Sons of the American Revolution

Not to be confused with Sons of the Revolution.

The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), formally the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR), is a federally chartered patriotic organization. The National Society, a nonprofit corporation headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, was formed in New York City on April 30, 1889. Its objectives are to maintain and extend "the institutions of American freedom, an appreciation for true patriotism, a respect for our national symbols, the value of American citizenship, [and] the unifying force of 'e pluribus unum' that has created, from the people of many nations, one nation and one people."

Sons of the American Revolution

Named after	American Revolution
Established	April 30, 1889 (1889-04-30)
Founded at	New York City
Type	Patriotic organization
Tax ID no.	53-0116355
Legal status	Federally chartered nonprofit corporation
Purpose	Patriotic, historical, charitable, educational
Headquarters	809 West Main Street, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Coordinates	38°15′28″N 85°45′49″W
Region served	Worldwide
Membership	38,323 (2022)
Official language	English
President General	John L. Dodd
Publication	SAR Magazine Spirit of '76
Affiliations	Daughters of the American Revolution Children of the American Revolution
Website	sar.org

The members of the society are male descendants of people who served in the American Revolutionary War or who contributed to establishing the independence of the United States. It is dedicated to perpetuating American ideals and traditions, and to protecting the United States Constitution. The official recognition of Constitution Day, Flag Day, and Bill of Rights Day were established through its efforts. The society has members in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

The organization is distinct from the Sons of the Revolution, a separate patriotic organization founded on February 22, 1876, by businessman John Austin Stevens and members of the Society of the Cincinnati. Sons of the American Revolution founder William Osborn McDowell disagreed with the Sons of the Revolution requirement at that time that all state societies were to be subordinate to the New York Society.

History

U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, member of the Sons of the American Revolution, signed the federal charter on June 9, 1906.

The first organization of descendants of Revolutionary War patriots was established in San Francisco, in 1876. A group of men who were descendants of American Revolutionary War veterans gathered to celebrate the centennial of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the United States. They also wanted to honor the men and women who pledged their lives, fortunes, and livelihood to the striving for independence from Great Britain. This group formed an organization called the Sons of Revolutionary War Sires. There is, however, no direct link between the Sons of Revolutionary War Sires and the Sons of the American Revolution except that members of the Sons of Revolutionary War Sires were permitted to join the Sons of the American Revolution after its founding in 1889.

The organization's founding can be traced to the Sons of the Revolution, a New York City society that was organized in 1876. Sons of the American Revolution was founded by John Austin Stevens, who envisioned an aristocratic social and hereditary organization along the lines of the Society of the Cincinnati.

In 1889, William O. McDowell, a New Jersey financier and businessman, organized the New Jersey Society of the Sons of the Revolution but was unwilling to accept the Sons of the Revolution's requirement that other state societies be subordinate to the New York society. McDowell also wanted the society to become more of a mass movement of descendants of Revolutionary patriots rather than an exclusive social club.

McDowell organized the Sons of the American Revolution at Fraunces Tavern in New York City, on April 30, 1889, the same year as the centennial anniversary of the first inauguration of George Washington as the nation's first president in 1789. McDowell was the organization's first member. In addition to organizing the Sons of the American Revolution, McDowell worked with six women to organize Daughters of the American Revolution, a national organization for women who descend from American Revolution era figures.

On June 9, 1906, Sons of the American Revolution was formally granted a congressional charter by an act of Congress under Title 36 of the United States Code. The act was signed by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, who was a member.

Insignia

Brigadier General Edwin S. Greeley in U.S. Army uniform, president general from 1904 to 1905, wearing the badge of the Sons of the American Revolution.

