Daisy Allen Story (née Fanny Ella Daisy Allen; 1858 – 1932), also known as Mrs. William C. Story, was an American socialite, clubwoman, and suffragist. She served two consecutive terms as the President General of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

Early life and family

Story was born Fanny Ella Daisy Allen in 1858 in New York City to James Hart Allen and Frances "Fannie" Lupton Porter Allen. She was the granddaughter of Stephen Allen, the first elected

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

and a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

and the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

.DAR Presidents General
/ref>

Clubwoman

Story was active in many women's organizations. She served as President of the New York City Federation of Women's Clubs and, in 1910, as president of the New York State Federation of Women's Clubs, sitting on the Cooperating Suffrage Committee. She was vice president of the Washington Headquarters Association and president of the Woman's Republican Club, during which time the club demanded women's suffrage. She also served as president of the National Emergency Relief Society. She was a member of the Society of the Colonial Dames of the State of New York and a member of the

. She was a member of the New York City Chapter of the DAR before organizing the Manhattan Chapter in 1892. She was elected as New York State Regent in 1909.Daisy Allen Story: Militant D.A.R. Leader
/ref> She was also the first New York state director of the

Children of the American Revolution The National Society Children of the American Revolution (NSCAR) is a youth organization that was founded on April 5, 1895, by Harriett Lothrop. The idea was proposed on February 22, 1895, at the Fourth Continental Congress of the National Societ ...

. In 1913, she was elected as the ninth President General of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, serving two consecutive terms. During her tenure as president general, she inaugurated a movement to organize members of the DAR for war relief work and advocated for universal military training. Following the end of her second term in 1917, she was elected Honorary President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Personal life

She was first married to Edward Price. Price was abusive to her, which led to her cousin and former fiancé, Montgomery Throop, beating him with a horsewhip. She married a second time to William Cumming Story, the vice president of the American Savings Bank in New York, on February 8, 1881, in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Her husband also served as the first vice president of the Standard Statistics Company of New York and was an active member of the

Sons of the American Revolution The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), formally the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR), is a federally chartered patriotic organization. The National Society, a nonprofit corporation headquartered in Louisvi ...

. The couple lived in

and in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

before moving to

New Rochelle New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtown Manhattan. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the 7th-largest city and 2 ...

in 1930. They had three sons: Harold, Allen, and Sterling. Story and two of her sons, Allen and Sterling, were arrested on June 26, 1918, and charged with grand larceny, petit larceny, and conspiracy. They were accused of participating in a profiteering scheme that redirected funds designated for comfort kits for U.S. soldiers to a solicitor from which they received a percentage. Story died from heart disease on July 15, 1932, at her home in New Rochelle. Her funeral at Christ Episcopal Church in

Pelham Manor Pelham Manor is an affluent village located in Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the village had a total population of 5,752. It is located in the town of Pelham. History The Bolton Priory, Edgewood House, and ...

was attended by local, state, and national leaders of the Daughters of the American Revolution. An

American flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

, which had been presented to Story by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

, was draped over her coffin during the service. She was buried at

Ferncliff Cemetery Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is a cemetery in Hartsdale, New York, United States, about north of Midtown Manhattan. It was founded in 1902, and is non-sectarian. Ferncliff has columbariums, a crematory, a small chapel, and a main office loca ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Story, Daisy Allen 1858 births 1932 deaths American socialites Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery Clubwomen Colonial Dames of America Episcopalians from New York (state) New York (state) Republicans People from New York City Presidents general of the Daughters of the American Revolution State Regents of the Daughters of the American Revolution Suffragists from New York (state)