Patriot In Lay Terms

Guide 9 of 10 · Sources last checked 2026-10-31 · Written with AI; every fact is tied to a quoted official source (how this works)

Patriot or Loyalist? How to Determine Which Side Your Ancestor Took

New here? What DAR, SAR, NSCDA, "lineage society", "patriot", "bounty land" and "Stat." mean
  • 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.[1]
  • 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.[2][3]
  • 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.[1]
  • 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.[4]
  • 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.[5][3][1]
  • 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.[6]
  • 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.[7]

The same definitions on the home page

Families changed sides, neighbors split, and some people tried to stay out of it altogether. A lineage society cares about which side your ancestor ended up on, not only about one act of service. This guide shows how to test both sides of the record before you rely on a patriot claim.

Why it matters for an application

SAR's bylaws describe an eligible ancestor as one who was at all times unfailing in loyalty to, and rendered acceptable service in, the cause of American independence.[8] DAR reviews service when a patriot's residence is a known center of Loyalist activity.[9] In those cases DAR checks that the service supported the American cause and that it was the ancestor's last known act.[9] The best-known center DAR names is Long Island, New York.[9] Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket signed neutrality agreements to support neither side.[9]

A real case of a switched side

The National Park Service describes William Shoemaker, who testified in his pension claim that he was wounded and captured fighting for the Americans. A historian later found he had been captured earlier and subsequently enlisted in a New Jersey Loyalist battalion.[10] His deception went unnoticed by the Pension Office clerks.[10] An approved pension is strong evidence, but it is not a guarantee about the whole war.

Search both sides

  1. Build the patriot timeline. List every dated act of service with its source and place, using the worksheet's patriot step to confirm his dates sit in a published window.
  2. Find the last known act. Sort the timeline by date and note the latest act, because DAR looks at whether pro-American service was the last known act.[9]
  3. Check the residence. If he lived in a known Loyalist center or a neutral area during the war, expect closer review.
  4. Search Loyalist records under every spelling. The United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada (UELAC) keeps a Loyalist Directory whose entries record first enlistment into the Loyalist military[11] and the place the Loyalist lived before being expelled.[11]
  5. Read the status field. In UELAC's directory, "Proven" means its Dominion Genealogist has accepted the person as a Loyalist.[11] "Expunged" and "Suspended" mean removal from the early Loyalist lists, usually by Order in Council.[11] "Disproven" means new information shows the person does not meet the criteria.[11]
  6. Separate same-name men. UELAC uses a digit to tell same-name Loyalists apart, which is a reminder that a Loyalist entry with your ancestor's name may be a different man.[11] See Same Name, Different Man.

Reading the result

What you findWhat it suggestsNext step
Patriot service only, no Loyalist recordNo conflict found in the records checkedDocument the service and residence
Loyalist entry for a man of the same name, different placePossibly a different manCompare places, ages and families
Loyalist entry for the same man, before his patriot serviceA change of side toward the PatriotsShow that patriot service is the last known act
Loyalist entry for the same man, after his patriot serviceA change of side toward the CrownExpect the service to be questioned
Residence in a known Loyalist or neutral areaCloser reviewGather service records from the place he lived

Two cautions. Loyalist status itself has shifted over time: individuals have been accepted and rejected as Loyalists at various times since 1789.[11] And family stories do not settle the question either way: SAR does not take family tradition about service as proof.[8]

Record it

Enter each pro- and anti-independence record in the Lineage Evidence Matrix against the patriot's generation and use the conflict flag where they disagree. The report page lists every flagged conflict first.

Related guides: Patriotic Service Without a Musket, Revolutionary War Records by State.

What to do next

  1. Record the patriot and each generation in the free Lineage Evidence Matrix. It gives you a to-do list of what is missing and where to look, fitted to each person's era and state, and a plan you can print.
  2. If a widow applied for a pension, check which widow pension laws fit with the free Widow Pension Law Checker.
  3. Find a local chapter. DAR's Chapter Locator finds DAR chapters in your area.[12] For SAR, your sponsor is often the local chapter registrar; pick your state on SAR's contact page.[13]
  4. Start the application with that person's help: a DAR member, or your SAR sponsor, helps guide you through it.[3][13]

Next guide: Application Returned? Fixing Common DAR and SAR Proof Problems (Including Supplementals) · All 10 guides

Sources

  1. SAR — About (Mission & Goals). Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.sar.org/sar-missions-and-goals/
  2. DAR — What is DAR?. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.dar.org/discover/become-member/what-dar
  3. DAR — How to Join. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.dar.org/discover/become-member/how-join
  4. The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America — Membership. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://nscda.org/about/membership/
  5. NSCDA in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts — Membership. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://nscdama.org/membership/
  6. NARA M804 descriptive pamphlet — Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/army/dc/m804.pdf
  7. Library of Congress — United States Statutes at Large: About this Collection. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.loc.gov/collections/united-states-statutes-at-large/about-this-collection/
  8. SAR — Step 1: Determine Eligibility. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.sar.org/step-1/
  9. Today's DAR (DAR staff genealogist) — Why Was His Service Removed? (Feb 26, 2021). Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://blog.dar.org/2021/02/26/why-was-his-service-removed
  10. National Park Service — Revolutionary War Pension Files: Tips and a Guide for the Curious. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/what-might-you-find-in-the-revolutionary-war-pension-files.htm
  11. United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada — Loyalist Directory Detail Help. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/help/
  12. DAR — Chapter Locator. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.dar.org/discover/become-member/chapter-locator
  13. SAR — Apply in 4 Easy Steps. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.sar.org/how-to-apply/