Учительница из Небраски продолжает революционную традицию семьи в классе

Burwell teacher carries on a Revolutionary War family legacy in her classroom BURWELL, Neb. (KOLN) - A Burwell teacher and Daughter of the American Revolution is sharing her family’s Revolutionary War history with students as Nebraska marks the nation’s 250th anniversary. Candace Cain teaches family and consumer science in the same classroom where her mother once taught in Burwell. She joined the DAR at the turn of the 21st century, and she traces her lineage to a patriot named Nathaniel Cain. “Everyone remembers the George Washington, but we forget that there were average everyday humans,” Cain said. A soldier’s service Nathaniel Cain was born in 1752 in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. He enlisted in the New Jersey militia in 1775 and served more than a dozen tours through 1779, fighting at the Battle of Long Island, the Battle of Trenton, and the Battle of Monmouth. He was discharged in March 1779 after being wounded when a musket accidentally discharged, the ball passing through his right foot. The war reached the Cain family home as well. British forces destroyed both Nathaniel’s property and his father Thomas’s during raids in the Hopewell area. Nathaniel’s wife, Mary, was forced to flee with their young son until British troops withdrew. The sisters’ testimony Nathaniel’s sisters, Sarah and Elizabeth, were attacked by British soldiers on March 22, 1777. Elizabeth later gave a sworn deposition to the Continental Congress describing the assault. That testimony is preserved in the National Archives and has been cited by historians, including in Mary Beth Norton’s Liberty’s Daughters, to document the violence women endured during the Revolution. “It’s a surprise to hear that this story is so well documented, and I think of all the stories that aren’t documented,” Cain said. “For me, that was a very startling, but also empowering fact that his sisters were strong enough to be able to tell their story of the war atrocities that happened against people,” Cain said. A family legacy of service The Cain family’s military service did not end with the Revolution. Subsequent generations served in the War of 1812, the Civil War, World War I and World War II. Cain’s father served in the U.S. Army in Germany in the 1960s during the Cold War era. Cain’s involvement in the DAR extends well beyond her local chapter. She served as vice president general of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution from 2022 to 2025 and currently serves as national vice chairman for the Americanism committee. Marking history across Nebraska America’s semisesquicentennial — the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding — has prompted Nebraska to place five historical markers across the state honoring patriots who played a role in the nation’s founding. In Burwell, the Loup Trail Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution installed a marker at Burwell Veterans Park in honor of all Revolutionary War patriots. “It’s been about marking different things of history,” Cain said. Cain said her involvement in the DAR has connected her to other descendants and deepened her own family research. “One of the things that I like to at least do with my students in class is also share a little bit about who I am,” she said. “You know you kind of grow out your family, and so for me, part of my own DAR experience has been how some of the fellow people along the way have kind of pushed me,” Cain said. Cain said she considers it a privilege to carry on the Cain family name and the stories attached to it. “I think that’s a very rare and special privilege that, for me, the fact that the Cain name, I can carry on the legacy via that family name as well,” she said. Deep roots in Burwell While serving as a national officer, Cain designed a pin to gift to others while traveling as an advocate. The pin resembled a windmill, which goes back to her deep roots in Burwell. “So the theme was winds of freedom over the prairie by being the new pioneers of leadership,” Cain said. But Cain is not the only Burwell resident with ties to the founding of the nation. Nathan Nelson, a K-6 principal at Burwell, said he learned about his family’s history from his grandmother. “I learned a lot of this through my grandma throughout her time as she was big into genealogy and tried to pass that on to us,” Nelson said. “She always shared that we had 12 members come over on the Mayflower, so we kind of had a long standing there. And then between my grandpa’s side and my grandma’s side, we have seven members that were in the American Revolutionary War.” He said Burwell’s shared sense of history is part of what makes the community distinct. “Burwell is kind of an interesting town if you look hard enough — or sometimes you don’t have to look really hard,” Nelson said. “Everybody’s deep-rooted in a lot of similar values and similar histories.” Finding family through research LeAnn Rowse is also a member of the Burwell DAR chapter and serves on the state committee. She said her proven patriot is Nathan Robertson, the ancestor she used to join the DAR. “I actually have several patriots, but the one that I joined DAR under is Nathan Robertson,” Rowse said. As part of the national semisesquicentennial observance, the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution launched the DAR Pathway of the Patriots — a program that plants trees at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia in memory of Revolutionary War patriots. Rowse’s family contributed money for a chance to have their patriot honored. “We contributed money and then they drew names, and my name was drawn,” Rowse said. “So I was able to have a tree named after my patriot, Nathan Robertson.” The experience also led to an unexpected family discovery. Robertson had nine children, and Rowse said she and another DAR member are both his descendants — through different children. “We didn’t find out we were cousins until we got the DAR Pathway of the Patriots tree,” she said. Remembering the patriots The markers placed across Nebraska each read: “Revolutionary War Patriots — this marker commemorates the men and women who achieved American independence. These patriots, believing in the noble cause of liberty, fought valiantly to found a new nation, 1775 to 1783.” The markers placed by Nebraska DAR members can be found in Kearney, Lincoln, Ellwood, Omaha and Alliance. “None of these other things would have happened had we not had the patriots for the American Revolution that sacrificed for that,” Rowse said. “I think we need to remember that with America 250.” Click here to subscribe to our 10/11 NOW daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox. Copyright 2026 KOLN. All rights reserved.