Lucy Stevens Nelson
Organizing Regent
The Aurora Chapter, NSDAR, was organized on October 12, 1912, with thirteen members. The organizing regent, twenty-three year old Lucy Stevens Nelson, is the youngest in the state to ever hold this office. The chapter quickly grew. Aurora is a Lantern Chapter, having contributed organizational and membership support in 1988, to the Elias Kent Kane Chapter, NSDAR. Today the Aurora Chapter, NSDAR, has over 130 members.
The chapter has placed several historical markers in the area. Plaques include: a boulder in Oswego where an early French mission once stood (1926), the Stone Mill erected 1856 in Sandwich (1971), the Gray-Watkins Grist Mill built in 1853 on the Fox River by the founder of Montgomery (1983) and the Lewis B. Judson House, founder of Oswego, built in 1884 on Galena Blvd. in Aurora (1985). Restoration was sponsored of a plaque at GAR Hall that was originally placed by the chapter in April 1918 in memory of all soldiers buried in Kane County. The plaque was removed during building repairs in 2000, but reinstalled and rededicated at the City of Aurora’s Memorial Day Parade in 2019. In 2021, the Illinois State Organization placed a marker at Spring Lake Cemetery for celebrated Aurora Daughter Helen Drew Mitchler. In October 2023, the Aurora Chapter’s commemorative brick was unveiled in the walkway at Batavia’s Flag Day Monument. In September 2024, a ceremony was held with the Fox Valley SAR at Spring Lake Cemetery in Aurora where a new marker was placed at Revolutionary War soldier Frederick Vaughan’s gravesite. Organizing Regent Lucy Stevens Nelson is buried at Riverside Cemetery in Montgomery. Her gravesite never had a marker. In March 2025, the Aurora Chapter, NSDAR, dedicated a black granite marker in grateful recognition of her service.
Aurora is proud to have in the Smithsonian Institution 150 pieces of pattern glass given by member, Grace Johnson. She also donated a framed daguerreotype of her Revolutionary War ancestor to the NSDAR Museum. Member Miriam Williams donated a diary from 1864 and a leather paymaster's pouch to the NSDAR Museum.
The chapter supports the Waubonsie Society C.A.R. and hosts their Flag Retirement Ceremony. All children from the age of 0 to 21, who trace their lineage back to an ancestor who provided service during the American Revolution are eligible for membership. The chapter annually presents youth awards. In 2026, DAR Good Citizen medals were awarded to seniors in six area high schools, and American History essay awards were presented to younger students. Junior ROTC medals were awarded to students at East Aurora High School, Marmion Academy, Mooseheart and West Aurora High School. Outstanding Cadet medals are presented to Aurora Sea Cadets. In 2024, the chapter also awarded the DAR Distinguished Citizen Medal to the East Aurora High School Campus Resource Officer, an Aurora Police and Marine Corps veteran. The chapter annually presents Community Service awards to local volunteers or volunteer organizations.
Active support for veterans at the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Vets and Paralyzed Veterans of America include a Spring Fling and Christmas collections. Over 1,000 holiday and Valentines cards are distributed to the veterans at Edward Hines, Jr. Veterans Administration Hospital. The chapter has participated in the Top of Illinois Stand Down in Rockford for the past five years. The chapter distributed PLARN sleeping mats made by chapter members as well as flashlights and rain ponchos. In February 2017, the Aurora Chapter hosted a dedication at the Aurora Vet Center. A custom-built Little Free Library, the first located in a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facility, was unveiled.
The Aurora Chapter, NSDAR, has several DAR Project Patriot activities valuing active-duty military members. The chapter collects gently-used paperback books which are shipped annually to ships and bases in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2024, as part of Operation Gratitude, chapter members and family tied paracords and wrote notes for 880 care packages. Christmas was made a little brighter for military members from Aurora when Amazon gift cards were sent as part of the City of Aurora’s Gifts from Home program to those deployed.
The chapter also participates in the City of Aurora parades at Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day. 3,717 flags were handed to those watching the parades in 2025. The chapter was honored with the most flags distributed in the North Central Division the previous two years. America 250! Celebrations included presentations to local school districts, private academies and local home school co-ops. Flags flown ceremonially over Memorial Continental Hall and books honoring women during the Revolution were presented.
Meeting programs include such topics as genealogy research, women’s issues, national defense and special visits by State Regents and District IV Directors. Many chapter members attend DAR Days, District IV meetings, Illinois State Conference, and Continental Congress in Washington, D.C.