch Dispatch, Editor, Newsletter magazine of Dutch Colonial Society

• The Post Rider, Editor, Newsletter magazine Descendants of Early Postmasters 1607-1900

• Designed and edited numerous hereditary society, garden club, and social organization directories. Awarded The National Garden Club “Best Yearbook” National Award; awarded Garden Club of Georgia “Best Yearbook” award, Georgia DAR “Best Yearbook” award (4 years)

• Contributing researcher for “Ancestors of William Harris and Harriett Amanda Davenport and their Related Families” by Hulsey, David and Donna Harris.

Listed In (Publications)

• Garrett, Franklin “Atlanta and Environs” Volume III

• DeVane, E.M. “DeVanes 1798-1975”

• Gnann, P.R. “Georgia Salzburgers and Allied Families”

• Redfearn, Daniel Huntley “History of the Redfearn Family”

• Redfern, Michael Robert “The History of the Redfearn Family Revisited”

• Shaw, M. “History of Cook County (GA)”

Other Notes 

Member, Ashford Memorial Methodist Church, Watkinsville, GA

Denise Doring VanBuren stepped into the role of President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution equipped with the wisdom and experience gained during concurrent careers in the volunteer and professional realms. In more than three decades as a DAR member, she has held leadership positions including First Vice President General, Organizing Secretary General and New York State Regent. While carrying out this important work, Mrs. VanBuren simultaneously spent 15 years serving as editor in chief of the DAR publications, American Spirit magazine and Daughters newsletter.

Mrs. VanBuren’s robust professional career further enhances her skill set as a leader, businesswoman and communicator. A former radio and television news anchor, in 1993 she found a new professional home at Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation, where she rose to the position of Vice President of Public Relations. She retired with 26 years of service in 2020 as the longest-serving female officer in company history.

Each aspect of Mrs. VanBuren’s accomplished career informs her approach to leading the 185,000 members working to further the DAR mission in 3,000 chapters across the United States and abroad. As Chief Executive Officer of the nonprofit organization, Mrs. VanBuren also supervises a staff of 140 at the historic DAR National Headquarters complex in Washington, D.C.

In addition to the ongoing responsibility to safeguard the financial stability of the National Society and provide leadership training across all levels of the organization, Mrs. VanBuren brings ambitious goals to her term as President General. The VanBuren Administration aims to complete the final phase of the DAR Constitution Hall restoration, increase membership to 200,000 by June 2022, and establish a dedicated funding stream for historic preservation projects by refocusing the Special Projects Grants Committee as the DAR Historic Preservation Grants Program.

The theme “Rise and Shine for America” encapsulates the overarching vision of the VanBuren Administration: to encourage members to rise up and do good works in their communities, and to empower them to take ownership of the DAR story. By harnessing the power of community outreach, as well as traditional and new media, chapters will shine, thereby helping more women discover the passion and purpose DAR membership can provide. Succeeding on these fronts will not only enrich countless communities, but also correct the common misconception that most DAR members are elderly, inactive and preoccupied with social events.

“We are the living embodiment of the promise of America,” said Mrs. VanBuren. “For too long, we have allowed others to paint a picture of us that does not reflect our vibrancy and accomplishments. I hope that we can together strive to gain more exposure and appreciation for all that DAR does around the world.”

Her own DAR journey has provided a continuing education in the history of the 130-year-old women’s volunteer service organization. A devotee of historic preservation and local history, Mrs. VanBuren initially connected with the DAR mission in 1988 as a new member of Melzingah Chapter, which owns the circa-1709 Madam Brett Homestead in Beacon, N.Y. Her interest soon expanded into other facets of the organization’s work, such as supporting active-duty military personnel and veterans—two areas of personal significance to Mrs. VanBuren, a Blue Star Mother who is also the daughter of a World War II U.S. Navy navigator.

In recent years, Mrs. VanBuren took part in a trio of big-picture projects that offered the opportunity to illustrate what DAR does, what the organization stands for and what its members have accomplished. Participating in the celebration of DAR’s 125th Anniversary, being involved with the America 250! Committee, and helping to shape the Celebrate America Committee, now known as the Service to America Committee, all provided points of inspiration for the VanBuren Administration’s theme.

Mrs. VanBuren, a cancer survivor, attributes her tireless work ethic to the late-1980s diagnosis that inspired her to make the most of each day. That philosophy applies not only to DAR, but also to her extensive community involvement in the Hudson River Valley, where her ancestors settled 400 years ago. Currently, Mrs. VanBuren sits on the boards of directors of organizations such as Boscobel House and Gardens, Fishkill Rural Cemetery and Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College. She has also authored four books.

In recognition of her wide-ranging impact in the areas of philanthropy, historic preservation and business, Mrs. VanBuren has received many honors and awards, from City of Beacon Volunteer of the Year in 1999 to the Washington’s Headquarters Woman of History Award in 2016 to induction into the State University of New York at New Paltz Business Hall of Fame in 2018.

Her election as DAR President General ranks among the highest honors to date. For Mrs. VanBuren, the joyful obligation to support the National Society’s critical mission of service spun into a thread that runs through the fabric of her entire adult life.

“Every opportunity that I have been given to serve has made me a better person, member and citizen,” Mrs. VanBuren said. “Our mission serves as a beacon for me in my personal life as to what truly matters when each day is done.”

Apart from her professional and philanthropic pursuits, Mrs. VanBuren treasures time spent with her three adult sons, all past C.A.R. members. She and her husband, Christopher G. Barclay, devote the majority of their free time, energy and savings to restoring two quirky, 19th-century historic homes—a former dairy farm in the Hudson River hamlet of Chelsea and a cottage in the Adirondack Mountains.