Revolutionary War Ancestors and Lineage Societies (DAR, SAR and Mayflower)

How to find a Revolutionary War patriot in your tree, the records that prove his service, and how to document your line for the DAR, SAR, Mayflower Society and other lineage societies.

3 min read

Millions of Americans descend from someone who served or supported the American Revolution, and many more descend from the passengers of the Mayflower or other early colonists. Lineage societies welcome those who can prove their descent, and their databases and libraries are powerful research tools, whether or not you join.

The main lineage societies

• Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR): for women 18 and older who descend from a patriot of the Revolution.
• Sons of the American Revolution (SAR): for men descended from a patriot.
• Children of the American Revolution (C.A.R.): for young people.
• The General Society of Mayflower Descendants: for descendants of passengers on the Mayflower's 1620 voyage.
• Hundreds of other societies for descendants of early settlers, colonial officials, Civil War soldiers and specific ethnic or regional groups.

Who counts as a patriot?

For the DAR and SAR, a "patriot" isn't only a soldier. Patriots include people who served in the Continental Army, state militias and navies, and also people who gave civil service (such as town officials and jurors under the new governments), signed oaths of allegiance, or gave "patriotic service," such as supplying provisions or paying a supply tax for the war. Women and men of all backgrounds qualify as patriots, including many African American and Native American patriots.

Finding a patriot in your tree

1. Search the DAR Genealogical Research System (GRS), free online. It lists hundreds of thousands of established patriots, their spouses and children, and the descendants on approved applications. If your ancestor is there, much of the work may be done.
2. Search the SAR's patriot research system as well.
3. Look at your tree for men and women who were adults between 1775 and 1783 and lived in the colonies. For each, search the records below.

Revolutionary War records

• Pension and bounty-land application files at the National Archives, available on Fold3 and free on FamilySearch. Veterans who applied under the 1832 act often gave long sworn accounts of their service, birthplace and residences. Widows' applications prove marriages and name children.
• Compiled service records of Continental Army soldiers, also on Fold3.
• State militia records, payrolls and audited accounts, held by state archives.
• Records of supplies and claims, such as Virginia's public service claims and Pennsylvania's tax and supply records.
• The 1840 census, which lists surviving Revolutionary War pensioners by name and age.

See Military Records for more.

Proving your lineage

Lineage societies require documentation for every generation between you and the patriot or passenger: proof of each person's birth, marriage and death (or the best available evidence for them), and proof that each person was the child of the next. Practical tips:

• Start with yourself and work back, one generation at a time.
• Use a relative's approved application if one exists. A cousin who is a member may already have documented part of the line.
• Get the right kind of records. A birth certificate that names parents (a "long form") proves a relationship; a short-form certificate that doesn't may not be enough.
• Include places as well as dates.
• Expect to prove relationships in early generations with indirect evidence, such as wills, deeds and court records, before vital records existed. See The Genealogical Proof Standard and Wills and Probate.
• Read the society's current requirements before you submit; rules on acceptable evidence, including DNA, change over time.

Get help from a chapter

Local DAR and SAR chapters have volunteer registrars and genealogists who help prospective members find and document patriots, free. Contact a chapter early in your research.

Mayflower descent

The Mayflower Society has published detailed, documented genealogies of the passengers' descendants for the first several generations in its "Silver Books" (Mayflower Families Through Five Generations). If your line connects to one of these families, compare your research carefully with these sources, and with the society's requirements for the later generations.

Be careful with published lines

Some older published genealogies and online trees claim connections to patriots or passengers that don't hold up. Lineage societies have reviewed many lines over the decades and occasionally close lines found to be in error. Always document the line yourself.