On June 29, Ancestry.com posted the Sons of the American Revolution membership applications running from 1889 to 1970. These 
applications are of great value to genealogists, as they include actual linages starting with the applicant, and running all the way back to the patriot ancestor – and sometimes even further. Other useful information is also found in these applications. Notes about the ancestor’s service, the names of second wives, military service of the applicant, and all kinds of other family history related data can be found in the applications.
Ancestry.com got the original data from the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution in Louisville, Kentucky. The data was on 508 rolls of microfilm, allowing Ancestry to convert the data to digital images. The indexing of the many pages in itself is of great value to genealogists. On a personal basis, I’m very excited about the indexing and easy access that we now have available to the applications. I searched for my ancestor, Moses Crane of New Jersey, and got 8 hits on the name. Seven of them were for my guy. Of those seven, five different applicants were represented, because two applicants were applying for the service of father and son ancestors.
Beside the hits for Moses Crane, I also got hits for a number of other family members that I knew of, thanks to the online indexing of these records.
The following screen shots are from my search for Moses Crane.
Of course, I clicked on all the links to each of the eight hits for Moses Crane. As an example of the genealogical data found, I’ve used only two pages – those being for item number 6 in the list of hits. However, every one of the applications adds additional family information to my ancestral collection.
The following two pages illustrate some of the genealogical data found in the SAR applications:
The above two pages of the four-page application to the Sons of the American Revolution made by David John Crane gives you a pretty good idea of the genealogical value of the SAR applications now found at Ancestry.com.
The following is directly from the search page for the SAR applications found at Ancestry.com:
About U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970
This database contains applications for membership in the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution approved between 1889 and 31 December 1970. The applications are arranged in packets. It may be helpful to scroll through the images to find all information relating to the applicant.
As the Sons of the American Revolution website explains:
“The SAR is a ‘lineage’ society. This means that each member has traced their family tree back to a point of having an ancestor who supported the cause of American Independence during the years 1775–1783.”Applications require a pedigree and accompanying information to demonstrate a generation-by-generation link to a patriot ancestor. Genealogical information submitted may include references to Revolutionary War pension files, baptismal records, marriage records, cemetery records, census records, family Bible records, deeds, court records, documented family and local histories, and copies of applications to other lineage societies. Applications also typically include a short summary of the ancestor’s service.
These records can be an excellent source for names, dates, locations, and family relationships. Applications can be searched by name, place and date of birth and death, and application year.
If you wish to submit an application for membership in the SAR based on an old SAR application, please be advised that the SAR will require a ‘record copy’ of the old application. To obtain a record copy, please click here. Also, please be advised that many older SAR applications are not sufficiently documented pursuant to current SAR genealogy standards. You may need to supplement the old SAR application with additional documentation. Please review the SAR’s genealogy standards and procedures on its website.
How did you obtain the images for this article? I am unable to find print or save options in this database.
Thank you!
Jane – I just made screen prints. However, you can save and/or print directly from the image pages at FamilySearch.org. Using Firefox as a browser, and once I have an image onscreen, I can select a number of options for image manipulation “just above the image,” but below the toolbars, and titling lines. The options are “Full Screen – allows the image to take up the entire screen,” “Rotate,” “Invert,” “Save,” and “Print.” Clicking on “Save,” allows me to size the file to my hard drive, where I can them manipulate it with Photoshop or any similar software. Clicking on “Print” brings up two choices, allowing me to print the entire image or to print just a selected portion of the screen (cropping the image). Hope this helps.
Thanks, Leland, I will try that.
Is the index an every-name index? Would the index include the name of the 2nd wife, written in cursive, Catherine Little Rogers,
Are all early applications typed or are some completed in cursive hand-writing?
The index is every-name included on the documents, and they will be both typed and cursive. As for specific names – second wives, and so forth, that would require a search to find out.
Hi All- You may have already figured this out, but I thought I would post it just in case. You have the option to save, and therefore print, the Sons of the American Revolution applications on Ancestry.com. All I had to do was view the image, and then click the options tab on the green bar. Disable the advanced viewer option. You can now right click on the image and save it to your computer. I hope this is helpful!
Ashley,
Thanks for the tip! My library patrons were having a fit and I couldn’t get a print for them. Your suggestion of turning off the advanced viewer worked fine!
Swtiching to a Firefox browser is not an easy option for institutions like mine that don’t allow staff to download applications.
One caution, if I may. Please do not accept what is submitted and approved as the truth but do your own research as I am finding incorrect information [ex: Sylvanus Walker/Elcy Pelcher by a Phillip ancestor who’s application was accepted which stated that this Sylvanus Walker was a son of a Tandy Walker when in fact he is the son of Henry Walker who died in 1765 in Anson, NC proved throught the deed records of NC to GA]
Respectfully,