The society's insignia consists of a Maltese cross surrounded by a garland, with a relief of George Washington in a center circle. The Maltese cross used in the Badge of the Sons of the American Revolution draws its inspiration from the cross used by the Order of St. Louis of France. The wreath symbolizes the laurel wreaths presented to worthy individuals by the Roman Republic. Major West selected the Cross of St. Louis as his basis for the decoration because King Louis XVI of France, the Grand Master of the Order of St. Louis, provided badly needed aid to the fledgling Continentals. In choosing this cross, the National Society intended to recognize the French contribution to American independence.

History shows that the Maltese Cross was used by the Knights of St. John, a brotherhood of warrior Crusaders who represented all walks of life who banded together to fight for freedom and against oppression. The Knights of St. John, and other Crusaders, adopted the Maltese cross as their insignia because its eight points represented the eight Beatitudes prescribed in the Sermon on the Mount: blessed are (1) the poor in spirit, (2) the meek, (3) the pure, (4) the merciful, and (5) the peacemakers, (6) blessed are they that mourn, and (7) seek righteousness, and (8) blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake.

Surrounding the relief of Washington in the center are the words "LIBERTAS ET PATRIA", a reminder of the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.

The insignia is normally worn suspended by a ribbon of blue, white and gold (buff) on the wearer's left breast. National officers and former state and chapter presidents wear the insignia suspended from a neck ribbon of the Society's colors. On other occasions a rosette in the Society's colors is worn on the wearers left lapel.

Purpose

The color guard of Sons of the American Revolution's Indiana chapter alongside the recreated 19th U.S. Infantry Regiment at an outdoor Independence Day concert with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in Indianapolis in 2006.

The society is involved in historical research, raising funds for local scholarships and educational awards, and preservation of sites and documents related to the American Revolution. The Sons of the American Revolution petitioned Congress to store Revolutionary era documents in a fire-proof area and make them available to the public, leading to the creation of the National Archives. It is also active in cataloging and marking Revolutionary War patriot graves and conducts an annual Eagle Scout scholarship program. The society is active in promoting "patriotism", and was instrumental in the establishment of Constitution Day. Numerous Sons of the American Revolution societies and chapters have active color guard groups that appear in various public and private venues as a means of community outreach.

The Sons of the American Revolution hosts two Leadership Meetings and one National Congress every year. The two leadership meetings are held in the Spring and Fall in Louisville, KY at the Brown Hotel. The National Congress is held at a different location every year during the Summer; recent locations include: Renton, Washington (2021), Savannah, Georgia (2022), Orlando, Florida (2023) and Lancaster, Pennsylvania (2024).

Headquarters

The headquarters, located along Museum Row in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, contains the organization's administrative staff offices, Sons of the American Revolution Genealogical Research Library, and the future site of an American Revolutionary War Education Center. The Sons of the American Revolution is currently raising funds to finish the center's development. The building houses original and copied art that commemorates important people and events of the Revolutionary War, as well as historical uniforms, flags, documents, and other colonial era pieces.

The governance of the Sons of the American Revolution is made up of ten national officers, 15 vice presidents that preside over separate geographical regions, and one trustee, who is elected from each state and international society. The officers meet several times over the year to discuss business pertaining to the society. National Officers meet at least four times during their term of office, unless special meetings are called. Trustees meet twice annually at the society's headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. These meetings, known as the Fall and Spring Leadership Meetings, are normally held in late September and early March. During leadership meetings, committee recommendations and the society's budget are approved. While only national officers, vice presidents, and trustees have the right to vote on the floor, all members are invited to attend and may request appointment to committees.

National officers and trustees also meet during the National Congress, which is held in late June or early July of each year. Unlike the leadership meetings, which always take place at the Society's national headquarters, the National Congress is held in different locations throughout the United States. Locations are often selected in order to honor a historical event in United States history or in the organization's history, and there is an effort to alternate the meetings between the East and West coasts of the United States. The National Congress is responsible for electing national officers and approving changes to the society's constitution, along with any other motions brought before it.

