Chapter History

The Charlotte Parkhurst Chapter, NSDAR was organized May 5, 2021. Twelve members from the El Dorado Chapter, NSDAR organized the Charlotte Parkhurst Chapter, NSDAR. Searching for a name for the new chapter, these DAR members turned to the pages of the wild, wild West. Before the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad over the Donner Pass in 1868, the only transportation through the Sierra Nevada was by stagecoach driven by skilled and fearless men. One of the most famous drivers, or whips, was Charley Parkhurst who came west from New England in 1852, seeking his fortune in the Gold Rush. He drove stages from Carson City to Placerville and Sacramento to Santa Cruz. Charley opened his own stage station in Soquel. He died on Dec. 29, 1879, at the age of 67.

Except that “he” was a “she.”

The obituary published in the Sacramento Daily Bee a few days after Charley's death revealed that when friends came to prepare the body for burial, they discovered “Charley Parkhurst was unmistakably a well-developed woman!”

Her real name was Charlotte Parkhurst, born in New Lebanon, New Hampshire, in 1812. She ran away from an orphanage at the age of 15 and soon discovered that life in the working world was easier for men. She successfully disguised herself for the rest of her life. There’s one more twist to her story: dressed as a man, she cast her first vote in a national election in 1868, becoming the first woman to vote in the United States, 52 years before Congress passed the 19th Amendment giving American women the right to vote. Her name, Charlotte Parkhurst, was the perfect choice for the new chapter’s name.

Twelve members from the El Dorado Chapter, NSDAR organized the Charlotte Parkhurst Chapter, NSDAR. It is because of these women's efforts and the support of the El Dorado Chapter, NSDAR that both chapters are designated as Lantern Chapters. The Lantern Chapter designation is given for any chapter that transfers an organizing regent or five or more members to organize a new chapter; or transfers five or more members to revitalize a chapter in order to spread the light of DAR. The chapter that receives the members will receive the same designation.