Patriot In Lay Terms

Guide 7 of 10 · Sources last checked 2026-10-31 · Written with AI; every fact is tied to a quoted official source (how this works)

Patriotic Service Without a Musket: Proving Supply Taxes, Oaths, Petitions and Civil Office

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

Many patriots never carried a musket. They sat on committees, swore oaths, signed petitions, held town office, paid supply taxes or furnished goods. Lineage societies count much of this, but each type has its own evidence and, in a few cases, its own dates.

The date windows

DAR accepts service performed between 19 April 1775 and 26 November 1783.[8] SAR uses the same period, with some exceptions.[9] A few DAR categories have their own windows:

ServiceWindowSource wording
Committees that furthered the cause of the ColoniesFrom April 1774[8]DAR
Virginia Oath of FidelityOctober 1779 to 26 November 1783[8]DAR
Spanish troops under Gálvez or the Louisiana MilitiaAfter 24 December 1776[8]DAR
Supplying cattle for Gálvez's forces in Spanish AmericaAfter 24 December 1776[8]DAR
Battle of Point Pleasant10 October 1774, that location and date only[9]SAR

The patriot step in the free Lineage Evidence Matrix tests his service dates against these windows for the type of service you pick. DAR does not state an end date for the Gálvez categories, so the worksheet applies the general end of 26 November 1783.[8]

Service types and the evidence that fits them

Service typeHow the societies describe itRecords to look for
Civil officeDAR: civil service under provisional or new state governments[8], such as town clerk, selectman, juror, sheriff, constable or justice of the peace[8]Town meeting minutes, county court orders[10]
CommitteesSAR: committees of safety, observation, inspection and correspondence[9]Committee minutes, town records
OathsDAR: signers of oaths of fidelity and allegiance[8]; SAR adds the Articles of Association and the Association Test[9]Oath lists, often in state archives or town records
PetitionsDAR: wording has to clearly show loyalty to American independence[8]; religious petitions do not count[8]The full petition text, not just a list of signers
Supplies and material aidDAR: furnishing supplies, lending money, providing munitions[8]; SAR adds munitions makers and gunsmiths[9]Receipts, certificates, public claims
Supply taxesDAR treats payment of state supply taxes as patriotic service[8]Tax lists for qualifying laws (see below)
Acting under the new governmentsSAR: people directed to hold elections, oversee road work or collect provisions[9]Court orders and appointments
Aid to the woundedDAR: aid to the wounded other than to one's own immediate family[8]Accounts, claims, letters
SubstitutesFurnishing a substitute for military service[8]Muster records naming the substitute
Frontier defenseDAR: documented defenders of the western frontiers[8]Fort and ranger records
ClergySAR: overt acts of resistance that only religious leaders could perform[9]Sermons, church and town records
Virginia land certificatesDAR: applicants for Virginia Certificates of Rights to land for settlement[8]Virginia land office records

Supply taxes: the detail that decides the claim

Taxes are the most misunderstood category. A few rules from SAR's published policy:

DAR extended qualifying taxes beyond the Pennsylvania supply taxes in 2006.[11] SAR adopted its tax policy in fall 2012.[11]

Assemble the proof

  1. Name the service type and check its window in the worksheet's patriot step.
  2. Find the record that names the ancestor and states the act: the oath, the minute, the receipt, the tax list.
  3. Match residence to service. DAR re-examines service when the residence and the service location do not match.[12]
  4. Keep family stories out of it. SAR states that family tradition about an ancestor's service is not proof.[9] DAR does not take family genealogies as a source of service either.[13]
  5. Mark it correctly. On the DAR form, the CS box covers civil service[13] and the PS box covers patriotic service such as supplies, oaths and committees.[13]

DAR reserves the right to decide what service and proof are acceptable.[8]

Related guides: Revolutionary War Records by State, Application Returned?, Patriot or Loyalist?.

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.[14] For SAR, your sponsor is often the local chapter registrar; pick your state on SAR's contact page.[15]
  4. Start the application with that person's help: a DAR member, or your SAR sponsor, helps guide you through it.[3][15]

Next guide: Same Name, Different Man: Separating Soldiers Who Share a Name · 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. DAR — Accepted Revolutionary War Service. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.dar.org/national-society/accepted-revolutionary-war-service
  9. SAR — Step 1: Determine Eligibility. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.sar.org/step-1/
  10. DAR Electronic Application — FAQs. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://membership.dar.org/NSDAR/AppFormz/FAQs.aspx
  11. NSSAR Genealogist General — Revolutionary Taxes as Evidence of Patriotic Service (2015). Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.sar.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Revolutionary-Taxes-as-Evidence-of-Patriotic-Service.pdf
  12. 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
  13. DAR Electronic Application — Step by Step instructions. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://membership.dar.org/NSDAR/AppFormz/App_Help_Step_By_Step_1.aspx
  14. DAR — Chapter Locator. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.dar.org/discover/become-member/chapter-locator
  15. SAR — Apply in 4 Easy Steps. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.sar.org/how-to-apply/