Sarah McKelley King, National Number 481123, joined the Colonel Hardy Murfree Chapter of Murfreesboro, Tenn., in April 1961. Before being elected President General, she was State Regent of Tennessee and Curator General, when, for the first time, the DAR Museum received accreditation by the American Association of Museums. From 1994–1996 she was president of the National Officers Club. Mrs. King died on February 20, 2013.
Hers was the “Independence Jubilee Administration,” honoring the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties of Paris and Versailles, with a crown for the administration symbol. The annual themes were Duty, Honor, Country. For the first year, “Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more; you should never wish to do less,” (Robert E. Lee); the second year, also by Lee, “There is a true glory and a true honor, the glory of duty done, the honor of integrity of principle”; and the third year, from a speech by Daniel Webster, “Let our objective be our Country, our whole Country, and nothing but our Country.”
Mrs. King attracted international attention as she toured France with several hundred members, placing wreaths, dedicating commemorative markers and leaving an indelible impression on the French media. Parisian points visited included Picpus Cemetery, burial site of the Marquis de Lafayette; statues of George Washington, Comte de Rochambeau, and Comte de Grasse; and Yorktown Square, where the National Society had placed a monument in 1932. A ceremony at Notre Dame Cathedral, a reception hosted by the mayor at the Parisian city hall, Hotel de Ville, a midnight supper in the Hall of Battles at Versailles, a parade down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, a reception at the American Embassy, an address to the congregation of the American Church in Paris and a pilgrimage to Normandy all gained favorable publicity for the DAR.
Le Figaro, the famous Paris newspaper, wrote:
The President General made a striking appearance at each affair and her voice rang out clearly and with conviction. She wore a beautiful black chapeau with cascading ostrich feathers, a chic red ensemble, and the insignia of her office. She spoke with an aristocratic British accent.
Afterward, Mrs. King was asked to wear her “uniform” for a television appearance. Thus is one typecast.
At Yorktown Square, Mrs. King dedicated a plaque honoring the peacemakers, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and John Adams. At Hotel de Ville, the Mayor of Paris presented a commemorative medal to Mrs. King. At Versailles, Mrs. King presented NSDAR Peacemaker Awards, one to Jean Faircloth MacArthur, widow of General Douglas MacArthur, and one to Madame la Marechale LeClerc de Hauteceloque, widow of General Jacques Philipe LeClerc, who liberated Paris during World War II.
Mrs. King placed two tablets at the Virginia Yorktown Victory Monument: one honoring the peacemakers, and one recognizing the Treaty of Paris and our friendship with England. At Pearl Harbor, she placed a tablet at the USS Arizona Memorial.
At home, Mrs. King was interviewed on network television shows and appointed to the 50th American Presidential Inaugural Committee by President Ronald Reagan. She regularly attended weekly news briefings at the White House.
Membership in the National Society reached a pinnacle. The highest member count in the history of the National Society, 211,800, was attained during Mrs. King’s term of office.
The President General’s Project was the continued restoration of the Administration Building and Constitution Hall, including the D Street Ramp of Constitution Hall, and funding of climate control systems. Constitution Hall was designated a National Historic Landmark.
During the Independence Jubilee Administration, the aging Statue of Liberty was closed for two years as it underwent an extensive $62 million restoration and renovation to prepare for its 1986 centennial. The King Administration sponsored “Liberty Love Day” on February 14, 1985, asking that each member contribute a dollar. The Daughters responded with a gift of more than a half a million dollars.
Notable recipients of DAR Medals of Honor included Senator Jeremiah Denton, Admiral, USN, Ret.; General William G. Moore, Jr., USAR, Ret.; Jeane Kirkpatrick, US Ambassador to the United Nations; and Ted Turner, Chairman of the Statue of Liberty Restoration. The DAR History Award Medal was presented to Claire Booth Luce, Congresswoman; Dr. Rhea Seddon, NASA astronaut; Helen Hayes, actress; and Wendell Garrett, editor of Antiques Magazine. A Life Membership in the DAR Library was given to Alex Haley, author, lecturer and historian. During the 95th Continental Congress, Mrs. King recognized all DAR members present who had served or were serving in the United States Armed Forces.
NSDAR publications included Washington Historic Landmarks: Pillars of Patriotism; Historic & Memorial Buildings of DAR; Arts of Independence (DAR Museum Collection); In Search of Liberty—The Story of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island; Patriot Index, Volume III; and Black Courage, 1775–1783.
In conjunction with Vanderbilt University, Mrs. King implemented the Family Tree Genetics Project to educate families about hereditary genetic diseases and illnesses. In 1985, Lincoln Memorial University bestowed the honorary degree of Doctor of Public Service on the President General. In 1986 a plaque was dedicated in her honor at Vanderbilt University.
Sarah McKelley received her education at Vanderbilt University and married Walter Hughey King on May 10, 1941. Roster and Soldiers, The Tennessee Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1960–70, Volume II was published during her term as State Regent. In 1976 she was a candidate for the United States House of Representatives, but lost to Albert Gore, Jr.
In 1986, in her final report to the Continental Congress as President General, Mrs. King said, “As we have sought to serve God, Home and Country, we have answered the call of Duty, Honor, Country. Your record of service is unequalled. We shall be ever grateful for your support and your outstanding service as, together, we have strengthened the historic, educational and patriotic pursuits of our beloved Society.”