The organization also maintains over 60 standing and special committees that Sons of the American Revolution members are appointed to in order to oversee the society's welfare, including committees on facilities, insurance, genealogy, library, merchandise, medals, and awards. All members are welcome to participate on committees and are appointed by the society's president general for a one-year term. There are no term-limits and all committee members have the right to vote on the committee's decisions.

The current President General is John L. Dodd, Esq., California Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, who was sworn in as President General at the 133rd National Congress in Orlando, Florida. The organization's executive director is Todd Bale.

Genealogical library

Sons of the American Revolution grave marker at the Opequon Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Opequon, Virginia.

The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution has held a collection of genealogical reference dating back to 1889. Materials were originally kept by the Secretary General or Registrar General up until 1926, when the materials were moved to the Registrar General's office in Washington, D.C., in 1927, this collection was moved to the recently purchased Sixteenth Street Headquarters Building, and the collection had grown to 914 books by 1933. From this point until the move of Headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Louisville, Kentucky, the book collection grew at a rapid pace, growing to approximately 25,000 items by 1988. At this point, the Library was on the Second floor of the Headquarters building on South Fourth Street, and possessed a 544-square-foot vault for books not out in the library due to space.

Because of continuing growth, the Sons of the American Revolution Library was moved in 2010 to a renovated building on West Main Street in the heart of the Historic Museum District of downtown Louisville. By this point, the Library collection had grown to over 58,000 items, mostly covering the Revolutionary War period, but also containing other genealogical materials. The library collection includes family histories, state genealogy materials, federal censuses, Revolutionary War pension applications, and CD collections, and the library separates materials based on State. The library also provides access to online research databases, including Ancestry.com, Footnote.com, and Heritage Quest Online.

It was supported by several other patriotic societies, including the Society of American Wars and the United States Daughters of 1812. The Daughters of the American Revolution stocked it in its library and even considered merging it with another of its own magazines. It ceased publication in 1906.

Membership

U.S. Army Brevet Brigadier General Horace Porter, president general from 1892 to 1897.

See also: Daughters of the American Revolution

Membership in the society is open to any male of "good repute" who can prove lineal bloodline descent from an ancestor who actively supported the American Revolution. Acceptable ancestors include:

• military veterans of the American Revolutionary War, including those who served in the Continental Army, Continental Navy, and state militias and navies
• signers of the Declaration of Independence
• members of the Continental Congress
• civilians who provided arms or supplies to the American cause
• people who served on political bodies supporting the American Revolution, signed oaths of allegiance, or those who gave similar support to the Patriot cause
• Soldiers and sailors from allied nations such as France and Spain who fought in support of American independence.

No state society or chapter may discriminate against an applicant on the basis of race or creed. The Sons of the American Revolution claims a membership of over 37,000 members in over 550 chapters representing all 50 states in the United States, as well as societies in Canada, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Overall, about 200,000 descendants have been admitted since the founding of the S.A.R. in 1890.

Publication

The official publication of the society is the SAR Magazine, released quarterly in February, May, August, and November. It covers "SAR society news at all levels and scopes" and features articles on "patriotic, historic and educational topics."

Prior to the SAR Magazine, the journal of the organization at the turn of the 20th century was the Spirit of '76 magazine, a little magazine published in New York. It was founded in September 1894, published by the eponymous Spirit of '76 Publishing Company and edited by Henry Hall, one of McDowell's associates. In 1897 Louis H. Cornish, previously the editor of another magazine titled Suburbs that was about real estate in New York City, took over as both editor and publisher. Cornish's opinion of McDowell, who in Cornish's words "came to us with various schemes of making the world better, and we entered into them and have since paid for it" was that McDowell's ideas for the magazine were enthusiastic but wildly impractical.

