National Society Daughters of
The American Revolution, (NSDAR)
Commodore John Barry Chapter
The Beginning
Organizing Regent Betty Jo Green
Commodore John Barry Organizational Meeting Members 2012
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Organizing Chapter Members 2012
Jill Addison, Ruth Ashe, Pamela Barnhill, Karen Bauer, Lynn Cassell, Emily Diamond,
Edna Everitt, Judith Farley, Pamela Gillette, Joan Glass, Betty Jo Green, Lucy Gunthorpe,
Adrienne Irish, Jamie James, Annie Ruth Johnson, Betty Los, Betty Macanga, Donna Peters,
Deborah Plaag, Jane Smith, Cynthia Stewart, Lynn Symeon, Susan Victoria,
Marlene Walters, Delayne Wells, Constance Wetzel, Sydney Wetzel,
Wendy Whelchel, Julia Winbun, Melba Yandel, Shirley Young
ORGANIZING OFFICERS 2012-2013
Jo Solley-Hansen, Corresponding Secretary; Debbie Plaag, Vice Regent;
Betty Jo Green, Organizing Regent; Delayne Wells, Treasurer.
Melba Yandel, Registrar; Constance Wetzel, Historian;
Shirley Young, Chaplain; Lucy Gunthorpe, Librarian; Jill Addison, Secretary.
Organizing Quilt 2013
Representing Commodore John Barry Chapter NSDAR
RYCKMAN HOUSE HISTORICAL MARKER 2012
The Ryckman House Historical Marker was the first important civic achievement by
Commodore John Barry Chapter NSSDAR
One of the first homes in Melbourne Beach, the Ryckman House was built in 1890 for Jacob Fox by Captain Rufus W. Beaujean. Both men were original investors in the Melbourne Beach Company, later named the Melbourne Beach Improvement Company. The Ryckman House was built of native pine and cypress that was brought to Melbourne Beach on the vessel Frost Line. The two-story house originally had no electricity, and water came from the Improvement Company’s free-flowing artesian well. Jacob Fox and his family spent several seasons living here, enjoying the Atlantic, hunting, fishing, and socializing with the town’s few residents. Garrett E. Ryckman, a vintner from Brockton, N.Y., and a major shareholder in the original Melbourne Beach Company, acquired the house in 1908. The Ryckmans and their son Lawrence came to Melbourne Beach in 1908, followed by their daughter Ruth in 1910, after her graduation from Vassar College. Ruth Ryckman was an active member of the Melbourne Beach community, volunteering her services as a private nurse to the town for many years. She bequeathed the Ryckman House to the Town of Melbourne Beach upon her death in 1979.
Erected 2012 by Commodore John Barry Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-750.)
The faces of our dedicated volunteers
