Two years later my Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR) application approved

Question

Despite ~ 23 years of genealogy experience, prior to joining WikiTree I had never found an ancestor who had served in the American Revolutionary War.  I had seen on some 2nd cousin's trees that one or two of my ancestors may have been in the war but I had never seen good sources or conclusive proof it.

A little over 2 years ago I helped my father-in-law to find a key document for his ggg-grandfather.  This document had eluded him for more than two decades.  It took me weeks to find it and when I did, it confirmed for him a lot of information that he had learned from family history but did not have a source document for it.

It was an exciting moment and it reignited my passion for genealogy.  I joined WikiTree, posted my tree (profile by profile) and then began working on my own lines.  And the result so far after two years is that I have documented 15 ancestors who served in the Revolution.

I started my paperwork for NSSAR just about 2 years ago and there was a lot of back and forth with documents.  It wasn't a slam-dunk; I really had to prove the lineage every step of the way.  From my birth certificate, my parents, their marriage records, same for grandparents, great-grandparents and so on.  Wills, baptisms, census records, land records, and several other documents were required.  It was more difficult than I had originally thought it would be - much harder than other lineage societies I've joined.

I finally got a preliminary approval on my packet earlier this year and I thought I'd be done in a month.  And then Covid...

Yesterday I received a postcard in the mail annoucing that I had been inducted into the organization and that my certificate and welcome pack would be coming by mail in the following days/weeks.

I'm quite happy about it and it is a nice achievement to put on top of a family tree that becomes more refined each week.  Each source documented, every link verified (or cut), and every paragraph added to the biographies of my ancestors builds a stronger tree that some day my children and grand-children will inherit.

Despite the difficulties I learned a lot about this line.  We found the answer to what happened to my great-grandmother - she had become sick and died and it was a big family mystery.  After a year-long search I finally found her death certificate and was able to share it with my mother and the family.  It was an interesting learning process and if you have ever considered joining the Sons/Daughters of the Revolution or a similar lineage society, I highly recommend it.  The work was worth it and I would do it again.

Comments

SJ,

i have considered joining DAR but decided not to because of the paperwork involved. It seems that one would need to spend a lot of money on documents to get a membership. I don't have a lot of disposable cash.

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Congratulations SJ, I know this has meant a great deal to you. I worked on my second Patriot for DAR and still have a roadblock that DAR is not happy with, but my good news is that I was able to get things all together for my travel buddy to join DAR. Covid 19 has kept us from hearing from DAR, so I was excited that you heard from SAR.

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Betty, don't let the costs slow you down.  You can get most of the documents online and if you don't have subscriptions to Ancestry.com or other sites you can post pull requests here and ask people to email you the docs.  For you, parents, grandparents, there should be those documents already.  If not, those would be the only costs.  Many states have discounted fees if the document is not official (for genealogical purposes only).

Good luck!

@ Alexis, congratulations on getting the docs in; you'll hear soon - they told me mine was delayed for Covid.

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I looked into the DAR years ago as I have several RW ancestors.  I was not going to be eligible because my parents never married and his name isn't on my birth certificate.  This was in the 80s of early 90s.

So much for that.  They told me I would have to get signed affidavits from both my parents and, although I had his name, I had no clue where to find him.  Did eventually when I almost 40.  

So, I'm not a member either.  Don't think it's had an ill effect on my life.  There are others out there who have connected to the same family members, so I'll live vicariously through them.

Debbie

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Congratulations on becoming a member of the NSSAR.  It is a great accomplishment and really tests your research skills, but so satisfying. As you have 15 ancestors who have served, I see a lot of supplimentals in your future.

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Yes, supplementals.  Not sure if I'm looking forward to it.  On the plus side, most of the docs that cost money (up to grandparents) are already secured so I should be able to do the supplementals without too much expense.

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Congratulations! I hope your chapter is an active one. It's quite fun.

Darrin

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Congrats SJ! Yes both sons and daughters are intensively focused on proper documentation to their credit. NSDAR is incredibly backed up, however they give first priority to New Applicants, supplementals take.... time. It's a worthwhile effort to gather in copies of original docs, takes a large file cabinet and /or a large backed up database. I cannot imagine doing this process on a phone .

