Daughters of Liberty Legacy Trolley Tours Promote Importance of Local History
Just in time for Independence Day, the Daughters of Liberty Legacy, an organization founded by Daughters of the American Revolution and dedicated to promoting the importance of local history, has organized two trolley tours of White Plains historic locations relevant to the American Revolutionary War.
The trolley tour will include the sites of the court house where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time in 1776, the battlefield of the Battle of White Plains, and the Miller house in Valhalla where Washington stopped the British from advancing north.
A Colonial re-enactor, playing the role of Mrs. Ann Fisher Miller, who lived in the historic Miller house, will conduct the tour. Included is a private tour of historic Purdy house by the White Plains Historical Society.
Debra Palazzo, co-founder of Daughters of Liberty Legacy, explained that she had discovered she had a distant relative who fought during the Revolutionary War but that she could not locate tangible evidence because records had been lost or not maintained.
“Once a piece of history is lost it is gone forever,” she said. “We have made it our goal to preserve as much history as we can.”
One of Palazzo’s main concerns is preservation of the Miller house and the telling of the story of Ann Fisher Miller who the Daughters of the American Revolution have recognized as a Patriot.
Ann Miller’s husband, Patriot Elijah Miller and their two sons were killed during the Revolutionary War, Palazzo explained. “She was a widow who continued to serve, allowing her home to be used as a meeting place for generals and soldiers, a hospital and her property a battlefield. She was a strong woman who led a tough life.”
Proceeds from the June 28 Trolley Tour will help cover costs for a burial stone that has been commissioned for Ann Fisher Miller to be placed on her grave at the historic graveyard at the Presbyterian Church in White Plains.
For over 100 years no one knew where Ann Miller was buried until it was recently discovered that she was laid to rest near her family in White Plains.
The replacement stone will read: In memory of Ann Fisher wife of Elijah Miller who died June 13 AD 1819 Aged 91 years 3 months and 5 days.
Suggested donation for the Trolley Tour is $50 per person with all proceeds going to historic preservation. The trolley is reminiscent of an older vehicle featuring a natural oak interior with large windows. Seating is limited to 20 people per tour, which makes reservations a must.
The tours on Sunday, June 28 begin at Jacob Purdy House, 60 Park Ave., White Plains. Tour 1 at 2 p.m. and Tour 2 at 3:30 p.m. Light refreshments are included.
Tickets are available at facebook.com/daughtersoflibertyslegacy or by contacting debra@daughtersofliberty.com or calling 914-495-3631.
