JOPLIN, Mo. —
Since 1890, an organization known as Daughters of the American Revolution has been compiling information on Revolutionary War patriots and their descendants. Researchers can now do an online of search of thousands of those records.
A note at the DAR website states that the online databases are not a comprehensive list of all patriots, only those whose service has been confirmed and whose descendants have proven their ancestry. The site also cautions that many DAR records still need to be added to the searchable indexes. More than 1,400 volunteers are daily checking records and adding hundreds of names.
The site is located at www.dar.org. When the screen opens, click on “Online Research.” When the next screen opens, click on “Click Image to Open GRS.” (GRS stands for Genealogical Research System.) When the next screen opens, notice the tabs that run along the top of the screen.
To learn about patriots, select the “Ancestor” tab, which provides data from DAR membership applications and supplemental applications.
Enter the surname of an ancestral patriot. Although the site provides a space for entering the first name, I always leave that space and the other spaces blank so that a list of all patriots with that surname can be obtained.
After entering the surname, the site provides a list of patriots with that name. Notice the button for “Ancestor Record” on the right of each name. Click on that button to learn the type of records that are available.
After looking through the pension records, one can obtain details such as the name of a widow, date of the patriot’s birth, date of the patriot’s death, the unit in which he served, the state in which he served, the rank which he held, and the names of his officers. Few records provided all those details, however.
If the tab for GRC is selected, other types of records are provided. Examples are Bible records and cemetery record transcriptions. This database is also a work in progresss.
If the tab for “Descendants” is clicked, another searchable index is provided.
When I entered the surname of Waldo, I received a list of several dozen women who have joined the DAR based on the patriotic service of an ancestor with that last name. The database provides the name of each woman, her DAR number, her birth date and location of birth, her death date and location of death, the name of any spouses, their birth date and location of birth, and the spouse’s death date and location of death. The database also provides the DAR number of the patriot.
Click on the patriot’s name to learn details about his service. The types of details include the name of his spouse, his place of residence at the time of the war, the areas where he served, the units in which he served, his commanders, his rank, his birth date and location, his death date and location and the number of documents that pertain to him.
If a helpful document is listed at the site, a copy of it can be ordered online for $10. The document will be received as a PDF by e-mail. If a copy is ordered by regular mail or fax, the charge is $15.
Suggestions or queries? Send to Frankie Meyer, P.O. Box 731, Joplin, Mo. 64801, or contact: frankiemeyer@yahoo.com.
