Sons of the American Revolution (SAR): Overview and Membership
The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) is a patriotic hereditary organization open to male descendants of individuals who actively supported American independence during the Revolutionary War period. Founded in 1889 and chartered by the United States Congress, the SAR operates across the full scope of revolutionary war lineage societies in the United States, functioning as one of the oldest and most institutionally prominent membership organizations of its type. This page covers the SAR's organizational definition, membership mechanics, application scenarios, and the eligibility boundaries that distinguish qualifying ancestors from non-qualifying ones.
Definition and scope
The SAR is incorporated under a congressional charter granted in 1906 (36 U.S.C. § 21701 et seq.), placing it within the same class of congressionally recognized patriotic organizations as the Daughters of the American Revolution. As of its publicly reported membership figures, the SAR maintains more than 35,000 members organized into approximately 500 chapters across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and international chapters in 15 countries (SAR National Society).
The society's scope is explicitly hereditary and patriotic rather than fraternal in the lodge sense. Membership confers no commercial benefit or professional credential. The SAR's stated mission, as published in its governing documents, centers on four pillars: education, patriotism, history preservation, and public service. It sponsors educational programs, awards scholarships, and maintains a presence at historic sites and commemorative events. The SAR is distinct from purely genealogical societies — it requires demonstrated lineage but is not primarily a research organization. For a structural comparison of how these categories diverge, see the page on lineage society vs. genealogical society.
How it works
SAR membership follows a three-phase process: lineage documentation, chapter sponsorship, and national approval.
Phase 1 — Ancestor Identification and Documentation
The applicant must identify at least one male-line or collateral patriot ancestor who rendered qualifying service between April 19, 1775 (the battle of Lexington and Concord) and November 26, 1783 (the formal end of hostilities). Qualifying service falls into 13 recognized categories published in the SAR's Handbook for Registrars and includes:
Ancestors who were loyalists, remained neutral, or served only in post-1783 frontier militias do not qualify. The SAR distinguishes patriot service from mere colonial residency — geographic presence alone during the Revolutionary period is not sufficient.
Phase 2 — Record Assembly
The applicant must produce an unbroken documentary chain from the patriot ancestor to the present generation. Each generational link requires independent primary documentation — vital records, church registers, probate files, census records, or equivalent contemporaneous sources. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the primary federal repository for Revolutionary-era pension files, bounty land warrants, and military service records, all of which function as anchor documents in SAR applications. State archives, county courthouses, and repositories held by the Daughters of the American Revolution Library also supply critical supporting materials.
Phase 3 — Chapter Review and National Registration
A completed application packet is submitted to a local SAR chapter, where a chapter registrar performs an initial documentary review. The application then advances to the national office in Louisville, Kentucky, where a national registrar conducts a secondary review. Approval at the national level results in registration of both the member and the patriot ancestor in the SAR's national genealogical database — a record that benefits subsequent family members applying on the same lineage line.
Common scenarios
Existing DAR lineage as a starting point: Male relatives of women who hold Daughters of the American Revolution membership frequently apply to the SAR using the same ancestral line already verified by the DAR. Because the DAR applies rigorous documentation standards comparable to the SAR's own, a previously approved DAR lineage substantially accelerates the application timeline, though the SAR conducts its own independent review and does not automatically accept DAR approval as dispositive.
New lineage research from scratch: Applicants without a pre-documented lineage must commission or conduct original genealogical research. Engaging an accredited genealogist credentialed through the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) or the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) reduces documentation errors that lead to rejection. The SAR reports that incomplete evidentiary chains — specifically missing birth, marriage, or death records for intermediate generations — are among the most common reasons applications require supplemental documentation.
Junior membership (Squires): Male descendants who are under 18 years of age at the time of application may apply for SAR junior membership through the Squires program. Junior members pay reduced dues, participate in youth-specific programs, and convert automatically to full adult membership upon reaching 18. The documentation requirements are identical to adult applications.
International applicants: The SAR accepts applications from male descendants residing outside the United States, provided the ancestral service record meets the same evidentiary standard. International chapters in countries including France, Germany, and Canada process applications locally before forwarding to the national office.
Decision boundaries
The central eligibility determination in any SAR application turns on two separable questions: whether the ancestor rendered qualifying service and whether the generational chain is documentarily complete.
Qualifying service vs. non-qualifying residence: A common point of confusion involves ancestors who lived in the colonies during the Revolutionary period but whose documented activity does not fall within the SAR's 13 service categories. An ancestor who paid taxes in 1778 without any documented connection to a recognized act of support does not qualify. Conversely, a female ancestor cannot transmit SAR eligibility directly — SAR membership is reserved for male applicants who trace lineage through any combination of male and female generational links back to a male or female patriot. The lineage path itself does not need to pass exclusively through male lines; the applicant must be male (or assigned male at birth, consistent with the SAR's current governing policies).
Documented vs. assumed generational links: The SAR does not accept family tradition, published genealogies without primary-source citations, or online family trees as standalone evidence. Each generational step must be supported by a contemporaneous record. DNA evidence, while increasingly used as a supplementary tool (see DNA testing and lineage societies), does not substitute for documentary proof of a specific generational relationship under current SAR standards.
SAR vs. DAR — parallel organizations, parallel standards: The SAR and the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution share the same ancestor eligibility criteria and the same evidentiary documentation standards, making them directly comparable in process design. The single structural difference is that DAR membership is open to female descendants while SAR membership is restricted to male descendants. Both societies cross-reference each other's approval records, and both contribute to the broader lineage society application process infrastructure that governs patriotic hereditary organizations across the United States.
For a broader orientation to where the SAR sits within the full ecosystem of American lineage organizations, the lineagesocietyauthority.com index provides a structured reference across all major society types.