Regent Gloria Batten, Recording Secretary Cherokee Wilkey, Registrar Barbara Corbitt and Treasurer Shirley McCoy with the Jonathan Sheppard Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution in Wirt County attended the state chapter conference on April 11-13 in Bridgeport. (Photo Provided)

Four members of the Jonathan Sheppard Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Wirt County attended the West Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution State Conference from April 11-13 in Bridgeport.

Attending were Regent Gloria Batten, Treasurer Shirley McCoy, Recording Secretary Cherokee Wilkey and Registrar Barbara Corbitt. They participated in meetings and leadership workshops.

A highlight of the conference was the presentation of Quilts of Valor to veterans.

Wilkey received a quilt recognizing her service in the U.S. Navy. She was among 10 veterans honored by the Quilts of Valor organization.

Batten received a chapter regent pin and a certificate for completing the organization’s member course.

The Jonathan Sheppard Chapter was confirmed on March 5, 2024, and is the newest chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in West Virginia. The chapter was named for Jonathan Sheppard, a founding father of Wirt County.

Sheppard was born in 1758 in New Mecklenburg, Frederick County, Va., which later became Shepherdstown, W.Va. He was a soldier in the American Revolution, enlisting in July 1775, and was taken prisoner by the British at the Battle of Fort Washington, sent to England and later returned in a prisoner exchange.

He re-enlisted and served at Fort Pitt and the siege of Yorktown. Sheppard and his wife Martha are buried in a small family cemetery near where his cabin once stood on Garfield Road in Palestine.

Contact any member for more information about the Daughters of the American Revolution. Women 18 and older who can prove descent from a person who aided in achieving American independence during the Revolutionary War are eligible to join.