If you are interested in joining one of the popular lineage societies, such as SAR or DAR, our genealogy researchers can help.
Legacy Tree Genealogists has had countless numbers of people contact us about joining various lineage societies, with the most popular choice being the Sons or Daughters of the American Revolution (SAR/DAR).
Joining Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Societies
While the documentation requirements for these societies differ slightly, the general steps for obtaining membership are the same:
1) Determine if you are eligible to join. In order to join the SAR or DAR, you must be directly descended from a Patriot Ancestor: a person who provided support to the American Colonies during the Revolutionary War.
A Patriot Ancestor might have served in the Continental Army, a state or local militia, been a farmer who provided food or supplies, a legislator, a nurse who provided care for the soldiers, or a minister who promoted patriotic acts.
Since most Patriot Ancestors are 7-9 generations back, many people have anywhere from 64 to 128 ancestors who potentially provided some kind of service, which gives you a lot of options.
2) Find and contact your local SAR or DAR Chapter. It is recommended that you contact the local lineage societies early-on in the process because they will assign someone to your case, provide guidance about what is needed for your application, and help you prepare your application for submission.
3) Collect and organize your documentation. Once you’ve identified the line going back to a qualifying ancestor you will use for your application to the desired lineage societies, you’ll need to collect all the required documentation to prove your lineage back to that Patriot Ancestor.
Although requirements vary a little between the SAR and DAR, in general, each wants some form of evidence connecting one generation to the next, such as birth, marriage, and death records or their equivalent.
4) Fill out and submit your application. Individual lineage societies each have a specific application form that will need to be filled out, and each has spaces to include source citations for your documentation.
Applications are always submitted to the local chapter first, and they will take care of forwarding them to the State and National level.
There are different fees associated with applying to each level (local, State, National), and these fees vary depending on the state in which you live, so your chapter representative will help you determine how much you need to pay, and to whom.
Applications to lineage societies can take anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months to be reviewed and accepted, but your chapter representative will contact you as soon as they hear back.
5) Celebrate! Once you are accepted to either the SAR or the DAR, you can give yourself a huge pat on the back!
Not only have you proven you are descended from a Patriot Ancestor who helped make the United States the amazing place it is today, but you’ll have learned a lot of history and details about your family in the process, and that information is priceless.
How can Legacy Tree Genealogists help you?
We can research your family tree to help you determine if you have a qualifying Patriot Ancestor. We can also help you obtain the documentation you’ll need to complete application for the desired lineage societies.
Our experts know what each organization requires and they have good working relationships with local and national authorities to help answer questions and provide guidance if yours is a unique situation.
Since we have access to the largest collection of genealogical records in the world (at the Family History Library), and we also work with onsite agents to obtain documents from various archives, we can help you find the documents you need as efficiently as possible. If you wish, we can complete a working copy of your application to go over with your local chapter representative or you can utilize the pedigree charts which are a part of every full-sized research project to fill in the blanks of your application.
Do keep in mind that this process can involve some trial and error. We might identify a Patriot Ancestor and start working on documenting all the generational links back to that person, only to get stuck with not enough acceptable documentation to prove ONE link, and we’ll have to start over with looking for a different Patriot Ancestor.
While this can be frustrating, with enough persistence we’ve been able to help a lot of people be able to successfully join the lineage societies they are interested in, and we would love to help you as well! Complete the form above to request a free estimate, and we'll contact you to discuss your goals.