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Some of those were soldiers and other Patriots.   The SR (Sons of the Revolution) is based on descent from Soldiers; where the SAR / DAR is based on descent from anyone who aided the cause rather they were a Soldier or a patriot.  All of those were Englishmen defending the rights they were being denied to them because they lived in the colonies.  If it were not for these brave souls (many of whom gave up their lives and fortunes) we would not be enjoying the freedoms that we take for granted today.

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Welcome to the Sons of the American Revolution! My family history is also like yours.

Compatriot Bob Tilley

WVSSAR

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Congratulations! You won the war :) after years of battle.

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Congratulations!

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My comment goes to the distinction between soldiers and "other Patriots."  One Saturday some years ago I walked to our town's library to discover what they have that might help me in on the Maryland branch of my family.  The library had the Maryland Genealogy Room which, among many other sources, contained the listing of people in Maryland who contributed to the Revolution.  One, Mathias Spangler, who I believe is an ancestor, was a member of the Washington County Maryland Committee of Correspondence. Further research indicated that the anodyne name "Committee of Correspondence" hides a great deal.  The people on these committees were the ground-level political arm of the Revolution.  Proving that I am descended from Mathia Spangler is another, still ongoing story.

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My SAR experience was quite similar. Although my Maryland ancestor was in the family tree and whose Rev War service was well-documented, proving my line to SAR standards required extensive research. Luckily, finding a will and guardianship bond brought everything together. My ancestor's son left his property to his son and grandchildren, linking three generations. So don't overlook Guardianship or Guardian Bonds!.It was an easy matter to get birth and marriage records through my grandfather and g-g-f from my county office up the road. 

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Thank you.  Your suggestion is very probably relevant for the problem I work off and on with my Spangler line.  I will give it a try.

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Paperwork for DAR wasn't all that bad. If you have decent sources on WikiTree, you just need to print them out, and attach. My hardest part was proving one female ancestor. Finally found and single will with her name on it. . Glad to help out if you would like some.

Answer 1

It's good to see an organization maintaining rigorous standards of verification

Comments

Indeed.  In the related posts below is the G2G question: Is an approved application for the Sons of the American Revolution considered an appropriate source? To that question I would answer that an NSSAR approved application isn't as good as a source document but certainly better than most other secondary sources.  I would rate it on par with an academic journal.

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Whether it is good or not really depends on time period. NSSAR was pretty lax in the earlier years but yes, similar to an academic journal.

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They, and the DAR have audited a lot of the old records and removed a lot of previously eligible ancestors from the books.  One of my ancestors Samuel Merrifield was recognized but not any longer.  I've tried to find any Rev War documentation for him but so far I've only found service in Lord Dunmore's War.

ASSOCIATED ANCESTOR (REVOLUTIONARY) RECORD

MERRIFIELD, SAMUEL SR

Ancestor #: A077812

Notice: FUTURE APPLICANTS MUST PROVE CORRECT SERVICE  (WHY?)

Birth: CIRCA 1720    ENGLAND

Death: ANTE 3-15-1781     MONONGALIA CO VIRGINIA

The (WHY?) is explained:

DAR Genealogical Research System - Online Help

Future Applicants Must Prove Correct Service

The proof of service used to establish this person as a patriot is no longer valid. Subsequent evaluation of the proof of service may have determined that the proof is not acceptable under today’s standards (examples: tombstone, obituary, undocumented genealogy or county history, family tradition); the service belongs to another person of the same name; the residence of this person during the Revolution is inconsistent with the service, or multiple people have claimed the same service. Future applicants must provide proof of service (and possibly residence) that meets current standards.

  Ancestor Comments:

1) PREVIOUSLY-CREDITED SVC FOR PROVIDING SUPPLIES IS DATED AFTER THIS MAN'S

2) DEATH. THE SERVICE BELONGS TO HIS SON SAMUEL.

3) ALSO FAMPCL - NEED DOCUMENTATION PROVING THAT MARY, WIFE OF GEO TUCKER, AND

4) RICHARD WHO MARR PHOEBE TUCKER WERE THIS MAN'S CHILDREN. SEE DATACF 5/1999.

