In 1989, the Rumford Chapter and Abigail Webster Chapter merged to form the Rumford-Webster Chapter.
Twelve years later, on June 21, 2001, the Buntin Chapter merged with the new chapter, resulting in the Buntin-Rumford-Webster Chapter.
Regent | Term |
Janet Marion Anderson | 2001-2003 |
Janet Witham Fortnam | 2003-2010 |
Ann Hasbany | 2010-2016 |
Beverley Smith | 2016-2018 |
Kathleen A. Sternenberg | 2018-2022 |
Buntin Chapter (1896 - 2001)
The Buntin Chapter was organized in Allenstown, New Hampshire, on December 5, 1896, by organizing regent Sarah Dearborn. The chapter was named in honor of Captain Andrew Buntin of Allenstown.
Buntin was born in 1737 to Robert Buntin. At the age of ten, Andrew, his father, and another man named James Carr, were plowing on the bank of the Merrimack River when they were attacked by Indians. Carr was killed, and the Buntins were taken captive. They were marched to Canada, and sold to a trader in Montreal, where they remained in captivity for three years before making their escape.
During the Revolutionary War, Buntin was promoted to the rank of captain. He commanded one of the first New Hampshire companies of militia and led them at the Battle of White Plains. Captain Buntin was mortally wounded in that battle and died on October 28, 1776.
The Buntin Chapter changed its name to the Captain Andrew Buntin Chapter in 1992.
Regent | Term |
Sarah F. Dearborn | 1896-1898 |
Mary J. Munsey | 1898-1900 |
Annette J. Dowst | 1900-1902 |
Mary W. Truesdell | 1902-1904 |
Rosa E. Emery | 1904-1907 |
Almeda H. Fisher | 1907-1909 |
Sarah E. W. Cochran | 1909-1910 |
Mary S. Head | 1910-1912 |
Metta G. Lane | 1912-1914 |
Edith S. Wattles | 1914-1916 |
Helen E. Thompson | 1916-1918 |
Emily M. Martin | 1918-1920 |
Mary J. Bailey | 1920-1922 |
Grace S. Marston | 1922-1924 |
Alice F. Tripp | 1924-1926 |
Lizzie F. Fowler | 1926-1928 |
Mary A. Rand | 1928-1930 |
Pearl R. Parmenter | 1930-1932 |
Sarah B. Norton | 1932-1934 |
Grace M. BelleIsle | 1934-1936 |
Fannie W. Robinson | 1936-1938 |
Susie Frye Stevens | 1938-1939 |
Susan A. Poor Colby | 1939-1941 |
Emma E. Ward Knapp | 1941-1944 |
Mary A. Rand | 1944-1948 |
Marguerite Fowler French | 1948-1949 |
Dorothy Knapp Child | 1949-1951 |
Ruth Whitney Hadley Beal | 1951-1952 |
Mary Roby Carr | 1952-1953 |
Ruth Whitney Hadley Beal | 1953-1955 |
Alice Mildred Foss | 1955-1961 |
Ann Woodbury Tuttle French | 1961-1962 |
Pearl A. Sargent Grimes | 1962-1968 |
Ruth Evelyn Richards Knight | 1968-1971 |
Lucy Clarisa Currier | 1971-1974 |
Lucy Dearborn Cutting | 1974-1975 |
Barbara Jeanne Buck Brock | 1975-1977 |
Dorothy Simmons Kennedy | 1977-1980 |
Beatrice Helen Shephard Blackmar | 1980-1983 |
Helen Elizabeth Carter Stevens | 1983-1989 |
Marilyn Lois Stevens Rook | 1989-1990 |
Janet Marion Anderson | 1990-2001 |
Rumford Chapter (1898 - 1989)
The Rumford Chapter was organized in Concord, New Hampshire, on October 26, 1898, by organizing regent Helen W. White. The Rumford Chapter's name was based on two factors. First, the town was incorporated in 1733 as Rumford, and was known as such until the name was changed to Concord in 1765.
Second was the influence of Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford (left). Thompson arrived in Rumford as a nineteen-year-old teacher. Soon after his arrival, he married the well-connected, and wealthy, widow Sarah Rolfe. The couple had a daughter, Sarah, in 1774. A loyalist, Thompson removed to London after the Revolutionary War, and in 1784 was knighted. In 1792, Sir Thompson was created a Count of the Holy Roman Empire, and chose the name "Count Rumford" for his former home in the colonies.
In 1797, Count Rumford's daughter Sarah (right) became the first American woman to be accepted as a Countess. Upon her death in 1852, Countess Rumford willed her estate and family home to create an asylum for motherless girls in the Concord area.
The Rolfe and Rumford Home opened in 1880 as a home for young girls who could not live with their families. The Rolfe and Rumford Home closed in 2009 after 129 years of offering a safe haven for young women.
