Sarah Corbin Robert

Sarah Emily Corbin Robert served as the 17th President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution and was a noted authority on Parliamentary Procedure.

Sarah Corbin Robert
17th DAR President General, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
In office
1938–1941
Preceded byFlorence Hague Becker
Succeeded byHelena R. Pouch
Personal details
Born(1886-08-26)August 26, 1886
DiedMay 1, 1972(1972-05-01) (aged 85)
Signature

Personal life

Sarah was born on 26 August 1886[1] in Pennsylvania, the daughter of William Wallace Corbin and Emma Flora Hamilton. She married Henry Martyn Robert, Jr, son of Henry Martyn Robert and Helen M Thresher, on 26 August 1919 in Tioga County, New York.[1] Their son was Henry Martyn Robert III.[1] She died on 1 May 1972 in Annapolis, Maryland and is buried at Saint Anne's Cemetery.[2]

Education and Professional Life

She graduated from Oswego High School in 1905, and Syracuse University in 1909.[1] Robert taught American History in New York and New Jersey High Schools for a decade.[1] She was an authority on parliamentary procedure, teaching courses on parliamentary law at Columbia University, the University of Maryland, and The United States Naval Academy.[3] She holds the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature.[4]

She served as a trustee for Robert’s Rules of Order, whose creator, Henry Martyn Robert, was her father-in-law. She was head of the authorship team for the 7th edition, printed in 1970.[5][6]

DAR Membership

Robert joined the Stewart Tea Party Chapter in 1921, where she soon served in a variety of roles, including Chapter Regent. She also served as Maryland State Recording Secretary, as national chairman on Patriotic Education (1926–1929), as chairman of the Credentials Committee (1931–1934), and as Treasurer General (1935-1938). She was an advocate for both DAR Schools and standardization and simplification of DAR publications and practices, such as registration at Continental Congress.[7]

The Golden Jubilee Administration

Robert was elected DAR President General in 1938, having run unopposed. The DAR celebrated its 50th anniversary during the Robert administration. Projects overseen by Roberts include funding for a new high-school facility at Tamassee DAR School, which would be completed in 1942 and named for her,[8] the continuation of the Penny Pines project to replant thousands of acres of trees in national forests, and the Valley Forge Bell Tower project at Washington Memorial Chapel in the Valley Forge National Historical Park, which installed 17 new bells.). She also represented the DAR at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. With war on the horizon, Robert initiated War Relief Service Committees and encouraged chapter partnership with the American Red Cross.[7]

Marian Anderson Controversy

In 1939 the DAR denied the use of DAR Constitution Hall to the famous black contralto Marian Anderson. Anderson was singing as part of a concert series in Washington being organized by Howard University. Her fame required a large venue and the DAR Hall was the largest in the city. However, Robert cited segregation laws and longstanding agreements regarding segregation among D.C. performance venues as the reason for the denying use of the Hall. The concert was instead held at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, but the DAR's decision created a backlash, including the resignation of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt from the organization.[7][9] Four years later, in 1942, the DAR invited Anderson to perform in Constitution Hall in the Army Emergency Relief Fund concert series hosted there. Negotiations resulted in that concert being integrated, but Anderson was unsuccessful in negotiating for the promise of future integrated events. Anderson went on to perform at Continental Hall in 1953 and 1956, and the DAR awarded her the Centennial Medal in 1992 for outstanding service to the nation.[10]

Other Associations

References
  1. Downs, Winfield Scott, ed. (1941). "Robert, Sarah Corbin, President National, Daughters of the American Revolution". Encyclopedia of American Biography: New Series. 12. New York: American Historical Society. pp. 402–403. OCLC 649569887 – via HathiTrust.
  2. Associated Press (4 May 1972). "Mrs. Robert, Procedural Authority". The Morning Call. Allentown, PA. Retrieved 3 October 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  3. O'Donnell, Joy (January 23, 2019). "Arranging and Describing the Papers of President General Sarah Corbin Robert". DAR Blog. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  4. "Sarah Corbin Robert". U.S. Naval Institute.
  5. "The Authors". Robert's Rules of Order.
  6. Robert, Sarah Corbin; Robert, Henry M. (1970). Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised. Glenview, Ill.: Scott, Foresman. OCLC 779007541.
  7. National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (2013). The Wide Blue Sash (2nd ed.). ISBN 9781892237163. OCLC 1024316860.
  8. "DAR To Dedicate School Building". The Greenville News. October 25, 1942. Retrieved October 3, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  9. Stamberg, Susan (April 9, 2014). "Denied A Stage, She Sang For A Nation". NPR. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  10. Katz, Jamie (April 9, 2014). "Four Years After Marian Anderson Sang at the Lincoln Memorial, D.A.R. Finally Invited Her to Perform at Constitution Hall". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
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