Hendrick Hudson Chapter marks founder Margaret Mulford Collier's grave

Collier founded the chapter in 1895 with other women from the Hudson area and became its first regent. By 1900 the chapter had 90 members.

She and others had previously, in 1893, joined Kingston’s Wiltwyck chapter, after the National Association’s founding in 1890.

In 1897, under Collier’s regency, the chapter established the first public library in Hudson, the Hendrick Hudson Free Library.

Margaret Mulford Collier was born in 1861 to James Mulford and Mary DuBois. She was directly descended from David Mulford Sr., who was born in Suffolk County on Long Island but emigrated to Rhinebeck in Dutchess County.

He was a signer of the Articles of Association in Dutchess County in 1775. He died in 1778 and is buried at the Dutch Reformed Church in Hyde Park, his grave marked by Beacon’s Melzingah chapter of the DAR as that of a veteran of the American Revolution. Margaret’s lineage, and much of the information about her ancestor David, is confirmed in the database at the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.

The Articles of Association were drawn up at a meeting of the First Continental Congress in 1774 in response to British economic sanctions. Colonists such as Mulford signed on to the Articles, which included this statement:

“... we ... do associate under the ties of religion, honor, and love to our country to adopt and endeavor to carry into execution, whatever measures may be recommended by the Continental Congress, or resolved upon by our Provincial Convention, for the purpose of preserving our Constitution, and opposing the execution of the several arbitrary and oppressive acts of the British Parliament, until a reconciliation between Great Britain and America on constitutional principles (which we most ardently desire) can be obtained; and that we will in all things follow the advice of our General Committee, respecting the purpose aforesaid, the preservation of peace and good order, and the safety of individuals and private property.”

Proof of David Mulford’s signing of the Articles is found in Volume 3 of Peter Force’s American Archives 4th Series.

Collier’s portrait hangs in the chapter house, which is the Historic Robert Jenkins House, at 113 Warren Street in Hudson. Renowned artist Frederic E Church, who may have been a relative, made a generous donation towards its creation. Collier died in 1915.

The house was built in 1811 by Robert Jenkins, son of Proprietor Seth Jenkins, and in 1900 the chapter received the house as a gift from Jenkins’s granddaughter and DAR member Frances Chester White Hartley. In 1900 it became the site of the city’s first and only free public library, losing that distinction only in 1959 when the Hudson Area Library was established. The historical and genealogical library remains open to the public and still is free of charge. The house also features a museum.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is a nonprofit, nonpartisan women’s volunteer service organization welcoming eligible women without regard to race, creed, or religion. The Hendrick Hudson Chapter includes 130 members who trace their lineage back to a patriot in the American Revolution — whether serving as soldier, shopkeeper, or seamstress. The mission of the DAR is to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism.

The chapter and the chapter house can be accessed at hudson-dar.org, facebook.com/HudsonDAR, instagram.com/robertjenkinshouse, hendrickhudsonchapterdar@gmail.com and 518-828-9764.