First Settlers of the Shenandoah Valley

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... to introduce to you this hereditary society that acknowledges, confirms, and records the existence of our early Shenandoah Valley Ancestors.

September 5, 2009, is the official date of commencement of the society. It is on this same month and day that such purported FIRST SETTLERS, the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe, reached the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains and peered into the Shenandoah Valley. After a day's descent into the Valley, these discoverers spent the night of September 6, 1716, beside the Shenandoah River. It is legendary that Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood and his party of government officials and gentry, Native Americans, soldiers and servants crossed into the beautiful Shenandoah Valley with dreams of growth and settlement.

As a genealogist who appreciates our fore-founders’ contributions to the Valley, I am pleased to create an online genealogical, educational and historical assemblage of records of the early Shenandoah Valley FIRST SETTLERS in the 18th century.

You are invited to join First Settlers of the Shenandoah Valley if you have a direct ancestor that can be documented as having arrived in the Shenandoah Valley prior to 31 December 1799. A copy of a previous society application such as the DAR, Colonial Dames, etc. may be used as proof. Upon approval by the Genealogist General, current applicants will receive a stunning commission-designed, colorful certificate denoting you as a CHARTER MEMBER. The first 100 approved applicants were noted as ORGANIZING CHARTER MEMBERS. Application Fees are at a reduced price during this Charter period of $70. See the online application and instruction sheet for convenience; then upon approval, you will receive a Welcome Letter, a beautiful certificate mailed, and your ancestor listed among the FIRST SETTLERS on the official website.

If you have an early ancestor who resided in The Valley of the Daughter of the Stars, he or she is most deserving to be included in First Settlers of the Shenandoah Valley ancestry. For an application please click here to contact me via email.

From the heart of the Shenandoah Valley,

Janie
Elizabeth Jane "Janie" Sherman,* Governor General
701 Donaghe Street
Staunton, VA 24401-2838
societydame@verizon.net
* Professional Genealogist
* Author of "Augusta County, Virginia, Earliest Will Index, 1745-post 1900," published by Gateway Press, Dec 2008.



Term (2020-2025)

Governor General/Founder - Elizabeth Jane “Janie” Sherman
Deputy Governor General - Reagan Elizabeth Deitz
Secretary General - Autumn Churchwell Dooley
Treasurer General - Robert Cameron Jordan
Registrar General - Whitney S. Jordan



September 4th, 2010: 1st Anniversary FSSV

Oh Shenandoah,
I long to hear you,
Away you rolling river,
Oh Shenandoah,
I long to hear you,
Away, I'm bound away
'cross the wide Missouri.

Oh Shenandoah,
I love your daughter,
Away you rolling river,
I'll take her 'cross
Your rollin' water,
Away, I'm bound away
'cross the wide Missouri.

'Tis seven years,
I've been a rover,
Away you rolling river,
When I return,
I'll be your lover,
Away, I'm bound away
'cross the wide Missouri.

Oh Shenandoah,
I'm bound to leave you.
Away you rolling river,
Oh Shenandoah,
I'll not deceive you.
Away, I'm bound away
'cross the wide Missouri.

For a time in early 2006, it appeared that "Shenandoah" would become the "interim state song" for Virginia. While the authorizing legislation passed the Senate of Virginia, the measure died in committee on the Virginia House of Delegates side. It was a problematic choice because the song never specifically mentions Virginia and, in many versions of the song, the name "Shenandoah" refers to an Indian chief, not the Shenandoah Valley or Shenandoah River. However, an early rendition of the song, as related in 1931 by David Bone in Capstan Bars, includes verses that appear to allude to the Shenandoah River which flows in Virginia.

Ericaceae Kalmia latifolia
aka the Mountain Laurel


Blue represents the Sky reflected on the Blue Ridge Mountains
Green represents the flora and fauna of the fertile lush Valley
Gold represents the Stars in it’s Indian name, Beautiful Daughter of the Stars

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