List of presidents general

1. Lucius Parmenias Deming, of Connecticut, 1889–1890
2. William Seward Webb, of New York, 1890–1892
3. Horace Porter, of New York, 1892–1897
4. Edward Shepard Barrett, of Massachusetts, 1897–1898
5. Franklin Murphy, of New Jersey, 1898–1900
6. Joseph Cabell Breckinridge, of Kentucky, 1900–1901
7. Walter S. Logan, of New York, 1901–1902
8. Edwin Warfield, of Maryland, 1902–1903
9. Edwin S. Greeley, of Connecticut, 1903–1905
10. James Denton Hancock, of Pennsylvania, 1904–1905
11. Francis Henry Appleton, of Massachusetts, 1905–1906
12. Cornelius Amory Pugsley, of New York, 1906–1907
13. Nelson Alvin McClary, of Illinois, 1907–1908
14. Henry Stockbridge Jr., of Maryland, 1908–1909
15. Morris Beach Beardsley, of Connecticut, 1909–1910
16. William Allen Marble, of New York, 1910–1911
17. Moses Greeley Parker, of Massachusetts, 1911–1912
18. James McElroy Richardson, of Ohio, 1912–1913
19. Rogers Clark Ballard Thruston, of Kentucky, 1913–1915
20. Newell Bertram Woodworth, of New York, 1915–1916
21. Elmer Marston Wentworth, of Iowa, 1916–1918
22. Louis Annin Ames, of New York, 1918–1919
23. Chancellor Livingston Jenks Jr., of Illinois, 1919–1920
24. James H. Preston, of Maryland, 1920–1921
25. Wallace McCamant, of Oregon, 1921–1922
26. W. I. Lincoln Adams, of New Jersey, 1922–1923
27. Arthur Preston Sumner, of Rhode Island, 1923–1924
28. Marvin Harrison Lewis, of Kentucky, 1924–1925
29. Harvey Foote Remington, of New York, 1925–1926
30. Wilbert Hamilton Barrett, of Michigan, 1926–1927
31. Ernest E. Rogers, of Connecticut, 1927–1928
32. Ganson Depew, of New York, 1928–1929
33. Howard Rowley, of California, 1929–1930
34. Josiah Alexander Van Orsdel, of Washington, D.C., 1930–1931
35. Benjamin Newhall Johnson, of Massachusetts, 1931–1932
36. Frederick William Millspaugh, of Tennessee, 1932–1933
37. Arthur Milton McGrillis, of Rhode Island, 1933–1935
38. Henry Fennimore Baker, of Maryland, 1935–1936
39. Messmore Kendall, of New York, 1936–1940
40. Smith Lewis Multer, of New Jersey, 1943–1946
41. Allen Laws Oliver, of Missouri, 1946–1947
42. A. Herbert Foreman, of Virginia, 1947–1948
43. Charles Bunn Shaler, of Pennsylvania, 1948
44. Benjamin Harrison Powell III, of Texas, 1948–1949
45. John Whelchel Finger, of New York, 1949–1950
46. Wallace Clare Hall, of Michigan, 1950–1952
47. Ray Omer Edwards, of Florida, 1952–1953
48. A. Alexander le Pelletier de la Houssaye, of Louisiana, 1953–1954
49. Milton Miles Lory, of Iowa, 1954–1955
50. Edgar Williamson Jr., of New Jersey, 1955–1956
51. Eugene Pendleton Carver Jr., of Massachusetts, 1956–1957
52. George Edward Tarbox Jr., of Colorado, 1957–1958
53. Walter Allerton Wentworth, of New York, 1958–1959
54. Charles Aubrey Jones, of Ohio, 1959–1960
55. Herschel Stratton Murphy, of New Jersey, 1960–1961
56. Horace Yeargin Kitchell, of Mississippi, 1961–1962
57. Charles Arner Anderson, of Ohio, 1962–1963
58. Robert Leon Sonfield, of Texas, 1963–1964
59. Harry Thomas Burn, of Tennessee, 1964–1965
60. Howard Emerson Coe, of Connecticut, 1965–1966