Answer 2

Congratulations, SJ! A great accomplishment....and award at the end of all the hard work. Thank you for sharing your experience for others to know that all that digging and research pays off.

Comments

Thanks Virginia 

Answer 3

That's great that your application has finally been approved.  I've thought of trying to apply for the DAR but have not pursued it.  Good to know you think the work is worth it!

Answer 4

My Aunt - (Dad's sister) was a member of the DAR. I remember her telling my sister that she could join because her ancestors had been in the Revolutionary War. That was many, many years ago (If I’d have known I would get into this I would have paid more attention). I know she did a lot of genealogy back in the day, but unfortunately all of that disappeared when she died. Oh how I wish I had it today!  I've been able to recreate most of that line, and I think I have it right, but I wish I had some better sources (a couple of them are very thin). Knowing she was a member, along with your description of your efforts, leads me to believe she had something much better than I can find.   

Comments

Matt, DAR will still have the records for your aunt. Sometimes you can not see the last three generations because of privacy, but I can see my two great aunts on the DAR website. You can get on the DAR website and go to library and that will take you to finding descendants and ancestors. I would be happy to help you if you have questions.

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Matt, you can "piggyback" any relative's application.  Instead of proving lineage all the way back to the Patriot Ancestor, you only need the DAR/SAR number of your relative and then document to your common ancestor.  In the case of an aunt, all you would need is your birth certificate and your fathers because your grandfather's birth certificate would already be in their system (supplied by your aunt).  Talk about an easy application! 

Also, you can order a copy of he application and all of the associted docs.  Alexis is right about them witholding recent generations due to privacy issues but these are also your ancestors they may give you a copy of all of the supplied docs from your grandfather up to the Patriot Ancestor.

Good luck!

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What you say is true in regards to "piggybacking" onto someones application, but it depends on the age of the application.  They did not use to require documentation, certainly not what is required today, so many generations may need to be reproved.  The application may at least give you hints that you can then research.

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Correct, please see my post a few up where I talk about requirement changes and audits.

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Actually NSDAR no longer accepts "short forms", just for the record..

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Short forms?

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Those are that "piggy back" forms as mentioned. They are no longer allowed at NSDAR, everything is standard=long form. ...Years ago NSDAR numbers early were considered valid and so for a number of years subsequent generations were allowed to join using "Short Form" a tack on variety allowing those to skip actual proofs. So since many of the early forms really carried NO proofs and add the fact that many were returned to original submitter means they no longer exist in NSDAR files. So,,, when you see applicants must prove, it's starting from ground zero.No short form allowed!

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Does not work for NSDAR, you cannot piggy back, only LONG FORMS are accepted. No " SHORT FORMS"

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I can understand if you're trying to piggy-back a 100 year old application.  But in the case of you do a long form and in 5 years your daughter wants to join.  You saying she can't use your application that was just proved under the new standards?

NSSAR will piggy-back applications that meet the new criteria.

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my understanding is no short forms are allowed, so every applicant for NSDAR has to do LONG form.

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I joined DAR with a short form... I only had to prove to my Grandmother, who had been a member. The proof of service Grandmother had used was no longer accepted. I am indebted to the Chapter Registrar, who found acceptable proof that my ancestor had served in the War for American Independence.

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My older daughter recently had the same experience, using her Grandmother's DAR membership which dates to about 1954.

Answer 5

Congrats, buddy! Now to get you a musket and a tricornered hat. Oh! And do you want one of those frilly outfits, too? I'll see if I can swing by Party City and get some. =)

Congrats again, dude. I would join too. But, I have like 10 to pick from and most are on the website to begin with. We shall see. Now about those hats, muskets and musket balls....

Answer 6

Congrats, SJ. I do think it well worth joining one of these types of societies in that they do impose some rigor on research. Two summers ago I verified an ancestor and joined the United Empire Loyalists.  Next will be NSSAR since I have several on that side as well and they are a bit more work than UEL was.

Answer 7

My most sincere congratulations, SJ. You should be very proud!

Answer 8

Congratulations on being approved!  As a DAR sister I know what you have gone through to prove your lineage!

Answer 9

Wow!  DAR took about 6 months, but the office was closed due to COVID at the time