ABOUT US
The General James Robertson Chapter, NSDAR, is a non-profit, non-political, volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution: historic preservation, education, and patriotism. Our members directly impact the lives of service members, students, veterans, and the community through meaningful service projects and civic engagement.
The General James Robertson Chapter, NSDAR, is active in a variety of interests, which include supporting our troops and veterans, maintaining the Robertson family burial ground in the Nashville City Cemetery, advocating women’s issues, studying genealogy, observing historic anniversaries, and promoting education. Each member is encouraged to participate in committees meaningful to her.
The General James Robertson Chapter, NSDAR, regularly hosts speakers at our luncheon meetings who present topics of historic preservation, education, and patriotism. Our committees provide excellent ways to participate with the chapter and to become better acquainted with fellow members. These include Project Patriot, preservation of the General James Robertson family lot at the Nashville City Cemetery, Membership, DAR Good Citizens, DAR Schools, and Women’s Issues.
We typically have six chapter meetings at luncheons each year from October to May on the second Thursday of the month. Contact us for more information.
“We are the advance guard of civilization; our way is across the Continent.” —General James Robertson, 1779
James Robertson, an American frontiersman and a founder of Tennessee, was born in Brunswick County, Virginia, on June 28, 1742. He was raised in North Carolina, where he remained until 1769, when he led a group of settlers to Tennessee from Orange County, North Carolina. He became one of the magistrates of the Watauga Association when it was established in May 1772 and the commander of the Watauga Fort. Robertson explored the Cumberland River country in 1779, including most of what constitutes present-day Middle Tennessee, for Richard Henderson’s Transylvania Company. The following year, he helped found the settlement of Fort Nashborough, which became Nashville. He served as the chief civil and military officer of the community under the Cumberland Compact—and his shrewd leadership was largely responsible for its survival. Robertson became Lieutenant Colonel Commandant of the Mero District in 1790 when Congress created the Territory South of the River Ohio. President George Washington appointed him Brigadier General of the United States Army the following year, serving the same region. Robertson helped draft Tennessee’s first constitution when the state was organized in 1796. In his later years he served as a state senator (1798) and as an agent to the Chickasaw. James Robertson died on September 1, 1814, at the Chickasaw Agency located near present day Tupelo, Mississippi. He was reinterred in the Nashville City Cemetery in 1825.
General James Robertson (Tennessee State Museum)