Main Line Girl Wins National DAR History Essay Contest

ROSEMONT, PA — A local girl has taken home the top honors in the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution's annual history essay contest.

Teagan Atherton Cook, an eighth grader from the Holy Child School at Rosemont, won the Jeptha Abbott, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), 2022 American History Essay Contest.

Cook's essay was titled "The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier."

On Tuesday, DAR Historian and American History Essay Committee Chairperson Clare Edwards Myer presented Cook with a DAR winner’s certificate, pin, and gifts at a ceremony at St. David’s Church in Wayne.

"Teagan Atherton Cook's essay was eloquent and masterful for so young a writer," Myer said. "It is an honor to recognize this extraordinary scholar as the Jeptha Abbott, NSDAR, Contest Winner for 2021-2022."

This year, students were to base their essay on the following: “November 11, 2021, marks the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Imagine that you had a brother who lost his life on the battlefields of France during World War I. You and your family attended the November 11, 1921, dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, D.C. Describe what this meant to you and your family. Why is it important to remember those who gave their lives to serve our nation?"

As part of its mission to support the study of American History, the NSDAR sponsors a history essay contest for fifth, sixth, seventh, and eight graders each year.

The competition is open to all students in public, private, and parochial schools, as well as registered home-study programs.

The contest was established to encourage young people to think creatively about our nation's great history and learn about history in a new light.

This year’s Jeptha Abbott, NSDAR, American History Committee members consisted of Historian and Committee Chairperson Clare Edwards Myer, Lisa Gresh, Anne Greene Hain, Martha Parker, Anne Peckham, Cheryl Deguio Smith, and Karen Franks Zetterberg.