About Us

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR or DAR) is a non-profit, non-political, volunteer women's service organization, comprising 3,000 chapters and over 185,000 members.

Governor William Paca Chapter, NSDAR, was organized on September 3, 1916, and chartered on December 20, 1917. We are the eleventh oldest chapter in the State of Maryland. The chapter's namesake, William Paca, was born in 1740 near Abingdon, in Harford County, Maryland. Paca was a member of the First and Second Continental Congresses of 1774 and 1775; he signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. During the Revolutionary War, he spent his own money to provision Maryland troops. William Paca served as the Governor of Maryland from 1782 until 1785. In 1788, at the Maryland Convention, Paca helped to ratify the Constitution of the United States; in 1789, President George Washington appointed him as a federal district judge, where he served until his death in 1799. William Paca was married to Mary Chew, a "wealthy beauty" from Annapolis, Maryland. Mary Chew died in 1774; three years later, he married Ann Harrison, a Philadelphia heiress, who died in 1780.

Membership: The Governor William Paca Chapter NSDAR is 93 members strong and growing! Any woman is eligible for membership in DAR who is no less than eighteen years of age and can prove lineal, bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence.

What We Do: The DAR is dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America's future through better education for children. Nationally, DAR members volunteer more than 60,000 hours annually to veteran patients, award over $150,000 in scholarships and financial aid each year to students, and support schools for the underprivileged with annual donations exceeding one million dollars.

Governor William Paca Chapter, NSDAR, Vision Statement: "To promote American history education, instill a sense of patriotism among Harford County's citizens, and further historic preservation."

We would love to talk to you about becoming a member of the National Society!