Research          Ancestors, their Service, and their Burial Sites

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

Patriot Research System

About PRS:

The PRS is a combination of the previous NSSAR Patriot and Graves Registry (Online), NSSAR Revolutionary War Graves Registry (Book and CD), information from the NSSAR Patriot Index CD (2002), and additional information and updates from various State Grave Registry Databases. This database will continue to expand as new patriots and graves are found and new members are approved.

Please be aware that the Patriot and Grave Registry is NOT a comprehensive list of all the individuals who served in the American Revolutionary War, nor is it an indication than an SAR membership application (Record Copy) exists for every Patriot listed herein.

There are several ways to search for information on this system:

Patriot Search

Search the database based on Patriot Name, Patriot Number, and other criteria.

Member Search

Search the database based on a SAR member. This allows for viewing all known descendants of a given member.

Descendant Search

Search the database based on a Descendant name. A descendant is someone who sits between a SAR Member and a Patriot in their lineage. This search is a work in progress, as not every record has lineage data in this database today, and won't be included in the results.

Biography Search

Search the database specifically for finding Biographies that have been submitted. Search results are limited to those Patriots who have had a biography submitted.

Cemetery Search

Search the database for Cemetery records based on Cemetery Number, Cemetery Name, and other criteria.

This database is available for the purpose of general research, assisting with the SAR membership research, and grave marking documentation. The sources contained within this database are NOT acceptable as proof of service for an SAR application. You must still find the original reference to the service when submitting an SAR application.

Search Patriots:

Search the database for Patriot records based on Patriot Number, Patriot Name, and other criteria. If the search only matches a single record, then that record will be displayed. Otherwise, when matching multiple entries, a list of matching entries will be displayed, and you can select the one you wish to view in more detail. The search will return records meeting all search criteria, so entering multiple fields of information will limit the results that are returned.

Member Search:

Search the database for information on a specific NSSAR Member. You can search on a member's National SAR number, and if the member is known, information on that member and whom their patriot ancestors are will be displayed.

Search Descendants:

FYI -- This search is limited, incomplete, and a work in progress. (please read below)

This search attempts to search the lineage information from known applications, attempting to match names of the generations in-between the Member and the Patriot Ancestor. This can be very useful when trying to find shared generational data with someone else.

This search takes a single option, the name in which to search, and will return all known occurrences of that name within the lineage records.

NOTE: It is important to be aware that this consists of a small subset of NSSAR applications on file. Only some applications have been transcribed and entered into this online database, and of them, even less have all of the lineage data included as a part of that transcription. We are always looking to improve and expand on the data that is made available, but it is important to realize the limitations of this particular search.

Search Biographies:

Search the database specifically for Patriot records in which Biographies have been submitted.

If the search only matches a single record, then that record will be displayed. Otherwise, when matching multiple entries, a list of matching entries will be displayed, and you can select the one you wish to view in more detail. The search will return records meeting all search criteria, so entering multiple fields of information will limit the results that are returned.

FYI - Searching on a Patriot Number will limit the search to a single Patriot ancestor, as those values are unique.

Search Cemeteries:

Search the database for Cemetery records based on Cemetery Number, Cemetery Name, and other criteria. If the search only matches a single record, then that record will be displayed. Otherwise, when matching multiple entries, a list of matching entries will be displayed, and you can select the one you wish to view in more detail. The search will return records meeting all search criteria, so entering multiple fields of information will limit the results that are returned.

FYI - Searching on a Cemetery Number will limit the search to a single entry, as those values are unique.

Please keep in mind that this functionality is not a replacement for websites like Find A Grave, nor are we trying to compete with them. Instead, the primary goal is to be able to identify where patriots are buried, including the ability to group them within a cemetery.

Note: Cemetery searching only returns the list of cemeteries in which there are patriots known to be interred. (Patriots have to be manually linked to those cemeteries by national administrators.)

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution

Genealogical Research System

Search Options:

Overview & Help

Advanced Search

Child Search

Refine Search

New Search

Ancestor:

The Ancestor Database was created by and is maintained by the staff of the DAR's Office of the Registrar General. With few exceptions, the data is taken from verified membership applications and supplemental applications. New records and information are added on a daily basis. For additional information on searching this database, please refer to the Overview and Help section on the Ancestor Tab. (Working database of the DAR Genealogy Office)

Member:

The Member Tab search option is limited in order to protect the privacy of the Society’s members. One may search for basic information on a member’s ancestor record using national number, name and other fields using this tab. 

Descendants:

The Descendants database is an index of the names found on the lineage page of DAR applications and supplementals.

The purpose of this database is to help those looking for a DAR Patriot line to identify the best possible Record Copy to order. Once a connection has been found using the information in this database, please order a copy of the application you need using the new online ordering system for an "instant" copy or use the traditional Record Copy Order Form to receive a copy of the full application by slower mail delivery.

This database contains lineage from most original applications starting with National Number 1 through 889,069. Also included are the lineages from most supplemental applications in Add Volumes 1 through 1004. This database is possible thanks to the efforts of over 3,000 volunteers.

Please note, for national numbers below 100,000 the applications may have incomplete or multiple lineages. For more information you must order a record copy and review all pages of the application.

