By Sarah Stephens
Elmore Autauga News
The Ellerslie home off Edgewood Road in Millbrook was built by Bolling Hall circa 1818, a year before Alabama became a state.
Within those walls and across the acres of land is so much history right here in our area. Bolling Hall and his family were some of the early pioneers and made a dramatic impact on what is now known as Millbrook and the surrounding area. The family donated land for the first school locally, and it stood where the First United Methodist Church is located today on Edgewood Road.
On Nov. 2, the public is invited to visit the historic home as well as the Revolutionary War era cemetery, with an event sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Captain William Bibb Chapter.
A ceremony will be held to honor Real Daughter Mary Bibb Hall Hall by dedicating a memorial marker. The marker for her father, Revolutionary War Patriot Bolling Hall, will also be rededicated at Ellerslie, at the Hall-Rawlinson Cemetery located at 2650 Edgewood Road in Millbrook.
A Real Daughter is the actual daughter of a person who served in the Revolutionary War. The early chapters of DAR were proud to have a Real Daughter among their members, and the organization formed a committee to encourage them to join and help those in need. Many of the eligible women had died by the time the DAR was founded in 1890. There were 767 Real Daughters across the USA.
The ceremony, featuring a presentation by the Sons of the American Revolution State Color Guard, the SAR Honor Guard (all dressed in Revolutionary War period uniforms) will be held at Ellerslie, the Hall-Rawlinson Cemetery in Millbrook, Alabama. A family descendant, Jeanne Hall Ashley, will share family history. The public is invited to see this colorful and dignified tribute.
Funds from the National Society DAR President General’s Project have allowed DAR chapters to inform their communities about the founding of our nation and the Patriots that achieved American Independence through the Stars and Stripes Forever Celebration Grants. “The Captain William Bibb Chapter is proud to celebrate America’s 250th birthday through honoring Real Daughter Mary Bibb Hall Hall and Revolutionary War Patriot Bolling Hall,” says Chapter Registrar, Cheryll Bass. “We are honored to be a recipient, and the funds will greatly impact our community’s historic preservation.”
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a non-profit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization whose members can trace their lineage to an individual who contributed to securing American independence during the Revolutionary War. Today’s DAR is dynamic and diverse, with over 185,000 members in 3,000 chapters in the United States and abroad. DAR members annually provide millions of hours of volunteer service to their local communities across the country and world. DAR chapters participate in projects to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. Over one million members have joined the organization since its founding in 1890.
If you are interested in learning more about DAR membership, visit www.facebook.com/captwmbibbnsdar
or contact [email protected]
For information about SAR email James E. “Skip” Dotherow
and the Isaac Ross Society Children of the American Revolution, contact Kathleen Tobias [email protected]
