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The following database has over 230,000 records of patriots  whose gravesites have been located or whose service has been documented by a descendant who joined the Sons of the American Revolution. Search the SAR Database of Patriots FIRST-TIME USERS -- READ THIS BEFORE STARTING: "Approximate" means that if you enter the surname query "Smit" any surname starting with that fragment of name will be listed, for example "Smithson". "Exact" means that only surnames matching the surname query exactly will be listed. If you enter a first name query only exact matches will be listed, so alternate spellings or mis-spellings will be missed unless you enter them as the first name query. A maximum of 25 records will be listed for a search. In many cases there are several records related to the same person. After you have completed your search close the search window to return here, then go to Background, Problems, or What to Do Next sections below.

Background of the Posted Database  Over the past century prospective members of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) have submitted applications documenting the Revolutionary War service for well over 100,000 men and women. The current edition of the SAR Patriot Index (SAR PATI) lists over 100,000 patriots and several times that many of their descendants. The DAR Patriot Index lists over 100,000 patriots, many of which are not included in the SAR PATI. Over the past several decades information on the locations of over 100,000 patriot graves has been reported to and collected by the SAR Revolutionary War Graves Committee and several editions of the searchable database have been published -- first in print and later on CD -- as the SAR Revolutionary War Graves Registry (SAR RWGR), available through www.progenysoftware.com. As of 2006 January The National Society, Sons of the American Revolution, in conjunction with The Real Story of the American Revolution, is pleased to provide the public with a searchable database that contains over 200,000 records from both the SAR-PATI and the SAR-RWGR. Visitors may now search for information about the patriotic service and the grave location of their ancestors who supported the cause of independence during the American Revolution. Disclaimer: Much of the data was reported to the Revolutionary War Graves Committee without citing any primary documents as evidence of service. In some cases the person listed here may have a patriot marker placed by a family which had a tradition that the person was a patriot but there is no known documentary evidence of that service. For this reason the "Quality" field for records based on the RWGR were initially marked as "not evaluated". Reference to Reliable Sources: The records in the posted database include a Quality field to indicate whether or not the record includes an authoritative reference for the person's patriotic service. People in the posted database who have been approved as patriot ancestors through SAR applications are noted as "SAR appl". Similar notations will be entered as we compare the posted database with other lists of documented patriots. Duplicates: A record check found 13,000 pairs of records that had the same name and birth and death years. Work is underway to resolve and eliminate these and many near-duplicate records caused by typographic errors -- for example where the birth year in an SAR-RWGR record differs from that in an SAR-PATI by a single year. The Veterans Administration has estimated that the number of people who served in the military on the U.S. side during the Revolutionary War to be 217,000. The number with documentable civilian service is more difficult to establish, but roughly 20% of the patriots documented for DAR applications have non-military service.

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In Case of Problems  NO RESULTS? You may increase the number of results by repeating your search with different or less restrictive search parameters: . . . 1) Use an alternative spelling of the surname. . . . 2) Use fewer letters from (or omit) the given name. . . . 3) Omit the burial state. Remember that data entry for both the SAR Patriot Index and the SAR Revolutionary War Graves databases is a volunteer effort. Data entry has not been completed for many SAR-approved applications (several states) and for some recently-submitted lists of graves. The on-line searchable database includes no applications approved after 2005 and no grave reports submitted after 2004. TOO MANY RESULTS? This search program will not display more than 25 hits (records that match your query specifications), so if you see 25 records below, there may be more that were not displayed due to the cutoff number. You may reduce the number of matches by repeating your search with more restrictive search parameters: 1) Use all of the letters rather than truncating the surname. 2) Use all of the letters rather than truncating the given name. 3) Include the abbreviation for the burial state. MISSING FIELDS? If all the recovered records have no data in a field (for example, county) then this field will not be displayed in the results report.

What Should You Do Next?  Records that match the name and state you entered will be displayed, showing birth and death dates, gravesite information, rank, service, and spouse(s). There will also be a note indicating the quality of the data, such as "not evaluated", "SAR appl", etc. If the QUALITY field says not evaluated this means that the information was taken from the Revolutionary War Graves database. These records were based on reviews of cemetery records and surveys, sometimes based on strong evidence and sometimes not. Until we have reviewed the records and checked with authoritative sources these records will remain marked "not evaluated". If you know where your patriot is buried, but that information is not listed in our database, please take a photo of the grave and file a Patriot Grave Registration Form with the Sons of the America Revolution. Please note that it may be a year or two before the data is processed and the on-line database updated with this information. You may also be interested in the SAR's Revolutionary War Patriot Grave Marking Program If the QUALITY field says SAR appl then documentation from an acceptable source has been submitted, reviewed, and approved by the SAR. You may order the SAR application that cites this patriot (see below). The application usually has more complete information about the service and its documentation. For example the service may be "Captain in the Delaware Continentals, with service at Long Island and Germantown" and the reference, "Delaware Archives Military, Vol. 2, pp 372 and 769". This reference has rosters listing those who fought alongside your ancestor and whether they were wounded or sick. In many cases the SAR application also contains documented information on the birth, marriage, and death of the people in the line of descent from the patriot down to the applicant, citing the sources of documents supporting ("proving") that lineage. Your patriot may be the basis for many SAR and DAR applications through be many different lines of descent -- through different children and grandchildren (etc.). Because you have to provide documentation for any generations that are not documented on an approved application it is best for you to get a copy of a close cousin rather than a distant relative. The SAR Patriot Index (available only on CD) lists the complete lineages of many SAR applications, so you can determine which application would be most useful for documenting your own line. You may order a copy of the SAR Patriot Index through www.progenysoftware.com. In many cases PATI lists the complete line down to the applicant. The 2002 CDROM edition provides genealogical information for over 610,000 people named in SAR applications that were approved up to about 2001. Once you have decided which SAR application has the most useful information for your lineage you may order a copy using the SAR Record Copy Request Form. The DAR provides a free lookup service that can help determine whether there is a DAR application based on this patriot and which DAR application would be best to order. To use this service, fill in and submit the DAR Look-up Request Form.

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