Daughters Of The American Revolution Lineage Books, 1890-1921
Are you a descendant of a daughter of the American Revolution? The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) pride themselves on tracing their lineage back to an individual who assisted with the Revolutionary cause during the American Revolution.
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Are you a descendant of a daughter of the American Revolution? The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) pride themselves on tracing their lineage back to an individual who assisted with the Revolutionary cause during the American Revolution.
Learn about these records
With each result, you will be able to view the original lineage books published by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The books include the names of DAR members, officers, and state regents. You will find the following information about your ancestor:
- Member’s name
- Birth place
- Spouse’s name
- Parents’ names
- Grandparents’ name
- Family lineage
- Description of your ancestor who participated in the American Revolutions
The DAR acknowledges those who signed the Declaration of Independence, veterans of the Revolutionary War, civil servants of the provisional or State governments, signers of the Oath of Allegiance or Oath of Fidelity and Support, participants in the Boston Tea Party, prisoners of war, refugees, doctors and nurses, as well as others who assisted the Revolutionary cause.
The records are presented as PDFs. This is different than our indexed records. We have provided some search tips below.
The Daughters of the American was first formed in 1890 in Washington DC. Within the collection, you will find the very first lineage volume. The organisation was formed on the anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of America and incorporated by an Act of Congress in 1896. In 1891, the DAR had 818 members. Today, that membership exceeds 930,000 members.
Their first volume explains that the DAR’s aim is to: ‘To perpetuate the memory and the spirit of the men and women who achieved American Independence…To carry out the injunction of Washington in his farewell address to the American people, “to promote, as an object of primary importance, an institution for the general diffusion of knowledge”. To cherish, maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom, to foster true patriotism and love of country, and to aid in securing for mankind all the blessings of liberty’.
It also explains the Daughters of the American Revolution seal. You will see it at the beginning of every volume. ‘The seal of the Society shall be one and seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, charged with the figure of a dame of the Revolutionary time sitting at her spinning-wheel, with thirteen stars above her, the whole surrounded by a rim containing the legend, “Daughters of the American Revolution, 1776-1890”, and the motto “Home and Country”’.
Search tips
Direct Search
• The search feature uses direct search. It will search for the exact word or phrase you type in the search field. There are no name variants available through this format.
• All search results will bring you to the page on which your search word has been found and not to an individual transcript. You can then read through the page to find your result.
Name searches
• A name search will return results which have the search terms on the same page within the document. This means that searching for Mary Smith will return pages where the names 'Mary' and 'Smith' occur. For this reason, your search may return the name Joan Smith or Rebecca Brown. By inserting quotations around the full name the search function will locate the terms together; for example, “Mary Smith.”
• To search for your ancestor by their name, write it as it would appear on the document. For example, if your relative was known as ‘Cathy’ it is likely that the name used for official records was ‘Catherine.’
• If you are unable to find your relative on your first search you can try different name variations. A number of register books only use abbreviations for first names. For example, if your search is unsuccessful for Mary Smith, try M Smith.
Examining the PDF
• If you wish to read through a full volume, select the volume number, then order the results by page number. You can start from the beginning of the book and read through to the end using the next button above the image.
• If you wish to read through the whole document you are searching, then order the results by page number. You can start from the beginning of the document and read through to the end using the next button above the image.
• Page numbers often correlate with the individual images of the documents rather than the page numbers used within the publication. Therefore, page 1 starts with the cover page.