The March meeting of the Thomasville Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) featured an interesting program by Dr. Terrel Solana, who is a descendant of the Solana family of St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest family line in America. He was introduced by his wife, Linda Solana who is a DAR member and Recording Secretary of the Thomasville Chapter. 

Dr. Terrel Solana moved to Thomasville in 1982 and is the former superintendent of the Thomas County Schools. He is the 13th generation of the oldest documented family in the United States. The oldest document in existence in America is the marriage certificate of Vincent Solana and Maria Viscente recorded July 4, 1594 in St. Augustine, Florida. Dr. Solana displayed a copy of this document during his program.

“A young Spanish nobleman, Juan Ponce de Leon, came to the new world in search of gold and silver,” Dr. Solana said. “In 1513 on Easter Sunday, he landed in St. Augustine where instead of gold, he found beautiful wildflowers and dogwoods blooming thus naming the area La Florida ‘the place of flowers.’” Solana said that the King of Spain was only interested in gold, not flowers, so Ponce de Leon continued his exploration in search of gold which was later found in the areas of Puerto Rico and Cuba. 

In 1565, St. Augustine was founded by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés of Spain, as the first permanent European settlement in America. 

Dr. Solana displayed several documents about the history of the Solana family. The Family Crest is a sun surrounded by snakes. The family was featured in the February 1966 issue of National Geographic in an article about the 400th anniversary of St. Augustine. It included a photo of the original and oldest marriage document of Vincent and Maria Solana which is written in Spanish. Some 20 Solana families still live in St. Augustine today. Dr. Solana also displayed a piece of coquina stone, which is what the Spanish used to build the fort, Castillo de San Marcos. Coquina is a rock made of seashells.

At the March meeting, Thomasville Chapter DAR Regent Shelba Sellers and Chaplain Drucilla Bennett inducted new member Heather Gideon who proved her lineage from her Revolutionary War Ancestor, Peter Little who served in North Carolina. New members take a membership oath and receive a DAR pin. Thomasville Chapter Registrar Pamela Tucker introduced prospective members and guests in attendance. 

Regent Shelba Sellers gave the Veterans minute about her grandfather, Laurine Sands, who served in World War I. She also displayed several of Sands’ military medals and a photo of him in uniform.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With more than 185,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world’s largest and most active service organizations. More than one million women have joined the DAR since it was founded. To learn more about the work of today’s DAR, visit www.DAR.org.

For more information about the Thomasville Chapter DAR, visit thomasville.georgiastatedar.org or the Chapter’s Facebook page at facebook.com/ThomasvilleChapterNSDAR.