Chapter History

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

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Rumford Chapter (1898 - 1989)

count 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.

countess 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

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Abigail Webster Chapter (1909 - 1989)

abigail 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.

daniel 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

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