SUBMITTED REPORT
Sarah Blount Littlejohn was designated a DAR Revolutionary War Patriot based on her patriotic service for signing the Edenton Resolve on October 25, 1774. She was the 13th signer of this document which was eventually signed by 51 area women. This event has also come to be referred to as the Edenton Tea Party and is considered to be one of the earliest organized women’s political actions in US history.
Those 51 women were concerned about what was going to happen to them and their friends and families because of the Provincial Congress that had met in New Bern, NC in August 1774.
These women knew that signing this resolution could cause hardships, and might have been considered treasonous, but they put their signatures on the line.
Sarah Blount Littlejohn was born on February 14, 1746 to Sarah and Joseph Blount. Her great-grandfather was George Durant, who is believed to be the first permanent English settler of North Carolina and is sometimes referred to as the “Father of North Carolina.”
On November 21, 1771, she married William Littlejohn; they were blessed with 15 children; however, they outlived 11 of them. Sarah passed away on October 10, 1807.
On October 18, 2024, Sandra Lancaster Sperry, immediate past regent of the Edenton Tea Party Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR,) planned and conducted a grave marking and marker unveiling ceremony at the grave of Sarah Blount Littlejohn in Beaver Hill Cemetery in Edenton. Advance permission from the NSDAR Historian General was required to place the DAR marker at the gravesite of a Revolutionary War patriot, as was permission from the Town of Edenton and Beaver Hill Cemetery.
Marking the Sarah Blount Littlejohn grave was Sperry’s chapter regent’s project while she was serving in that capacity from 2020-2024.
This grave marking was a chapter event which was included as part of the North Carolina State DAR Celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Edenton Resolves – a written, organized political action by women in the American Colony of North Carolina.
Participating in the DAR Revolutionary Marker unveiling ceremony was State Regent Cricket Cheuvront Crigler, NSDAR President General Pamela Rouse Wright, NSDAR Historian General Suzanne Heske, Edenton Tea Party Chapter Regent Bonnie Thuma Henn, Past Chapter Regent Sandra Lancaster Sperry, and Chapter Chaplain Clara Patton King.
There were seven descendants of Sarah Blount Littlejohn present to honor their ancestor and Patriot: Beth Skinner Taylor, Sandra Kay Myers, Anne Graham Rowe, Holly Harris Scarborough, June Ellis Curlott, Katherine Ellis Smith and Camille Ellis Solms.
Also participating in the Ceremony was the NC SAR Combined Color Guard from the NS Sons of the American Revolution, Chapter Registrar Candace Carter Roth, chapter member Kathleen Abbott Towers, who read the biography of Sarah Blount Littlejohn and trumpeter Katie Seibel from the Costantia Chapter, NSDAR in Suffolk, VA.
Attending the ceremony were National Executive Officers – Chaplain General Virginia Lingelbach; Corresponding Secretary General Janet McFarland; Treasurer General Sherry Edwards.
Vice President General from NC Anna Baird Choi attended as did Honorary North Carolina State Regents Peggy Troxell and Jane Barbot. National Chairs Kathryn West, Brooke Bullmaster Stewart and Mary Tedesco also attended as did NC State Officers Vice Regent Janet Westbrook, Chaplain Jenny Tolson, Recording Secretary Julie Stangler, Organizing Secretary Betty Corbin, Treasurer Kathy Dean, Registrar Laura Earp, Historian Gloria Halstead, Librarian France Goins and Curator Renee Horne.
Finally, there were approximately 124 additional DAR members and others who also attended the marking and unveiling ceremony for Sarah Blount Littlejohn.
About NSDAR
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, founded in 1890 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a non-profit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America’s future through better education for children. Since its founding, DAR has admitted more than 1 million members. As one of the most inclusive genealogical societies in the country, NSDAR currently boasts over 188,000 members in 3,000 chapters across the United States and internationally. Any woman 18 years or older — regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background — who can prove biological descent from a patriot of
the American Revolution, is eligible for membership.
Any woman who believes she may be eligible for membership should contact Edenton Tea Party Membership Chair Beth Taylor – 252-482-3592 for additional information. You may also go to the chapter website at http://www.ncdar.org/EdentonTeaParty_files/ or the Facebook page –
https://www.facebook.com/EdentonTeaPartyNSDAR/