THE SATURDAY SPECTATOR
TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA, JULY 2, 1932.
Mrs. O. B. Eichelberger Attains High Honor,
Made Member of Unique American Patriotic Society
Mrs. Octavia B. Eichelberger, of the staff of the Emeline Fairbanks library, has received notice
that she has been made a member of the "National Society, Daughters of Founders and Patriots of
America." In order to be eligible for membership in this society one must be able to trace
one's descent and prove that one is descended in the direct paternal line of either father or
mother's father from an ancestor who settled in the United States of America by May 13, 1687;
and provided that during the Revolutionary war an ancestor in said direct line from father to
son, by personal service in a civil or military capacity assisted in establishing American
independence. The same name must be used throughout. One is expected, if possible, to give
place of residence for each generation, and give proof of generation, together with that of
the service of the patriot and that the founder was in America early enough in May, 1687.
Mrs. Eichelberger has several ancestors who were in America before this date, and were among
the actual founders of America. She is able through the Burnett line to trace for eight
generations back from her father, Linus (Anthony) Burnett, one-time postmaster of Terre Haute,
to Thomas Burnett, who settled in Southampton, L.I., in 1643. Aaron Burnett Jr. and William
Burnett were in the Revolutionary war from Morris county, New Jersey. Her grandfather, Stephen
Grover Burnett, was in the war of 1812, and was one of twenty-five men detailed to fire the
national salute from Castle William near New York City, celebrating the close of the war.
The Saxon family of Burnards (as the name was originally spelled) flourished in England before
the Norman Conquest (1066). The name appears among the landowners in the Doomsday Book. The
Burnards, or Burnetts, appeared in the south of Scotland in the twelfth century. Thomas Burnett,
first baronet of Leys, was created a baronet in 1626 and the Burnett coat of arms dates from
that time. Since 1505 the name has been Burnett.
Mrs. Eichelberger has devoted much time to genealogical research, and in the preparation of the
testimony establishing her right to be named a member of the Daughters of Founders and Patriots,
had to have three complete sets of papers. There are 100,000 members of the Daughters of the
American Revolution in the United States while there are only 3,224 of the Daughters of
Founders and Patriots. There are only 32 of the latter in the state of Indiana, and Mrs.
Eichelberger is the only member in Terre Haute.