MEMORIAL DAY
Revolutionary war history fi nds roots in Jamaica
BY ALLISON PLITT
June 4, 2019 will be the
100th anniversary of Congress
passing the 19th Amendment
to the Constitution, granting
women the right to vote.
In honor of this historical
change to the Constitution,
the Daughters of the American
Revolution, a global women’s
service organization dedicated
to promoting historic
preservation, education,
patriotism, have sponsored
an American History Essay
Contest about suffragettes
of the late 19th and early
20th century.
The Increase Carpenter
Chapter of the DAR, named
after a First Lieutenant in the
Jamaica Militia during the
Revolutionary War, worked
with Carl Ballenas, a history
teacher at the Immaculate
Conception Catholic Academy
in Jamaica, to sponsor the
essay contest to his sixth,
seventh, and eighth grade
students. Ballenas asked
his students to write about
the pros and cons of the
19th Amendment.
Besides teaching, Ballenas
is a local historian and author
of several books about the
different neighborhoods in
Queens. He is also President
of the Board for Friends of
Maple Grove Cemetery in
Kew Gardens. The essays
this year were judged by DAR
Schools Committee Chair,
Bernadette Kelly, and Lineage
Research Committee Chair,
Leslie Wickham.
This year’s winners were
sixth grader Ashleigh Remy,
seventh grader Mia Clemente,
and eighth grader Matthew
Alegenio. The Increase
Carpenter Chapter presented
the students with their awards
at King Manor Museum during
their May meeting.
Situated in Rufus King
Park in Jamaica, the Manor is
the home of a beloved founding
father, Rufus King. One of
the nation’s first politicians
to speak out against slavery,
King volunteered in the militia
during the Revolutionary War,
Eighth grader Matthew Alelgenio, sixth grader Ashleigh Remy, and
seventh grader Mia Clements from the Immaculate Conception
Academy in Jamaica. Photo by Allison Plitt
signed the constitution, and
represented New York in the
United States senate.
King’s home is now a
museum that has many objects
the patriot himself used over
two hundred years ago.
After receiving a tour of
the manor, students Remy,
Clemente, and Alegenio posed
in the parlor of his home for
a photo beneath a portrait of
King. When asked about about
what was most significant
for them personally in the
essay writing contest about
the 19th amendment, Remy
replied, “That women should
be treated equally in their pay
and how they vote.” Clemente
added that when women
find something they want,
they are stronger when they
band together.
Addressing both sides to
the issue, Alegenio observed,
“Feminism is a good thing and
I supported it in my essay, but
the con could be that there are
people with two opposing ideas
within a family. In the end, we
are all humans and will work
it out.”
The Increase Carpenter
Chapter, founded on June
25, 2012, gained recognition
as being the first DAR
chapter to be organized by a
woman of color, Wilhelmena
Rhodes Kelly. Some
5,000 African Americans
contributed to America’s fight
for independence.
Seven years later, the
Increase Carpenter Chapter
boasts some fifty members
and Kelly will be installed as
the New York State Regent
for DAR next month. “The
DAR is not just one thing – it’s
heritage, it’s preservation, it’s
commemoration, it’s women
issues,” explained Kelly
in 2012.
Leslie Wickham, who has
held several position within
the Increase Carpenter
Chapter over the years, will
become its next Regent this
June. She commented that
she hopes to extend the DAR’s
annual essay contest to more
schools in the Queens area.
Read more at QNS.com.
Dermody Triangle Memorial Ceremony
May 30, 7:30 PM
Meetup Location:
Captain Dermody Triangle, corner of 216th Street
& 48th Avenue, Bayside, NY 11364
Please join us as we lay a wreath at the site of one of
NYC’s oldest war memorials to honor the memory of
Bayside resident Captain William C. Dermody and all
those who bravely fought in the Civil War.
Captain Dermody was an outspoken abolitionist who
was mortally wounded at the Battle of Spotsylvania.
Representatives from his regiment, Company K, 67th
New York Infantry, will attend the ceremony,
providing an honor guard in period-correct
Civil War uniforms.
RSVP 718-352-1548
https://www.baysidehistorical.org/events
Photo courtesy of the 67th New York Infantry
On Memorial Day, we remember the
men and women of our armed services
and honor those who made the ultimate
sacrifi ce for our nation.
Congresswoman
Grace Meng
Paid for and authorized by Grace for New York
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