The Illinois Chapter, DFPA was organized on March 24, 1908 by Judith Parkhurst Sinclair, Frances Sedgwick Smith, Grace E. Shumway and Mary Little Deere. We were the seventh chapter to organize.
The first meetings were held in the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago 2-3 times a year. Over the years the location changed to other Chicago locations including the Palmer House, the College Club, member's homes, Marshall Fields, and Chicago Athletic Club. We have recently started to meet elsewhere in the state which has been very successful.
In April 1935, the chapter published the book "Historical Records and Data" vol. 1, which contained historical information about the ancestral lines of the members. Vol. 2 was published later.
The chapter has admitted over 500 ladies to membership over the past 100+ years. We currently have 59 members. Some of our members have also served the National Society, DFPA. They are:
Mrs. Frederick A. Sapp National Councillor 1943-45
Mrs. Len Young Smith National Councillor 1955-58, National Registrar 1961-64, National Councillor 1965-67,
National President 1967-70
Mrs. E. Pierpont Graham National Councillor 1970-73
Mrs. Roscoe Fisher National Treasurer 1982-85
Mrs. V. Robert Baird National Councillor 1983-86
Miss F. Lynette Sherman National Councillor 1989-92
Mrs. Conrad F. Wilson National Historian 1991-94
Mrs. Sharla Wilson Luken National Corresponding Secretary 2009-2012
Dr. Kimberly Nagy
National Councillor 2005-08
National Chaplain 2012-2015, National Vice President 2015-2018.
National President 2018-2021
Miss Anne Sears National Councillor 2018-2021
National Historian 2021-2024
In 1954, the chapter marked the site of the first school house in Chicago on the corner of State St. and Wacker Dr. We also presented a historical plaque in 1980 to Mann's Chapel in Roseville, IL which was built in 1857.
