Revolutionary War lineage, explained step by step
An independent guide: not affiliated with DAR, SAR or any lineage society, and it doesn't search records for you.
Just starting? Start here
New to DAR or SAR applications? Three steps, in order:
- How to join, in short: who can join, and who helps you apply.
- Find the soldier's name: Step 0 of the Roadmap guide.
- Start the free worksheet: it lists the records still missing and where to look.
Beginner guides
- The Patriot Lineage Proof Roadmap: Proving Every Generation for DAR or SAR
A generation-by-generation plan for documenting descent from a Revolutionary War patriot, with DAR and SAR rules side by side. - No Birth Certificate? Substitute Evidence That Can Prove Each Generation
What to use when a generation has no birth record, era by era, and how lineage societies weigh substitutes. - How to Read a Revolutionary War Pension File, Page by Page
Find a Revolutionary War pension file, decode its envelope, and read declarations, affidavits and widow's papers in the right order.
Free tools: the Widow Pension Law Checker and the worksheet
What it tells you: type a widow's marriage date and what you know about her husband's Revolutionary War service, and see, law by law, which federal widow pension and bounty-land laws from 1836 to 1878 her dates fit.[4]
Why it matters: widows could apply for pensions beginning in 1836.[5] A widow's application may give her maiden name and the date and place of the marriage, so her file can prove a link in your line.[4] The checker shows which laws her dates fit, explains each result, and links to where the pension files are.[5]
Proving your whole line? The free worksheet asks who the patriot was and how he served, then lists the records still missing for each generation and where to look, fitted to each person's era and state. Start my family-line worksheet
Both tools are free, need no account, and keep everything you type in your own browser. They don't search records for you.
More guides
- Revolutionary War Records by State: Where Each Kind of Service Was Recorded
- Bounty Land Warrants: What They Prove, and What They Don't
- From the 1850 Census Back to 1776: Bridging the Unnamed-Household Gap
- Patriotic Service Without a Musket: Proving Supply Taxes, Oaths, Petitions and Civil Office
- Same Name, Different Man: Separating Soldiers Who Share a Name
- Patriot or Loyalist? How to Determine Which Side Your Ancestor Took
- Application Returned? Fixing Common DAR and SAR Proof Problems (Including Supplementals)
Words you'll see here
- Patriot: someone who supported the cause of American independence, for example by fighting in the battles of the Revolution, serving in the Continental Congress or signing the Declaration of Independence.[2]
- DAR: the Daughters of the American Revolution, open to any woman 18 or older who can prove she descends from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence.[6][1]
- SAR: the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, open to any man 18 or older who can prove he descends from a patriot of the American Revolution.[2]
- NSCDA: The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, whose members descend from men and women who served the American colonies before July 5, 1776.[7]
- Lineage society: a group whose membership is based on lineage, meaning you join by proving you descend from an ancestor the society accepts, as with DAR, SAR and NSCDA.[8][1][2] On this site, "society" on its own means a lineage society.
- Registrar: the person in a local chapter who helps you apply. At SAR, your local contact is often the chapter registrar, who guides you through the application, can review what you've gathered, and receives the finished application to begin processing.[3]
- Bounty land: free public land. A bounty-land warrant was a right to free land in the public domain, granted to veterans and their heirs for their service.[4]
- Stat.: short for the Statutes at Large, the published federal laws. A citation such as "5 Stat. 128" gives the volume number, then the page in that volume.[9]
Sources
- DAR — How to Join. Retrieved 2026-10-31.
- SAR — About (Mission & Goals). Retrieved 2026-10-31.
- SAR — Apply in 4 Easy Steps. Retrieved 2026-10-31.
- NARA M804 descriptive pamphlet — Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files. Retrieved 2026-10-31.
- NARA — The American Revolution (research page). Retrieved 2026-10-31.
- DAR — What is DAR?. Retrieved 2026-10-31.
- The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America — Membership. Retrieved 2026-10-31.
- NSCDA in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts — Membership. Retrieved 2026-10-31.
- Library of Congress — United States Statutes at Large: About this Collection. Retrieved 2026-10-31.
Written with AI and checked against quoted official sources at build time. About this site.