yep, go back to the Mayflower, one ancestor was the dude who invaded Canada [twice] and while my grandmother was a member, I have absolutely no interest in joining.
“The Daughters of the American Revolution… spend one half their waking hours boasting of being descended from the seditious American colonists of 1776, and the other and more ardent half in attacking all contemporaries who believe in precisely the principles for which those ancestors struggled". – Doremus Jessup, in Sinclair Lewis’s novel It Can’t Happen Here
Of course that was almost a hundred years ago.
Here’s my experience from a number of years back. I was doing research for a book I was writing, and my travels took me to a museum run by a nearby chapter of the DAR–they had some primary source materials I thought I would find useful. There were three members there that day, all of them pleasant, all of them welcoming, all of them hoping to be as helpful as they could. While I worked we chatted. One of the women was very interested in my own history, and I allowed that I had at least one ancestor who’d fought the British in the Revolution (and one who was a guard at Andersonville in another war, but never mind about that). Earlier I’d mentioned that I had a daughter, and the woman’s eyes grew big. “Oh!” she said. “She could join our organization!”
“Maybe,” I said; “she’s adopted; I don’t know how you folks handle that.”
Her face fell. “Oh, my,” she said, “no, I’m afraid we only accept natural children” (god I hate that expression) “so she wouldn’t qualify based on your lineage.”
“Ah,” I said neutrally.
I think she thought I was upset with her, because she continued: “But, you know, we do accept a lot more people than we used to. Why, we even accept the colored now!”
“Well,” I said, “if they have the right documentation I don’t suppose you can keep ‘em out, now can you?”
Of course that was thirty years ago. I hope things are better now. But I ain’t holding my breath.
I’m reminded of Groucho Marx’s comment about being unwilling to be a member of any organization that’d have him.
My grandfather’s sister was in the DAR and I have her paperwork. It is not enough to just have citations to establish heredity, you have to have copies of the actual documents. It took her a year or two in the 1930s to get accepted and that included writing back and forth to the Army headquarters to get something established. I tried to document my lineage to her but unfortunately we cannot locate my mother’s birth certificate. So I’m out. Actually I’m a guy so my sisters are out. Otherwise I would have pursued it for their sake. Why not? I have teased my sister in Boston that a DAR membership would probably help her career in that town.
Likewise in Lorain County, Ohio. It has lists of “First Settlers” and “Early Settlers”. 13 members of my family were in the first group of 25 people from Connecticut who settled in Columbia Township in 1803. But my direct ancestor was not in that group, he came sometime after the war of 1812. As I recall he just made it into the cutoff for Early Settlers but again, I cannot prove the link. Dammit, I’m about 15 minutes from the site of the family grain mill and I can walk around and feel the connection.
Plus it’s a meat market today and they have free sausages on the grill on Saturdays.
To be clear, Mrs. Cardigan hasn’t decided to pursue membership, but if she did the reason she stated was “assisting me in conducting my genealogy research”. I guess the DAR is right behind the Mormons in terms of maintaining genealogical records for long periods of time.
I used to work in an archive assisting the public with their genealogical research. To be clear, I’m not an expert on genealogy, but I was able to assist new researchers in using the tools we had available and everyone on where papers were located within the archive. I really only dealt with DAR in a professional capacity in our shared areas of interest which was genealogy and historic preservation so my interactions were always pleasant.
I also used to work with the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a group of ladies I never quite warmed up to. Don’t get me wrong, our relationship was perfectly cordial, but I made it clear I didn’t buy into their Lost Cause bullshit (same as I did to the Sons of Confederate Veterans).
You should apply to join the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada.
The DAR integrated many years ago, and it’s estimated that about 5% of George Washington’s army were black men. Sure, they were racist (though they claimed they refused Anderson’s use of the hall because it was already booked for that date); everyone was. But now anyone of any race that can prove they descended from era, fighting for the colonists, is welcome.
sometimes “natural” children aren’t…
when they do genetic tracing for identification esp. in older bones, ie richard iii and the romanovs they go with maternal line as there is less chance of a break. for richard they used 2 female line relatives and got the link. when testing for male line they found a false paternity event. not too surprising for a 19 generation line.
some of those dar members may not be genetically linked.
In High School, in the 1970s, a representative from the DAR gave a talk to my Civics class about why the Equal Rights Amendment was a bad idea. I’ve had a low opinion of the group ever since.
I’d bet one of their fears, whether or not the expressed it, was if the ERA had passed, they’d be forced to admit men.
My wife is eligible to join the DAR, but in our area, the few members we know are also members of the local John Birch Society. That was sufficient vetting for her.
The DAR accepts trans women as women, yay. I could totally join. But I’m faithful to my sainted Democratic grandmother’s memory. DAR can take a hike.
What do the members of the group do? Do they get together to brag about what their ancestors may have done during the revolution?
From their website: The DAR, founded in 1890 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a non-profit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to historic preservation, education, and patriotism.
Sure, but what actually happens in chapter meetings? Singing Yankee Doodle? Do they discuss the proper role of the executive branch as one of three co-equal branches of the federal government?
My PCP up until two years ago is the president of our local SAR chapter. He likes it as an opportunity to talk civics in the schools when teachers invite him to address their classes in uniform (he’s a Revolutionary War reenactor).
He’s the most mellow, down-to-earth guy you could ever meet - almost the antithesis of the DAR member stereotype.
Oh, they’ll raise money for historical monuments, purchase historical properties for preservation, offering support to veterans and active servicemembers, etc., etc. I’ve seen them involved in literacy programs, they maintain a few scholarships (I don’t think you need to qualify for membership for all of them), they have a library in Washington D.C., and sometimes they assist with naturalization ceremonies.
You’d have a hard time finding an organization over 50 years old that didn’t have a regrettable history on a number of topics. And the DAR has theirs as accurately mentioned above.
Are they racist elitists today? What have they done lately?
My grandmother (1888-1975) - originally from Syracuse NY and Boston - was a DAR member. She donated some quilts to the DAR museum. The DAR people were very helpful when I enquired recently about the quilts, and was able to get images and details about the donation dates. Neither of her two daughters (both Canadian) seemed interested in carrying on the membership.
What social circles do you participate in that you are acquainted with both DAR members and John Birch Society members? And members of both?