Membership

Are you eligible to be a DAR daughter?

Potential new members are always welcome to visit the Rachel Caldwell Chapter and learn about the DAR firsthand. Our Daughters of the American Revolution National Society, founded in 1890 and headquartered in Washington, D. C., is a non-profit, non-political, volunteer women’s service organization active in all fifty states and in several countries abroad. Its membership is comprised of descendants of individuals who aided in achieving American independence and is open to women eighteen or older regardless of race, religion, or ethnic origin. Membership in the National Society is a special way to pay homage to your ancestors.

Finding a Patriot

We usually think of someone who fought in the American Revolution when searching for a patriot, but there are actually three areas of service that would make you eligible for membership in the DAR.

• Military Service—Service in the Continental Army or Navy, Marines, state or local militias, and privateers.
• Civil Service—Those who conducted the business of new federal, state, county, and town governments and displayed loyalty to the cause.
• Patriotic Service—Those whose actions demonstrated unfailing loyalty to the cause as a prisoner of war, doctor or nurse, minister, signer of an Oath of Allegiance, member of a committee, furnishing supplies, or many other actions.

Proving Your Lineage

What you need to know about the research process is that you have to prove how all the generations are linked from one person to the next. You must also have proof of birth, death, and marriage dates and places for every person in the direct line, preferably with primary sources. This sounds daunting, but it will be a fun adventure for those knowledgeable in genealogy and novices alike. The National Society houses one of the nation’s premier genealogical libraries at National Headquarters in Washington, D. C., and our chapter registrar will be happy to walk you through all the steps in this process and assist in your research.

Please contact us (see button in left menu) if you would like to visit our chapter. For more information about joining, go to the National Society membership page; and, if you wish an overview of the Daughters of the American Revolution National Society, click here.