Dar Has Treasure Trove Of Historical Records

It doesn’t take long for a new genealogist to learn that the Daughters of the American Revolution has something to offer - but they don’t always know what the DAR is nor what it offers.

A 1994 NSDAR Fact Sheet has all the answers.

The National Society of DAR was founded in 1890 and incorporated in 1896. While some 800,000 members have joined since 1890, today’s membership numbers about 200,000. There are chapters in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Australia, Canada, France, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

The group’s objectives are historic preservation, promotion of education and patriotic endeavor.

Its national headquarters is three huge adjoining structures within sight of the White House in Washington, D.C. which houses the Americana Room (a repository of more than 5,000 documents of early American history), the DAR Museum (33 state rooms decorated and supported by the various state chapters), the Seimes Microfilm Center, Continental Hall and its respected library.

The DAR promotes American heritage through the arts and historic preservation and sponsors an annual American history writing contest for young students. Two American Indian schools and six Appalachian schools are supported by the DAR.

I could easily finish this column chronicling the good works of the DAR.

However, it is for genealogical information that many family historians turn to the DAR. Its library is open to the public (except during its Congress each April) and is itself worth a trip to Washington, D.C.

The library has nearly 83,000 pages of unpublished source records, copied and bound, gathered by the various state chapters in their continuing efforts to preserve American history.

The Seimes Microfilm Center is the depository for NSDAR applications and supplements. The applications often lead to more information and further sources on our ancestors. You can personally look at these applications at the center if you know the names of your patriot ancestor. The records can also be accessed by mail using the appropriate form. (For a form, send me a self-addressed, stamped envelope c/o this newspaper, or contact DAR headquarters directly.)

To genealogists, the group’s best-known resource is its DAR Patriot Index. In the index’s new edition, more than 3,330 pages of patriot names are listed.

These names, in these books, lead you to the application files held by the Seimes Microfilm Center. Whenever a woman fills out an application to join the DAR, she has not only listed her ancestry back to a Revolutionary War patriot, but (hopefully) has documented that lineage with notes on the fourth page of the application.

The application files are especially valuable when you consider that many patriot ancestors did not live to collect a pension for their service in the Revolutionary War and therefore will not be found in the National Archives records.

But, if your ancestor provided a cart to haul supplies behind the Army, or a dozen leghorns for an Army supper, or in any way rendered a service that can be documented, then you are eligible to join the DAR.

An older version of the three-volume DAR Patriot Index is available in the Genealogy Section at the Spokane Public Library, downtown. If you can’t find these blue volumes, visit on a Thursday when a volunteer from the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society will be there to help you.

Marie Nelson, EWGS librarian, says the society is considering the purchase of the new Centennial Edition.

Address for the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is 1776 “D” Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006-5392. Write them about accessing their material by mail, or to plan a visit.

Now you know what the organization has to offer, especially to the family historian.

Marta Metcalf, 3915 Yorktown Rd., Chattanooga, TN 37416, is updating the book, “Kelloggs In the Old World and the New.” The library’s Genealogy Section has this three-volume set by Timothy Hopkins, first published in 1903, and many Inland Northwest genealogists trace their Kellogg line back into this book. If you are interested in Metcalf’s project, contact her directly.

Genealogists always need maps, and the Northwest Map & Travel Book Center, 525 W. Sprague, Spokane, WA 99204, (455-6981) probably has the map you need. Give them a call. If they can’t help you, try the federal map office in the newly renovated Post Office Building in downtown Spokane.

Do we always know the best methods to preserve and protect our family’s important papers and photographs? Craig A. Tuttle’s new 111-page book, “An Ounce of Preservation,” is a complete guide to making sure precious documents and photographs are stored properly. In addition, the book covers proper storage of works of art on paper, greeting cards, sports cards, scrapbooks, magazines, comic books, stamps and posters. Cost of this informative book is $12.95, and may be ordered by telephoning (800) 356-9315.

Sheila Benedict, a California genealogist, has begun an ambitious project of indexing the names of men who served in the American Civil War and are buried in California. She requests data on all who served, both Union and Confederate, and where they served. Her goal is to compile a set of reference books as comprehensive as possible. Write her at PO Box 335, Nuevo, CA 92567-0335, or call (909) 928-9875.

The annual all-day workshop to be held at the Mukogawa Fort Wright Center by George Ott will be Oct. 7, not Oct. 1 as listed in my column last week.

Today’s trivia

In Welsh, surnames “ab” or “ap” is the prefix for “son of.” Then the name gets shortened. Son of Evan becomes Ab Evan and winds up Bevans. Son of Rhys goes through Ap Rhys to Price. Son of Richard goes through Ap Richard to Pritchard.

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