By Chad Koenen

Publisher

A group of local veterans, family members and representatives from the Daughters of the American Revolution gathered at Oak Hill Cemetery on Thursday afternoon for a special tribute to a person who left a lasting impact on not only the greater Deer Creek area, but has family ties to the Revolutionary War.

Representatives from the Wau Bun Chapter of the Wisconsin Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution from Portage, Wis., as well as the Fergus Falls Chapter of the Minnesota State Society of DAR, the American Legion of Deer Creek and the Deer Creek Historical Society, recognized the life of Harriet Lucas Kobler, who was an important figure in the history of Deer Creek and is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery, just outside of town. The ceremony took place just one day prior to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence

Kobler was the great granddaughter of Mathew Mather Pigman who was a Revolutionary War soldier.

Sara Reindl is the great-great granddaughter of Kobler and was on hand for the special program that left a special marker near her grave to mark her as a DAR honoree. Reindl has become interested in history, especially her family history, and did the necessary research and paperwork to prove her ancestors fought for America’s independence from England.

“Finding out the historical pieces and just finding out more about my ancestry is just kind of a past-time of mine now,” she said. 

When her grandmother passed away some time ago, Reindl found certificates that included her lineage to the Revolutionary War and she began digging into her family’s history a bit more. That’s when she learned her family has roots to the earliest days of America, which included relatives of her great-grandmother who actually fought in the war. 

Reindl’s great-great grandmother Harriet Kobler was born on November 23, 1856 and passed away on October 29, 1934. Kobler was married to George F. Kobler and purchased what was once known as the Lohman farm. They eventually sold the farm and Kobler made an impact on the greater Deer Creek community as the first president of the Deer Creek PTA, a member of the Salem Evangelical church where she held several offices including president of the Evangelical Ladies Aid. She was also the first and only president of the Memorial Club and helped develop the Memorial Park in Deer Creek. 

Kobler’s great grandfather was born in 1763 in Virginia. His family were ardent supporters of America’s freedom, and he was the youngest of three brothers who enlisted with the Continental Troops. He was the only surviving son of the war as his brother Samuel was taken prisoner and died of malaria and his brother Zachariah lost his life due to sickness at Valley Forge. After his service Matthew married Ann Gilmore in 1785 and together they had seven children. Matthew passed away at the age of 40 in 1803. 

During his time in the Continental Army, Matthew served as a Revolutionary Patriot of the 1st Regiment, Light Dragoons of the Continental Troops. A Light Dragoon was a multi-functional soldier trained to ride horses into position, but fight mounted and on foot using sabers, pistols and short carbines. The 1st Dragoons placed Matthew in the Southern Campaign as he fought in the Battle of Cowpens in January 1781 and the Battle of Eutlaw Springs in September 1781. 

As part of the ceremony last week, Kobler’s grave was presented with a special DAR marker that is given to descendants of individuals who served or assisted in some capacity during the Revolutionary War. 

The DAR is a service organization founded in 1890 with the mission of promoting historic preservation, education and patriotism. The group is a nonprofit, nonpolitical volunteer service organization, and each DAR member can document an ancestor who either fought for, or gave aid, during the American Revolution 250 years ago.

“There are a lot of DAR markers out there. A lot of women do estate planning where they arrange to have the DAR marker on there,” said Reindl.