CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Marla (O’Donnell) Oxley, a long-time Citrus Heights resident, and retired high school French teacher, is the newest member of the John A. Sutter branch of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in Citrus Heights.

Oxley is the proud descendent of five different American Revolutionary War patriots whose history she continues to uncover.

Her journey to officially submit her membership application to the DAR began in the early 1980s in the pre-Internet, long-distance telephone days, when Oxley was contacted by a distant relative, Joe Dilsaver, who was then looking into her family history.

Oxley, 69, grew up on Watson Way in Citrus Heights, attending Mariposa Elementary School in the early 1960s, the old Sylvan Junior High School before its demolition, and was one of the first group of graduating students who spent all four years at Bella Vista High School.

“I walked to Mariposa Avenue Elementary School when you could still walk up to Clearview Drive and then cut through the old grape orchard and enter through the back of the playground,” she recalled.

She recalls fond memories of the community before its incorporation as a city. Today, she and her husband, Michael, who taught special education, are both retired from the Fairfield Unified School District. They enjoy being grandparents to their two granddaughters, Bronte and Bridgit.

“I was contacted by Joe Dilsaver, then in his 80s, who was researching my family tree,” she said. “Joe said he was looking for information about relatives of mine, particularly the Hess family tree, and in the pre-Internet era of long-distance telephone charges, we soon started writing back and forth to one another.

“He sent me a complete original copy of his research, in the form of a gigantic taped-together, folding pedigree chart which was large enough to cover our living room floor,” Oxley said.

Oxley joined the internet websites My Heritage and Ancestry.com to do further research into the Hess family tree on her mother’s side and find other relatives who had served during the American Revolution era. She noted the DAR logo was marked beside many of the earliest names on her family tree.

“Several months ago, I found, and submitted an online inquiry. They sent an application asking a lot of questions. Months later, I received emails from Rachelle Yost of the General John A. Sutter DAR branch and another from the Sacramento Chapter,” she said.

The Sacramento chapter of the DAR has 175 members and was organized on November 17, 1921, by a group of 18 Sacramento women who all had the common bond of being direct descendants of American Revolutionary War Patriots.

“I chose the Citrus Heights chapter, since I grew up in Citrus Heights and was the city which I returned to when I retired from teaching at Fairfield High School,” she said.

Oxley attended a local DAR meeting as a prospective member and learned that a genealogical expert would contact her to help formally research her American Revolution era family history.

“Every single step of the way has to be fully proven with official documents. I had to produce birth, marriage, and death certificates for several generations, until I directly linked into my ancestors that are already established Patriots,” Oxley said.

According to DAR records, one of her distant relatives, Peter Hess was born in Pennsylvania in 1755 and at age 23, served during the Revolutionary War as a prison guard in a unit commanded by Col. G. Pennington, New York Company, Pennsylvania volunteers in 1778.

“I originally wanted to pursue the Peter Hess line, but even though Peter is a recognized Patriot, there are some issues with his sons. I descend from his child, Samuel Hess.  The problem is that in one of Peter’s wills, there is no mention of Samuel, yet in another previously published will, Samuel is there,” she said.

In addition to Hess, Oxley discovered that she was related to four other Revolutionary War-era patriots, and she was advised by Yost to pursue the easiest one first.

Another distant family member, Matthew Nutter, helped defend Fort Nutter, which was used by the Virginia state militia from 1776 to 1780 in conflicts with Native Americans. Thomas Nutter served as a captain in the Revolutionary army and died in early 1808.

“I am pleased that I am related to Matt Nutter through the matrilineal line in my family, beginning with my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother as pictured in the photo along with my daughter Erin and me,” Oxley said.

And there’s an unexpected French connection for Oxley who loves the language and led multiple high school student trips to France during her teaching career.

“This line eventually traces itself back to France through Aramantha Mavity, wife of Matthew Nutter (my Patriot), whose mother was Marie Antoinette Raison, daughter of Louis Napoléon Raison de la Genester, Jr., whose father died rather young during the French Revolution. His father was a nobleman, so I surmise that Louis Jr. was sent to Kentucky to escape execution.”

What does her new membership in the DAR now mean to her?

“I can give back in the city which raised me. I have since met women of all ages that share common interests and who, like me, can trace themselves back to the American Revolution,” she said.

Oxley said she also plans to join with her newfound DAR sisters in its many public activities which include cleaning headstones in Sylvan Cemetery and donating paperbacks to local schools for at-risk children learning to read. She wants to enroll in the DAR’s genealogical research classes which will qualify her to research the applications of future DAR members.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a non-profit, non-political organization. Any woman 18 years old or older, regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background, who can prove lineal descent from a Patriot of the American Revolutionary War is eligible to join.

The John Sutter chapter of the Daughters of American Revolution is located at 6633 Misty Creek Drive, Citrus Heights, CA 95621