How To Join The Sons of the American Revolution
The information on this page should give the prospective member an idea of how to go about joining the NSSAR (i.e. the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution).
Pamplets providing more detailed application requirements for the Sons of the American Revolution can be obtained by writing to the National Headquarters, 1000 S. Fourth Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40203.
General Application Guidelines
According to the Constitution and Bylaws of the NSSAR, qualifications for membership in the society include:
"Any man shall be eligible for membership in this Society who, being of the age of eighteen years or over and a citizen of good repute in the community, is the lineal descendant of an ancestor who was at all times unfailing in loyalty to, and rendered active service in, the cause of American independence, either as an officer, soldier, seaman, marine, militiaman or Minuteman, in the armed forces of the Continental Congress, or of any one of the several Colonies or States; or as a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, or as a member of a Committee of Safety or Correspondence; or as a member of any Continental, Provincial, or Colonial Congress or Legislature; or as a recognized patriot who performed actual service by overt acts of resistance to the authority of Great Britain; provided, however, that no person advocating the overthrow of the Government of the United States by use of force or violence shall be eligible for membership in the Society."
Membership is limited to direct lineal descendants of the Patriots as outlined in the statement above. Lineal descent refers to genetic descent. Lineal descent does not flow through adoptive parents to their adopted children. Prospective members who were adopted by another family should not be discouraged from attempting to gain membership in the SAR; they might be able to prove their direct lineal descent from a qualifying ancestor.
Most new applicants join a local chapter so that they can attend the meetings and special functions of that chapter. You may join any chapter of any state society, or you might choose to become a "member at large" with no affiliation to any chapter or state society. You might want to consider joining a chapter in the state for which your Patriot ancestor served during the American Revolutionary War, regardless of whether you live close to such a chapter. You need to realize, though, that you may not be able to attend the meetings or any special functions of that chapter.
What Steps Do You Take To Join?
Determine if you descend from a Patriot of the American Revolutionary War. This would involve performing a genealogical study of your ancestry (or having it performed for you by a genealogical society or professional genealogist.)
Collect copies (either photocopied or photographed) of source material that proves the following information for each generation from yourself back to the Patriot ancestor:
Husband's birth date (and place) and death date (and place).
Wife's birth date (and place) and death date (and place).
Husband and Wife's marriage date (and place).
Link between the generation in question and the one preceeding it.
The source material might include (but is not limited to) Bible records, court records (deeds, wills, orphans' court records, etc.) newspaper accounts, tombstone inscriptions and certain published books (such as the state archives transcriptions). If you utilize published books as sources (including the genealogical records from a family Bible), you must include a photocopy of the title page showing the date of publication.
Genealogical books, lineage charts, or other "family press" items are not accepted as proofs for membership application purposes.
Obtain a worksheet and two blank Membership Application forms from the Registrar of a local SAR chapter.
The current Registrar for the Frontier Patriots Chapter is David G. Hammaker (e-mail: DHammaker@aol.com )
Type your ancestors' birth, death and marriage information into the appropriate fields on the front side of the Membership Application forms. (Use of the worksheet prior to filling in the application forms is suggested.)
Type the sources of the information into the appropriate fields on the back side of the Membership Application forms.
Dates should be typed in the following format: two-digit day, three-letter month, four-digit year. For example: 05 Sep 1853
If you cannot provide an exact day/month/year date, you may include an approximate date with the "circa" notation: For example: ca 1823
On the back of each photocopy or photograph to be used as proof of a particular item, write the generation number and the subject.
For example: Gen. 4, Husband's Death
If you cannot obtain a source for a particular item, or if you find two sources which exhibit discrepancies, provide a statement (which you should have notarized).
Such a statement might read: I, _________ affirm that the following statement(s) are true and valid to the best of my knowledge: List the generation number and the subject, and then state clearly and succinctly your reason for inclusion of a particular item.
For example: Gen. 5, Wife's Birth - Although no record exists to prove -----'s birth date of -----, I submit the ------ Township, ------ County Census of 18-- in which she is listed at the age of ----. Her birth date is therefore calculated as circa 17--.
You will need to provide notarized statements to prove discrepancies in the names of individuals included in the lineage.
For example: Gen. 3, Husband's Name - My grandfather's name, as noted in the family Bible, was John Charles. In certain public and private records this individual is listed as John; in others he is listed as John C.; in others he is listed as Charles. I submit that all the references refer to one and the same individual.
Sign your name on the appropriate line on the back side of the Membership Application form using black ink only.
You should contact the Registrar of a local SAR chapter to review the Membership Application forms for accuracy and completeness prior to submitting it to the Registrar of your state Society.
Submit the two completed Membership Application forms, along with the photocopied/ photographed proofs and a check for the amount of $71 to the Registrar of a local SAR chapter. The Registrar will retain the chapter's application dues and forward the balance to the state Registrar, who will then forward it to the NSSAR.
Due to the large volume of applications received daily by the NSSAR, and due to the need for each application to be properly reviewed, please be patient in waiting for a reply. The process may, in some cases take a few months. Queries about the status of your application will not speed up the process.
