Learn about Grand Army of the Republic at Oct. 14 meeting
The program "From the Grand Army of the Republic to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War" will be presented at the Oct. 14 meeting of the DeKalb County Historical-Genealogical Society.
A short business meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Oak Crest Retirement Center Little Theater followed by the presentation.
Local SUVCW camp member and Illinois Department Commander James Locke Lyon will present the program, which is free and open to the public.
Lyon will talk about why the G.A.R. was formed and why the SUVCW took over, with a new mission given them by the G.A.R. He, along with others from Sycamore, reactivated the local General E. F. Dutton Camp #49 in 2011, originally formed in 1911 but dormant since the 1930s. Its members are made up of men who had ancestors that served in the Civil War. Lyon will discuss the recent restoration and rededication of the Civil War Monument at the DeKalb County Courthouse, originally dedicated in 1896, and other work of the local camp.
Lyon was the first Commander of the re-activated Dutton Camp and is now serving in his second term as the Commander of the State of Illinois. At the 2015 National Encampment in Richmond, Virginia, he was appointed National Eagle Scout Certificate Coordinator for the SUVCW. He is a Life Member of the National Eagle Scout Association.
The DeKalb County Historical-Genealogical Society sponsors seven programs a year to promote the history and genealogy of DeKalb County. DCHGS has contributed to their mission by reprinting out-of-print books of historical value, sponsoring presentations on subjects of interest to the membership, recording and publishing burial data from cemeteries within the county, and by placing markers at historical sites. DCHGS has written and published two significant historical works, Rural School Journeys: A Legacy of Learning in 2006 and Acres of Change: A History of DeKalb County, Illinois 1963-2012 in 2013.
DCHGS program meetings are held at 7 p.m. the second Wednesday at the Oak Crest Retirement Center Little Theater, 2944 Greenwood Acres Drive, DeKalb.
Membership of $25 a year includes a subscription to the DCHGS local history magazine "Cornsilk" and special programs. For more information contact Terry Martin at (815) 756-4030.