History of Princess Wach-e-kee Chapter
Princess Wach-e-kee Chapter is located in Iroquois County in East Central
Illinois, an area often called "The Buckle on the Corn
Belt." Bounded on the north by the county of Kankakee,
on the east by the State of Indiana, on the south by Vermilion and Ford
Counties, and on the west by Ford County, Iroquois County contains 1,120 square
miles and is the third largest county in Illinois.
Princess Wach-e-kee Chapter was organized February 27, 1927, with 21
charter members. The chapter was named in honor of Watchekee
(or Watseka), a Potawatomi Native American woman who was named for the heroine
of a Potawatomi legend. Watchekee (1810-1876),
the niece of Chief Tamin of the Kankakee Potawatomi,
was married briefly to Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard
(1802-1886), an American fur trader, insurance underwriter, and land speculator
who was one of the earliest settlers in Iroquois County. The county seat
of Iroquois County is also named Watseka in her honor.
We currently have 47 members and strive
continually to support all NSDAR and ILDAR programs. We award DAR Good
Citizen medals and certificates to all high schools in the county and DAR
History Medals at both the high and junior high school level. We actively
support the Danville Veterans Clinic in Danville, Illinois, with donations of
cash, clothing, and volunteer time. We also support the Genealogical
Preservation and VIS committees through volunteer activity on the Descendants Project
and the GRC Every Name Index.