Regent | Term |
Helen E. White | 1898-1901 |
Laura S. Hill | 1901-1905 |
Fanny E. Minot | 1905-1908 |
Jessie B. Harriman | 1908-1910 |
Mary E. Demond | 1910-1912 |
Helen M. Ayers | 1912-1914 |
Jennie C. Rolfe | 1914-1917 |
Eliza D. Denning | 1917-1918 |
Mabel F. Lawrence | 1918-1920 |
Alice H. Owen | 1920-1922 |
Alice L. Dana | 1922-1924 |
Eva S. Spencer | 1924-1926 |
Annie H. Wilkins Carroll | 1926-1928 |
Mary Rolfe Jackman | 1928-1930 |
Ethel M. Storrs | 1930-1932 |
Fannie S. Cummings | 1932-1934 |
Ethel Mitchell Newton | 1934-1936 |
Carolyn D. Crowell | 1936-1938 |
Martha J. Nelson | 1938-1940 |
Armine Morton Ingham | 1940-1942 |
Effie M. Page | 1942-1944 |
Lois Lyman Patten | 1944-1946 |
Maude DeWolfe Wood | 1946-1948 |
Nellie Snyder Chase | 1948-1950 |
Maude Fellows Swift | 1950-1952 |
Frances Monroe George | 1952-1954 |
Ruth Prescott Lapierre | 1954-1956 |
Ruth Hartshorn Thomas | 1956-1958 |
Mary Jane Corbett Faust | 1958-1960 |
Ruth Lord Mansur | 1960-1962 |
Jennie Ford Benson | 1962-1964 |
Dorothy Jordan Peterman | 1964-1966 |
Edna J. Polley Mea | 1966-1968 |
Hazel Maude Fellows Tucker | 1968-1970 |
Muriel Colby Howard | 1970-1972 |
Frances Monroe George | 1972-1974 |
Ruth Lord Mansur | 1974-1976 |
Evelyn Colby Minichiello | 1976-1978 |
Harriet Parker Tilyard | 1978-1980 |
Alice Currier Atherton | 1980-1982 |
Dorothy Jordan Peterman | 1982-1986 |
Hazel Fellows Tucker | 1986-1989 |
Eleanor Burnet Johnson Hunt | 1989-1992 |
Alice Currier Atherton | 1992-1998 |
Ruth Strong McLean | 1998-2001 |
Abigail Webster Chapter (1909 - 1989)
The Abigail Webster Chapter was organized in Franklin, New Hampshire, on April 16, 1909, with Nannie Burleigh as organizing regent. The chapter was named for Abigail Eastman Webster, mother of New Hampshire statesman Daniel Webster.
Abigail Eastman (left) was described as a woman of high intellect and strong character who exhibited tenderness and a self-sacrificing manner. She was thirty-seven years old when she married Ebenezer Webster, a widower with two young children. Her husband served as a captain in the Revolutionary War. On the night that Benedict Arnold's treachery was discovered, Captain Webster was guarding General Washington's tent. He was personally commended by the Commander-In-Chief.
Known as "Nabby," Abigail had five children with Ebenezer. Her second son, Daniel, was born just after the end of the Revolutionary War, and would go on to become a national statesman. Daniel Webster (right) served as a U.S. Representative from both New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and was twice appointed Secretary of State. Not much is known about Abigail except through her children's recollection that she wanted them to excel at whatever they chose. Daniel boasted of her, "there was a mother for you."
Abigail died on April 14, 1816, in Salisbury, New Hampshire. She is buried at the Webster Place Cemetery in Franklin, New Hampshire.
Regent | Term |
Nannie Burleigh | 1909-1914 |
Abbie S. Morrison | 1914-1916 |
Nannie Burleigh | 1916-1921 |
Laura Daniell | 1921-1923 |
Lulu Nevins | 1923-1925 |
Florence Crossley | 1925-1927 |
Belle C. Malvern | 1927-1929 |
Alice M. Shephard | 1929-1931 |
S. Beatrice Libbey | 1931-1933 |
Alice Taggert Burleigh | 1933-1935 |
Inez Waldleigh Blake | 1935-1937 |
Marguerite Tucker Clifford | 1937-1939 |
Barbara Louise Gerry | 1939-1941 |
Irene Courser Stevens | 1941-1944 |
Katherine Young Gilchrist | 1944-1947 |
Myra Foster Shepard | 1947-1948 |
Louise Sanders Burns | 1948-1950 |
Irene Courser Stevens | 1950-1953 |
Ella Mae Shaw | 1953-1956 |
Marion Brent Guay | 1956-1959 |
Ida Ruth Brent | 1959-1961 |
Shirley Smythe Doherty | 1961-1963 |
Jean Davis Charles | 1963-1965 |
Mary Sayward Piper | 1965-1967 |
Irene Courser Stevens | 1967-1971 |
Louise Carter Morrison | 1971-1974 |
Irene Courser Stevens | 1974-1975 |
Marion Brent Guay | 1975-1980 |
Irene Courser Stevens | 1980-1983 |
Marion Kimball Smith | 1983-1989 |