61. Kenneth Godfrey Smith, of Pennsylvania, 1966–1967
62. Len Young Smith, of Illinois, 1967–1968
63. Walter Gage Sterling, of Texas, 1968–1969
64. James Bronson Gardiner II, of New York, 1969–1970
65. Walter Reville Martin, of Rhode Island, 1970–1971
66. Eugene Clifford McGuire, of Ohio, 1971–1972
67. Ryall Stapleton Morgan, of Alabama, 1972–1973
68. Marion Howard Crawmer, of Michigan, 1973–1974
69. M. Graham Clark, of Missouri, 1974–1975
70. Robert Duval Savage, of Pennsylvania, 1975–1976
71. Matthew Bacon Sellers III, of Florida, 1976–1977
72. Wilson King Barnes Sr., of Maryland, 1977–1978
73. Calvin Ellsworth Chunn, of California, 1978–1980
74. Arthur Mansfield King, of Kansas, 1980–1981
75. Richard Henry Thompson Jr., of Florida, 1981–1982
76. Howard Laverne Hamilton, of Virginia, 1982–1983
77. Warren Griffin Hayes Jr., of Pennsylvania, 1983–1984
78. Carl Francis Bessent, of Maryland, 1984–1985
79. Benjamin Hume Morris, of Kentucky, 1985–1986
80. Clovis Hunter Brakebill, of Texas, 1986–1987
81. Nolan Wendell Carson, of Ohio, 1987–1988
82. Charles Francis Printz, of West Virginia, 1988–1989
83. James Roger Westlake, of Georgia, 1989–1990
84. James Robert Calhoun, of New Mexico, 1990–1991
85. George Henry Brandau, of Texas, 1991–1992
86. Paul Howard Walker, of Massachusetts, 1992–1993
87. Robert Bell Vance Sr., of Georgia, 1993–1994
88. Stewart Boone McCarty Jr., of Washington, D.C., 1994–1995
89. William C. Gist Jr., of Kentucky, 1995–1996
90. Reon Glessner Hillegass Jr., of Virginia, 1996–1997
91. Carl K. Hoffman II, of Florida, 1997–1998
92. Russell Duff Page, of Illinois, 1998–1999
93. Howard F. Horne Jr., of Delaware, 1999–2000
94. Bruce Baird Butler, of Louisiana, 2000–2001
95. Larry D. McClanahan, of Tennessee, 2001–2002
96. B. Rice Aston, of Texas, 2002–2003
97. Raymond G. Musgrave, of West Virginia, 2003–2004
98. Henry N. McCarl, of Massachusetts, 2004–2005
99. Roland G. Downing, of Delaware, 2005–2006
100. Nathan E. White Jr., of Texas, 2006–2007
101. Bruce A. Wilcox, of Virginia, 2007–2008
102. David N. Appleby, of Missouri, 2008–2009
103. Edward F. Butler, of Texas, 2009–2010
104. J. David Sympson, of Kentucky, 2010–2011
105. Larry J. Magerkurth, of California, 2011–2012
106. Stephen Arthur Leishman, of Delaware, 2012–2013
107. Joseph W. Dooley, of Virginia, 2013–2014
108. Lindsay C. Brock, of Florida, 2014–2015
109. Thomas E. Lawrence, of Texas, 2015–2016
110. J. Michael Tomme Sr., of Georgia, 2016–2017
111. Larry T. Guzy, of Georgia, 2017–2018
112. Warren M. Alter, of Arizona, 2018–2019
113. John T. Manning, of New Hampshire, 2019–2021
114. Davis L. Wright, of Delaware, 2021–2022
115. C. Bruce Pickette, of Alabama, 2022–2023
116. John L. Dodd, of California, 2023–2024

List of honorary presidents general

• Adolphus Skinner Hubbard, of California
• Harold Lee Putnam, of California
• Albert Maver Winn, of California

See also

• List of hereditary and lineage organizations in the United States
• List of Members of the Sons of the American Revolution
• Daughters of the American Revolution

External links

• Official website