Eastchester 350th: Founding Families Help Prep Celebrations

Virginia Kathryn Hefti’s family enjoys a rich history throughout New York and New England. So rich, in fact, that this year’s celebration of the founding of the Town of Eastchester is not the first time Mrs. Hefti has had the honor of helping to mark the 350th anniversary of a town founded by one of her ancestors.

In 1990, Hefti – whose maiden name is Reynolds – was invited to participate in the 350th anniversary of the Town of Greenwich as her paternal ancestors helped to found that town in 1640. And this year, Hefti – who is a direct descendant of Henry Fowler, one of the settlers of the Town of Eastchester – has been asked to share her maternal ancestors’ history to help celebrate the town’s 350th Anniversary.

A proud member of the Anne Hutchinson-Bronxville Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and a Councilor Emeritus of the New York State Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of Founders & Patriots of America, Hefti was delighted to be interviewed by the Eastchester Town Historian, Richard Forliano, who is researching her family’s rich legacy for Out of the Wilderness, the forthcoming book on the town’s 350 year history.  

Throughout 2014, Hefti plans to participate in several of the town’s 350th Anniversary activities including the May 30th Gala at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville and an October 24th lecture on her Fowler ancestors presented by the Town Historian and hosted by the Anne Hutchinson-Bronxville Chapter NSDAR.

For more information about the Town of Eastchester’s 350th Anniversary, please visit www.eastchester350.org.