277. 1909 Queen of the Occident: HELEN MINOR DORRINGTON

1909 QUEEN OF THE OCCIDENT, HELEN DORRINGTON 

The quest for dual queens to rule over the festivities of the national fair was continued when the 2^nd edition of the Manila Carnival went underway in 1909. There was no problem with the search for the Oriental Queen as there were so many qualified beauties to choose from--the Ilocana Julia Agcaoili was elected to reign as the native sovereign. Finding the Occidental Queen to succeed Marjorie Colton was more challenging as there were few American misses around at that time.

 

To make the lives of the carnival organizers easier, one of the ladies in Miss Colton’s 1908s court was quickly handpicked to take over her throne—Nebraska-born Helen Minor Dorrington (b. 5 Aug. 1888/ d. 5 Mar. 1984). The 21-year old beauty came from a family of impeccable pedigree, the daughter of Col. Lafayette Albert Dorrington (b. Feb. 1864/ d. 8 Oct.1934), a Spanish-American War veteran.

 

He had served as the government receiver of land in Chadron, back  in 1888, when the government opened up the Sioux Indian lands for homesteading. Entering the Spanish-American War, he served as a first lieutenant in the 34th infantry and later in the Philippine-American War, where he commanded a group of 50 male scouts.

 

After the war, and upon the establishment of the civil government in 1900, Dorrington was made the custodian of all government buildings in Manila. He also was member of the Masonic and Elks lodges in Manila.

 

Helen’s mother was Cordelia Augusta Minor, a Missouri native (b.12 Jul. 1863/d. 12 Jan. 1957), a direct descendant of Mary Ball, the mother of George Washington, and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She and her husband lived in Manila with their daughter, Helen, for many years, and became a prominent part of the growing American community that regularly took part in social activities and goodwill-building events that included the Manila Carnival.

 

QUEEN OF THE ORIENT, JULIA AGCAOILI

From a member of the 1908 Occidental court, Helen became the Queen of the Occident, reigning alongside the native Queen of the Orient. Not much is known about her reign; one extant picture of her appears on a 1909 Carnival supplement published by Philippine Free Press. It shows a crowned, aristocratic-looking woman with an austere smile, dressed in a glittering gown, and bedecked with jewellery like necklaces and rings.

 

Four years after her 15 minutes of fame, Helen Dorrington returned to the United States in 1913, following the appointment of her father as chief inspector of the interior department in Washington. It was here that Helen met and married Air Force Col. Henry Clinton Kress Muhlenberg of Missouri (b. 6 Nov 1886/ 20 Dec. 1967). 

HELEN'S HUSBAND, COL. HENRY KRESS MUHLENBERG

The Dorringtons stayed in Washington for twelve years until moving to Sacramento, California in 1925 to establish the Indian Agency. Helen and Henry Kress Muhlenberg would have 2 sons, David, (b.6 May 1914/d. 28 Dec. 2010 ) and John (b.1916), and by 1944 were settled in Vista, San Diego County, along with her mother, Cordelia. David would become an air force colonel like his father, while John made Massachusetts his residence after marriage.

 

HELEN DORRINGTON'S GRAVE AT ARLINGTON

The elder Dorringtons would make a final move to San Bernardino County, where Helen was widowed in 1967. She would live for 17 more years, before passing away at age 95 in 1984. Like her military parents and husband, they are all buried at the Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington County, Virginia.

SOURCES:

Philippine Free Press, 1909 Carnival Supplement

Photos: Findagrave, Col. La Fayette A. Dorrington, Cordelia Augusta Minor Dorrington, Helen Dorrington, Col Henry Clinton Kress Muhlenberg

“Indian Affairs Director'sWidow Dies At Age 93”, obituary news of Cordelia Dorrington, The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California, 17 Jan. 1957, p. 52.