May 8, 2026
Introduction: In this article – to help celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday – Melissa Davenport Berry writes more about the tradition of the Mother’s Tree, which began in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1923. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.
Today I continue with a tradition honoring mothers known as the ceremonial planting of the Mother’s Tree.
To recap: Set apart in a little park on the shore of Lake Antietam, Reading, Pennsylvania, the first “Mother’s Tree” was planted on 13 May 1923 by Solan Lehman Parkes, widely known naturalist and conservationist (see Part 1). The spade Parkes used for that initial planting was used in future Mother’s Tree ceremonies.
The two photographs below appeared in American Forestry magazine. The left photo shows the planting of the first Mother’s Tree on Mother’s Day in 1923 in Reading, Pennsylvania. The photo on the right shows the spade used to plant the tree. That spade, with a commemorative plate attached to the handle, was formally presented by the City of Reading to the American Forestry Association.
A Tribute to Motherhood in Virginia
I found a photo of a tree planting ceremony for Mother’s Day 1924 in Arlington County, Virginia, published in the Evening Star.
According to the news clip, the tree was planted by the Clarendon Woman’s Civic Club on the courthouse green in honor of the mothers of Arlington County, Virginia. The ceremony was under the direction of Mrs. S. B. Detwiler, chairman of the town-beautiful committee of the club.
The tree was planted by Mrs. Laura Virginia Welsh of Clarendon, who used the same spade that Parkes had used when planting the original Mother’s Tree on the shores of Lake Antietam in Reading, Pennsylvania. Little Mary Hunt then placed a carnation on the commemorative stone, following which 14 little flower girls appeared and placed bouquets around the tree.
Eva Chase’s Love of Trees Brought Mothers of America Recognition
Eva Cake (Eldridge) Chase (1873-1954), born to William Brooks Eldridge and Sarah F. (Bailey) Eldridge, was a direct descendant of Mayflower passengers John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley as well as Revolutionary War patriot James Willder. She was the wife of William Henry Chase.
Mrs. Chase was conservation chairman of the District Federation of Women’s Clubs, member of the American Legion Auxiliary, member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (D. A. R.), and regent of the Col. Tench Tilgham Chapter in Bethesda, Maryland.
She directed thousands of tree plantings in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
In this next photo Mrs. Chase is holding the historic spade in a tree planting ceremony to commemorate Mother’s Day in 1925, with Raymond Thompson costumed as George Washington and schoolgirls costumed as state flowers, on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.
In 1928 a Mother’s Tree was planted at Fredericksburg, Virginia, in honor of Mary Washington, the mother of George Washington. News reports say a white birch, presented by Mrs. Eva Chase, will shade this famous mother’s grave. The spade used in the planting was again the spade used in the initial Mother’s Tree planting at Reading, Pennsylvania, the property of the American Forestry Association.
Here is a newsclip on the announcement of the Mother’s Tree for Mary Washington.
In 1932 a photo was taken of Mrs. Chase holding the spade at the Governor’s mansion in Annapolis, where she planted a white birch, dedicated to mothers of Maryland governors, a D. A. R. project. This photo is from a 1954 article published by the Evening Star about Mrs. Chase, titled “She Fell in Love with Trees.”
This article reports on another one of Mrs. Chase’s Mother’s Tree plantings:
One of the most impressive tributes was the dedication to the Unknown Mother at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. More than 100 children took part, sprinkling earth on the birch roots – soil that had been sent to Mrs. Chase from historic sites in the District, every State, and Panama, Italy and France.
A dedication monument marks the spot where the tree was planted, courtesy of American Gold Star Mothers Facebook page. You can also view the tree and photos in this video Mother of the Unknown Soldier Tree — Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Walking Tour.
The article also includes a photo of Mrs. Eva Chase showing her two great grandchildren, Diane Lee and Leonard Welsh, how to plant a tree in 1954.
Camp Fire Girls Plant Symbolic Mother’s Tree
In 1934 American mothers were paid homage to by the Camp Fire Girls in Lake Michigan. A Mother’s Tree was planted. Although not a birch, a pine tree was chosen which is “symbolic of motherhood.”
The press covered the ceremonial week-long event which included several family gatherings. Three of the mothers were featured in this Grand Rapids Press article.
The first two are great-grandmothers: Mrs. Moreau S. Crosby, born Mary E. Moseley (1844-1939), daughter of Arannah Moseley and May (Baker) Moseley, who resides with her son James Moseley Crosby Sr. and his wife Louise (Barnhart) Crosby; and Mrs. Sara Platt (Ingersoll) Donahue (1844-1935), widow of Thomas Scott Donahue and daughter of David Ingersoll and Clarissa (Beard) Ingersoll, living with her daughter and husband Grace Ingersoll (Donahue) Wurzburg and William Wurzburg.
The other subject is a grandmother: Mrs. Charles B. Judd, born Georgianna R. White (1854-1937), daughter of George H. White and Sarah A. (Hetfield) White, residing with her daughter Nora Judd Powers and her husband Charles F. Powers.
Historical Spade Plants Tree at Madisonburg, Ohio
The historical spade was used for a Mother’s Tree planting in Ohio in 1960.
This article reports:
Not a guest, but a ‘spade of honor’ was used to highlight the Mother-Daughter banquet for the Salem Lutheran Church, here, Thursday evening.
The spade was used to plant a white birch, national tree selected to honor mothers by the American Forestry Association, in the new Mosher Memorial Park, one-and-a-half acres of land directly behind the church. The birch was planted in honor of the mothers of Salem in the park which will be dedicated later this year in memory of the Rev. J. P. Mosher, pastor of the Salem Lutheran Church from 1907 to 1912.
This photo caption reads:
Planting Mother’s Tree, the white birch, in the newly formed Mosher Memorial Park behind the Salem Lutheran Church at Madisonburg Thursday evening were (from left) Sheryl Hider, Jeanette Weiser (with spade), Sandra Shelly, and Rev. Eugene Swanger. The spade had been used in similar ceremonies in Washington, D.C. and throughout the U.S.A.
Happy Mother’s Day!
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Note on the header image: Happy Mother’s Day. Credit: https://depositphotos.com/home.html
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