I had a relative that was not a Colonial Dame and I asked her why she was
not one like her grandmother was on her grandmother's lineage?  She said she
did not inherit the lineage papers, her aunt did and thus her cousin became
a Dame. The value of lineage papers is in the information, it is not like a
car title or land deed.  A decs. posession of the papers does not give right
of membership, nor lack of posession of the papers forestall membership.
The non-DAR/SAR/Dames public often has a fuzzy understanding of the meaning
of the papers.  Jim, Charlotte, N.C.
----- Original Message -----
From: 
To: 
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2000 1:43 AM
Subject: DAR membership invitations


 Does anyone know what the practice is re: invitations to going DAR?  When
I
> graduated from high school (way back in 1952) I received an invitation to
> join DAR.  I had no idea what it was based on or, frankly, what DAR was.
I
> was busy going off to school and did not respond.  Since I have grown
older,
> I have begun trying to do my genealogy and I would LOVE to know upon whom
the
> invitation was based. I don't know if there is any way to find out at this
> late date!
>
> My lines are Bryant,  Perdue & Howell in VA, TN, KY;  Miller and Lamb in
TN,
> KY and TX-OK;  Holland &  Snider in VA; Cantrell in SC, TN, MO; Fowler,
TN;  L
> egate in SC;  Thomasen in TN & MO.
>
> Betty Bryant Barker
>
> Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2000 14:15:26 -0500
> From: ELIZABETH RUSSO 
> To: [email protected]
> Message-ID: <[email protected]>
> Subject: Re: unacceptable sources
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>
> Unfortunately, not all DAR members' files contain the "original fully
> documented applications."
>
> Several of my cousins who joined in the early 1900s on the basis of some
> HARRIS ancestors (we supposedly have at least 4 Patriot direct ancestors
> on our Harris side alone) just stated their genealogies.  I viewed their
> records, both original and on microfilm, while at the DAR library with
> the aid of a wonderful staff person there. Most of my cousins' works do
> correspond to Boddie's Historical Southern Families, and to another
> publication.
>
> Once I learned that I could not just tie in to my cousins (the DAR has,
> thankfully, much higher standards for proof these days), I realized I
> had to start from scratch.
>
> Imagine my first surprise when I discovered a pension application and a
> will which stated that one of my alleged Patriot ancestors died with no
> mention of wife or children, and his sister was found to be next of kin
> for bounty warrant purposes.  Then my next surprise was that the widow
> of another one who was granted a pension was not even closely related.
> Both instances came after research at NARA.
>
> I have yet to prove that several in one line of ancestors that my dearly
> departed DAR cousins "documented" even existed.  Not one shred of
> evidence for two of the generations (for whom they had not documented
> any spouses or siblings, either)--no land records, no tax records, no
> Bible records, no genealogies, no census records, no nothing.
>
> Now, my ancestors as my cousins laid them out may well have existed, and
> they may well have been Patriots, but they hooked into the wrong lines
> for their proof.
>
> Having said all that, while I sorry to have to almost totally reinvent
> the wheel, and while I won't be joining the DAR as soon as I thought, it
> certainly taught me more than a thing or two about trusting sources (yes
> I use them, but as roadmaps) and about the value of doing my own
> research.  I'm having a ball doing the latter.  And by the way, the DAR
> library in Washington is in my top three favorite research spots in the
> world.  Usually, I rank it first.
>
> Elizabeth DuBois Russo
> An alleged descendant of at least 7 alleged Patriots.
>
>
> >
> >
>

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