Genealogical Records Committee Index (GRC Search):

The DAR’s Genealogical Records Committee Reports began in 1913 and continue to arrive every year. The information in these 20,000 typescript volumes is predominately Bible record and cemetery record transcriptions along with many other types of transcribed or abstracted genealogical sources. The Genealogical Records Committee has sponsored a project since the late 1990s to index all names in every one of the GRC Reports in the DAR Library. The GRC tab provides a direct link to the “GRC National Index” and to the page explaining this project in more detail.

The GRC Reports themselves are digitized. Researchers may view the digital images at the DAR Library’s Seimes Technology Center. The images are not available at the present time online outside of DAR headquarters. The original typescript volumes have been retired and placed in off-site storage, so researchers must now use the digital images.

Information in the “GRC National Index” does not relate specifically to approved membership applications and supplementals and is not the contents of the files of documentation supporting them. This index is an ongoing project, and the staff of the DAR Library’s GRC Office adds new index content daily.

Researchers may order copies of pages in GRC Reports by contacting the DAR Library’s Search Service. Please consult the Search Service information page on the Library’s portion of the DAR website at http://www.dar.org/library/search-services .

Rev War:

Revolutionary War Records & Indexed Revolutionary War Documents

To order photocopies of images from these databases, please use, the Photocopy Request Form (LG-3001).

For more information on the Revolutionary War Records, please see the user guide (LG-1010).

Patriot Records Project Index

This index contains every readable name of numerous Revolutionary War records. The documents span over 75 years, starting at the very beginning of the Revolutionary War through the last petitions for remuneration. The online collection currently consists of records from the 13 original colonies/states as well as some of the newer states including Maine, Vermont, and Ohio. The collection also includes some French and Spanish records. Over 60 records have been indexed, and millions of names of patriots are now searchable.

Revolutionary War Pension Index

In the years prior to the availability of the federal Revolutionary War pensions on microfilm and now online, DAR staff genealogists and volunteers visited the Pension Office and later the National Archives to abstract, type up, and index thousands of pensions needed to prove the Revolutionary War service of pending ancestors of prospective members. They did not, however, abstract every Revolutionary War pension. More...

Patriots of Color

This is a new database of names of individuals from a wide variety of origins and backgrounds (African, African American, Native American, Latin American, etc.), who assisted the Revolutionary War effort on the Patriot side. The database builds upon the work done by DAR's Forgotten Patriots Project in highlighting the important contributions made by these individuals to the cause of American independence.

Forgotten Patriots Research Guide

African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War: A Guide to Service, Sources, and Studies: Since its founding in 1890, the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution has collected and published information about the American Revolution. Included in this tradition have been articles, grave markings, or placement of historical plaques that note the involvement of African Americans and American Indians in the struggle. It is in that vein that the Forgotten Patriot has been developed and published. More...

Bibles:

Bible Records and Transcriptions:

The collections of the DAR contain many family register entries from Bibles. Perhaps the largest collection containing such resources are the thousands of Genealogical Research Committee Reports created as typescripts during the last century. The GRC Reports were digitized over a few years enabling DAR volunteer members to study their content and to identify Bible register transcriptions that are present. This identification work continues, but at the present time approximately 40,000 family register entries from Bibles are now available as a subset of the national collection of the Reports. The DAR Library is the only location where the complete set of GRC volumes is available for the entire country. The database at this tab enables searches for these identified Bible pages and provides the citation as to their location in the Library's digitized collection. At the present time, the images are not available for viewing outside of the DAR Library.

The register is based on the original surname found in the family register. Each register may contain many other surnames as family members married and the Bible passed into other hands. If you do not find the surname you are looking for check the GRC tab which is an every name index to the entire collection.

General Resources:

Links to Miscellaneous Internal and External Resources

DAR Library Analytical Card Index: The DAR Library Analytical Card Index: The Library began creating this index in the 1920s and additions continued until the early 1970s. The contents of the analytical index come from such sources as old county histories, many of the DAR's own Genealogical Records Committee Reports (prior to the early 1970s), and a variety of other genealogical publications and periodicals

WPA Books:

WPA Collection brings together digital access points to genealogically relevant reports created as part of the Works Progress Administration between 1938 and 1942.

DAR Magazine Archive:

The complete run of the award-winning American Spirit magazine shares the National Society's love of American history, preservation, and genealogy. Each issue celebrates our uniquely American story through a selection of historical subjects from the Colonial period through the early decades of the new republic.

Library Catalog:

This section provides a direct link to the DAR Library’s online catalog. The catalog provides subject, title, author, and other access to the books, microforms, manuscripts, maps, genealogical charts, and other sources in the collections of the DAR Library. The Library’s cataloging staff is also cataloging the book collection of the DAR Museum’s Reference Library, and these cataloging records also appear in the Library’s online catalog. Please note that the DAR Library is only a reference collection and does not loan or sell any of the books listed in this online catalog. One may also reach this catalog on the DAR’s public website at www.dar.org .

Recommended Websites:

Noted genealogy websites used by our staff.

Online Library Documents Service

How does the online service work?

What if I’m having trouble with purchasing or downloading my order?

How can I use a record copy and supporting documentation?

*** The databases contain DAR proprietary information which should under no circumstances be redistributed to others, assembled, reproduced, published, or posted in any form whatsoever with the exception of the following: (i) DAR membership and supplemental applications; (ii) citation in genealogical scholarship; and (iii) citing a DAR patriot name and number in publications and on third party websites.