Debbie's Lineage Research Corner

Stop Waiting for a Knock at the Door

by Debbie Duay, Ph.D.

Traditionally, DAR chapters have focused on two main groups of prospective members:

1) those with a relative who is already a member

2) those that have researched their own genealogy.

Yet, these two groups represent a very small percentage of the population that is eligible to join our organization. Indeed, the vast majority of eligible ladies have NO IDEA of their eligibility.

In the first 100 years of our organization, documenting one's lineage from a Revolutionary War patriot was often a monumental task that took many years of research to complete. With the amount of time and effort required to submit an application, most DAR chapters had no choice but to wait for eligible prospective members to approach them. Today, however, the Internet has completely changed the world of genealogy. With so many resources available at the touch of our finger tips, it is no longer necessary to wait for prospective members knowledgeable about their ancestry to come calling. With a few simple websites, it is often easy to find and document the Revolutionary War patriot ancestors hidden in the lineages of women who know very little about their genealogy beyond their grandparents or great-grandparents.

Thus, today we should be taking a much more proactive approach to recruitment than ever before. Instead of focusing solely on prospective members knowledgeable about their family tree, we should be recruiting interesting women active in other organizations in our communities who have never even thought their genealogy -- much less researched it. When we meet a woman in the garden club or at church who we believe would be an asset to our chapter, we should be telling her about the DAR and asking her, "Would you be interested in joining the DAR if we can find a Revolutionary War patriot ancestor in your lineage?" We should avoid asking the more traditional question of "Are you eligible to join the DAR?" as it automatically limits our potential members to the small percentage of women in the two categories described above.

Of course, this idea of proactively recruiting outstanding women in our communities and essentially serving as their genealogists throughout the research process is a major shift in thinking for many DAR members. And certainly not everyone will agree with this idea. For instance, some DAR members may feel that it is still too much work for chapters to take on the responsibility of helping potential members with each and every step in the journey. Likewise, others may believe that prospective members will not fully appreciate their membership if they have not experienced "the trials and tribulations" of documenting their lineage.

As for the work load, the short-term effort will yield HUGE long-term benefits by providing chapters with dedicated and skilled members to serve as chapter officers, committee chairman, community fundraisers, and publicity specialists for years to come. Keep in mind that the idea is to go out in the community and find the women that you WANT and NEED to make your chapter successful. For those concerned that DAR membership will be taken for granted if the prospective has not "suffered" through the application process, I believe that there is very little reason to worry. In fact, many of my chapter's most consistent participants are the ladies who never had any idea of their DAR eligibility.

If incorporated gradually, moving from a passive to an active recruitment strategy is actually a fairly easy change. Start with your current members. Use the connections that they already have to recruit new members. Next, join other local organizations such as the women's club, the garden club, or the historical society. Offer to present a brief genealogy program at one of their meetings.

When someone indicates interest in the possibility of membership, ask her to write down her name, email address, and phone number. Explain that you will be sending her a simple, one-page Genealogy Worksheet to complete on her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. Tell her not to worry if she cannot fill in every name, date, and place. Emphasize that she should just complete as much as she knows on the worksheet.

If the potential member has an email address, the best way to send her the worksheet is through an email attachment. This way she can either: 1) type the information into the worksheet using the computer (it's a Word document) and email it back to you, OR 2) print it out, fill it in by hand, and mail it back to you. If she does not have email, you can mail the worksheet to her. Click here to download the Genealogy Worksheet. NOTE: Be sure to put your name, address, email address, and phone in the "Return To:" box on the worksheet.

After the worksheet is returned to you, the next step is to find one or more patriot lines in the potential member’s family tree. If she provided information for her grandparents only, start there. However, if she provided names, dates, and places for both her grandparents AND great-grandparents, start with her great-grandparents. In essence, focus your efforts on the earliest known generation on the worksheet.

The best free site for quickly working your way back in a lineage to the Revolutionary War period (1775 - 1783) is Rootsweb's WorldConnect Project. Step-by-step instructions on how to use the Rootsweb's WorldConnect Project are provided in the free interactive tutorial "Researching Your Revolutionary War Patriot Ancestor." Click here to continue with the tutorial.

In addition to the tutorial, FSSDAR Lineage Research Chairman Debbie Duay conducts workshops on finding and documenting Revolutionary War patriots for DAR chapters and Regents' Councils throughout Florida. Click here to see the schedule of upcoming workshops.