This patriotic lineage society is not your grandmother’s DAR.  The Daughters of the American Revolution of 1776, (DOR) or (DofR), was active from 1890 to 1983 and is similar in scope to the well known National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, (NSDAR) or more commonly, (DAR).

The DofR was available to join by any female that could show direct lineage to an ancestor that served in the revolutionary war as a soldier, sailor or an official in any of the thirteen original colonies, or of Vermont.  There were 12,266 DofR membership applications in the collection when they disbanded in 1983.

Here is an excerpt from the North Carolina Chapter in 1906 that states the full scope of the society.
The Society “Daughters of the Revolution” was founded by Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, October 11, 1890 It was organized August 20, 1891 and was duly incorporated under the laws of the State of New York as an organization national in its work and purpose.

The occasion of its founding was to provide a society whose terms of membership should be based upon direct descent from Revolutionary ancestors, in which organization admission upon collateral claims would be impossible. This rule, clearly stated at time of organization, has been rigidly observed, and the Society is justly proud of its membership, representing as it does the direct descendants of soldiers and statesmen of the Revolution.

The distinctive feature of the government of the Society is its system of State Societies and local Chapters; the officers and Board of Managers of the General Society have entire superintendence and management of the whole organization, while subject to this oversight, State Societies regulate and direct their own affairs. A State Society may be organized wherever there are at least twenty members residing within the State, and a local Chapter may be formed by five members living in the same locality. The State membership includes all members of local Chapters formed in the State.

The objects of the Society as stated in the Constitution are: “To perpetuate the patriotic spirit of the men and women who achieved American Independence; to commemorate prominent events connected with the War of the Revolution; to collect, publish and preserve the rolls, records and historic documents relating to that period; to encourage the study of the country’s history, and to promote sentiments of friendship and common interest among the members of the Society.”

© This work is the property of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text.

Source Description:
(caption) The N. C. Society Daughter of the Revolution and Its Objects
(cover) The North Carolina Booklet Great Events in North Carolina History
(title page) The North Carolina Booklet
Mrs. E. E. Moffitt, Regent
146-150 p.
[Raleigh]
North Carolina Society Daughters of the Revolution
1906
Call number CR970 N87b (North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

The records of all of the states members were donated to the Suffolk County Historical Society in Riverhead, New York, and the index to the collection is on the German Genealogy Group website.  When you do a search for your ancestors name if positive results come back, there will then be an icon to click that will give you a form to fill out and mail in to the Suffolk County society.  The fee for a copy is $10.00 plus an SASE.

This is very exciting information to me as I located two ladies in the database from Denver, Colorada who joined in 1903 under one of my Revolutionary War Patriot ancestors, Aaron HULET (1755-1835) of Shaftsbury, Vermont.  Aaron was a pensioner and his wife, Cynthia (HOPKINS) HULET (1775-1860) also received a widow’s pension.  I have visited their graves several times in an abandoned cemetery in Shaftsbury known as the Little Rhody cemetery, as many of the early families, mostly MATTISIONs, were from Rhode Island.

I always wondered why no one had ever joined the DAR under him as he was fairly well known to have served and still has HULET/HULETT descendants in the Bennington county area.  This is the very first time I have ever seen him listed in any of the patriotic societies, so I have just sent off twenty dollars for two application copies and will be anxiously awaiting them.

Perhaps this will motivate me to become a member of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), which I have always been going to do when I could get a Round Tuit.  I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks to the Familysearch.org wiki on the DofR.

Here is a link to the controversial founder of the DofR, Flora Adams Darling.