MASSACHUSETTS DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
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More information can be found in the Prudence Wright tab below.
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Prudence Wright Chapter, ​NSDAR

PEPPERELL, MASSACHUSETTS
Welcome! Our chapter was organized on October 19, 1898. The members of the Prudence Wright Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR or DAR) are women ranging in age from eighteen to ninety-plus.

We welcome new members! 
Contact our chapter regent or our chapter registrar to learn more about our chapter and how to become a member.

Questions about the chapter's site? Email the webmaster.
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  • Our Members
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Our Members

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Prudence Wright Chapter, NSDAR Chapter House
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Pepperell Covered Bridge
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Prudence Wright Scenic Overlook located on Groton Street, Pepperell, Massachusetts
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Prudence Wright's tin lantern used April 1775
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​Prudence Wright's Gravestone

The Prudence Wright gravestone is located in the Walton Cemetery, 5 Park Street, Pepperell, Massachusetts.

In Memory of
The captain of the Bridge Guard April 1775
PRUDENCE CUMINGS
Wife of David Wright,
Born November 26, 1740,
Died December 2, 1823,
Erected by Prudence Wright Chapter D.A.R. 1908

View Prudence Wright’s memorial page on Find A Grave.
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Prudence Wright's Bridge Guard with the captured Tory spy.

Prudence Wright and the Bridge Guard

Excerpt from The Story of Jewett's Bridge by Mary Lucinda Parker Shattuck

​"In the conflicting rumors in April 1775, the people of the town were expecting a company of men to pass through it to join the enemy, or possibly some messengers with dispatches. It was a time of uncertainty and confusion. It was this uncertainty that led the women of the Bridge Guard to disguise themselves as men and under the cover of darkness surprise an unexpected militia in order to capture dispatches of the enemy. The report on the battle of Lexington Green and Concord came to town. The women knew that their men had helped chase the British and were engaged with other minutemen near Boston. Spies were reported as passing between the British in Canada and Boston. One direct route ran through Pepperell (at the time called Groton West Parish).
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A few days after April 1775, word was sent from house to house in Pepperell for the women to assemble. They determined that no foe to the cause should pass through town, if they could prevent it. The assembly numbered between thirty and forty women. (Unfortunately, the muster roll of the Guard was not preserved.) The Guard elected Prudence Wright as commander of their company. Their rendezvous was Jewett's Bridge over the Nashua River, the place where a person coming from the north would be obliged to cross. Soon after nightfall, horses were heard approaching, but instead of the force of British expected, only two horsemen approached, Leonard Whiting and Samuel Cumings. The men were seized and searched, and dispatches from the British were found. The prisoners were taken to Groton to the Committee of Safety. After delivering their prisoners into custody, the Guard disbanded. The Guard was paid seven pounds, seventeen shillings and six pence by the town for their actions." 
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Source: Shattuck, Mary Lucinda Parker. 1912. The Story of Jewett's Bridge. 3rd Printing: April 19, 1964, entitled Prudence Wright and the Women Who Guarded the Bridge.
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Prudence Wright's Testimony to the Church, November 4, 1770

Wright wrote this testimony at age 29 to be accepted into membership and the baptism of five children. 
The original document is in the possession of the Prudence Wright Chapter, NSDAR.  ​A transcript of the document is shown below.
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Our Patriots

Each member of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution traces lineal descent from a Patriot who served the American Revolutionary War.  These Patriots may have served as soldiers or may have rendered civil or patriotic service to the cause of American independence.
Prudence Wright Chapter, NSDAR, members are descended from the following Patriots:
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​MASSACHUSETTS
Elijah Ames
Jonathan Bancroft
Moses Barker
Ezekiel Blake
Parker Cole
Isaac Preston Durant
Joseph Franks
David Goodwin
Moses Hallock
Oliver Hartwell, Jr.
David Jillson
Francis Jones
Oliver Noyes
Edmund Parker, Sr.
Jethro Randall
Abiel Turner
Prudence Wright
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SOUTH CAROLINA
Joseph Warnock
Greenberry Capps
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​CONNECTICUT
Samuel Adams
James Fenn
Samuel Northrup
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VERMONT
Nathaniel Carpenter
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NORTH CAROLINA​
Charles Moore
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PENNSYLVANIA
William Garvin
Michael Kintzer
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NEW HAMPSHIRE
George Ham 

Samuel Richards
Reuben Whitcomb
​Robert Wilson
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NEW JERSEY
Aaron Eldridge

Cornelius Pease
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VIRGINIA
William Bilbro

Samuel Morris

Our Activities

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Prudence Wright Chapter, NSDAR, dedicated this marker on July 26, 1926, on a half-acre piece of land called "Minuteman Park" at  132 Townsend St., (Rt. 113) Pepperell, Massachusetts.
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The transcription of the plaque on the boulder reads:  
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"From this boulder the Minute Men of Pepperell were called to join Col. Prescott at Groton on  April 19, 1775 by Captain Edmund Bancroft and son Luther. 
Placed by Grace Greenhalgh in memory of her mother Lucy Bancroft Page"   
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This site is located on the NSDAR Historic Sites and Properties list.  
Minute Man Park | Daughters of the American Revolution​
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The Prudence Wright Chapter, NSDAR, is a proud member of the Vietnam War Commemoration. We honor local Vietnam veterans every March 29; National Vietnam War Veterans Day. We fly the commemorative flag in Pepperell at that time. 
Learn more about the Commemoration 
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Chapter site last updated August 11, 2024.

​Questions about the chapter's site? Email the webmaster.
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All photos appear courtesy of MDAR Chapter Members. ​

The content contained herein does not necessarily represent the position of the NSDAR. Hyperlinks to other sites are not the responsibility of the NSDAR, the state organizations, or individual DAR chapters. 
The Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution website is maintained by the
State VIS Chair.
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Last Updated June 30, 2025

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  • About
    • Chapters >
      • Chapter Namesakes
    • Hancock-Adams Room
    • DAR State Forest
    • MDAR Properties
    • Scholarships
  • Membership
  • CONTACT US
    • National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
    • The Massachusetts Society Sons of the American Revolution
    • Massachusetts Society Children of the American Revolution
  • Members Only (Coming Soon)
    • Meetings & Events
    • State Officers and District Directors/State Counselors >
      • Center for Development and Civic Engagement
      • Massachusetts Districts
    • Committees
    • Chapter Regents
    • Member Resources >
      • Bylaws & Articles
    • Clubs & Associations >
      • State Officers Club
      • Ex-Regents Club
      • Regents Association
      • Cameo Society
      • Pages
      • Juniors Club
      • Book Club
    • Historic Preservation Forms
    • State Regents Project