Membership

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Eligibility:

Any man is eligible for membership in this Society who meets the following requirements:

  • Is a citizen of good repute in the community.

  • Is the lineal descendant of an ancestor who was at all times unfailing in loyalty to, and rendered service in, the cause of American independence, either as: 

    • An officer, soldier, seaman, militiaman or minuteman in the armed forces of the Continental Congress, or of any one of the several Colonies or States, or

    • A signer of the Declaration of Independence, or

    • A member of a Committee of Safety or Correspondence, or

    • A member of any Continental, Provincial or Colonial Congress or Legislature or signer of Oath of Fidelity, or

    • A recognized patriot who performed actual service by overt acts of resistance to the authority of Great Britian.

  • Does not advocate the overthrow of the Government of the United States by use of force or violence.

  • Is personally acceptable to the Society.

Collect and Organize Your Documentation:

When you have identified an ancestor who provides eligible service (i.e. fits one or more of the criteria listed above), you will need proper documentation to prove your lineage. This documentation will include certified birth, marriage and death certificates, wills, federal census and other records. Printed genealogies may be accepted as proof only if the genealogy is adequately documented; however it is best to rely on primary documents. You will also need adequate documentation to prove that your ancestor provided eligible service. The SAR has provided a worksheet for prospective members to organize this information, you can download it here (it is in a PDF file format, so make sure you have Adobe Reader installed OR a compatible browser).

How Can I Get Started?

We have several members in the MDSSAR who are expert genealogists and would be happy to assist you in establishing your genealogy and finding primary documentation to support your application. Please fill out our membership form and we'll get you in contact with our membership committee to get started. If you don't even know where to start - that's okay. We'll be able to get you started on your genealogy - there are a lot of great resources out there, so it can be tough to understand where to start. Fortunately our membership committee has tons of experience with genealogical research - so they will be a great resource for you. If you've already done some of your own research but you have some specific questions about your research - great! Once we get in contact with you, the membership committee can review your progress so far and help you with the rest of the process.
If you are finished with your application, please send it to our State Registrar and he will review it before it goes to the National Society.
Christopher Smithson
If you wish to check the status of your membership application or have any other questions, please contact our State Secretary:
C. Louis Raborg, Jr., MDSSAR State Secretary

Resources:

We have compiled many genealogical resources for you to use in your own research, including Patriot Indexes, Tax Lists, and links to external resources that our members have found particularly useful. Click on one of the links below to get started.