Texas Society, Sons of the American Revolution
Galveston, Galveston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1889, during the Centennial of the inauguration of George Washington as first President of the United States, a group of Revolutionary War soldiers' descendants gathered in New York to form a society to promote awareness of the Revolutionary War period. Named the National Society, Sons of the American Revolution, the organization inspired the formation of a state society in Texas in 1896. Meeting at the Tremont hotel, which formerly stood at this site, a group of Texans organized the Texas Society, Sons of the American Revolution on December 8, 1896, electing as president former speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Ira Hobart Evans (1844-1922). The Texas society was admitted into the national society in 1897, and the founding group became the state's first chapter, Galveston No. 1. Since the late 1920s, over thirty chapters have been established across the state. Texas society chapters have been active in promoting awareness of the Revolutionary War period through the pursuit of patriotic, educational, and historical objectives.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
During the 1889 centennial of George Washington's inauguration, descendants of Revolutionary War soldiers formed the national Sons of the American Revolution to keep the founding era's memory alive. Inspired by that movement, a group of Texans met at Galveston's Tremont Hotel on December 8, 1896, to organize the Texas Society, electing former Texas House speaker Ira Hobart Evans as president. Admitted to the national body in 1897 as Galveston No. 1, it seeded more than thirty chapters across the state.
Why it matters
The society's founding shows how Americans a century after independence worked to preserve and teach the Revolution's legacy, weaving national memory into local civic life.
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Related people
- · Ira Hobart Evans
Themes & tags
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