Below are Debbie's tips for working with prospective members and avoiding "AIR" (Have Written) letters.

In addition to this information, be sure to read everything listed under Application Tips.

Working With Prospective Members

Often a prospective member will tell you the name of a patriot in her family tree. I NEVER assume that the patriot she knows will be the easiest patriot to prove in her lineage. In my own case, I had to find FOUR patriots in my lineage before I found one that I could prove.

Thus, unless a prospective member has a close relative in the DAR, I ALWAYS require a prospective member to complete the one-page Genealogy Worksheet with as much information as she knows on her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents on BOTH sides of her family. In addition to giving you the information you need to find the easiest patriot to prove in her tree, this is also an excellent way to quickly weed out the truly interested prospective members from those who actually have no intention of joining.  Be sure to put your contact information in the "Return To:" box on the worksheet.

Below is a sample of an email that I send when contacting prospective members referred from the Prospective Member Database (PMD).  NOTE:  If you prefer to contact a prospective member by phone, I recommend that you send the Genealogy Worksheet to her after your phone conversation.

I received your inquiry about membership in the DAR. I am the Registrar of the Ivy Stranahan Chapter in Fort Lauderdale. I will be helping you with your application.

Please complete the attached one-page Genealogy Worksheet with as much information as you know on your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents on BOTH sides of your family. Specifically, I need information on your father's parents and father's grandparents AND your mother's parents and mother's grandparents. I need this information in order to find the easiest and least expensive way for you to join. You can either type the information into the form and email it to me, OR you can print it out, write in the information, and mail it to me. My contact information is on the form. When I receive it, I will let you know exactly what you need to do to complete your application.

The Ivy Stranahan Chapter usually meets the 2nd Saturday of the month from October to May. I will contact you soon with information about our next meeting.

Please let me know if you have any questions.  I look forward to working with you!

When a prospective member returns the Genealogy Worksheet, I quickly get to work to find a provable patriot in her lineage. You will find detailed instructions about this portion of the process in my article "Debbie's Process for Finding a Patriot For Prospective Members" under Articles.

Next, I try to document as much of the lineage as I can using acceptable online resources. In my experience, the quickest way to lose a prospective member is to present her with a long list of documents to obtain.

Once I find a provable patriot for a prospective member, I send her an email listing EXACTLY what documents she needs to gather/order along with LINKS TO THE FORMS for ordering the documents. 

I try to make the list AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE. If her parents and/or grandparents are deceased, I request death certificates. I usually only request birth certificates for living people. Birth certificates are usually not necessary for documenting deceased individuals because most death certificates list birth dates, birth places (at least a birth state), and parents' names.

NOTE:  If you want to meet face-to-face with your prospective member to go over the information, you should also email the detailed list so she has exactly what you need in writing.

Below is a sample email for this stage of the process.

I have great news! Your Revolutionary War patriot ancestor is Joshua Holloway (1742-1813) Ancestor #AXXXXXX. DAR application #456789 lists the earliest 3 generations in the lineage. The lineage goes like this:

Joshua Holloway (patriot)
Joshua Holloway & Elizabeth Adkins
Elijah Holloway & Sallie Fooks Hearne
David Z. Holloway & Louise M. Cretegny
Albert Grover Holloway & Ila Myrtle Newell
Martha Louise Holloway & Floyd Earl Bishop

You will need to gather/order COPIES (you keep the originals) of the documents listed below for your application. When ordering documents, be sure to read the instructions carefully.

1) your birth certificate (must list your parents)

2) your father's birth certificate
3) your mother's birth certificate (must list her parents)
(NOTE:  In this case, both parents are living.  Otherwise, I would only request death certificates.)
4) if you can get it easily, your parents' marriage certificate.  If not, don't worry about it.

5) Floyd Bishop - death certificate - He died 12 Jan 2007 in Broward County, FL. The form to order death certificates from Florida is here:
http://www.floridahealth.gov/certificates/certificates/_documents/dh727-app-death-fetal-7-2016.pdf

6) Martha Bishop - death certificate - She died 26 Feb 2009 in Palm Beach County, FL. Use the form linked above.

7) Albert Holloway - death certificate. He died 23 Aug 1961 in Muscatine County, IA. The form for ordering death certificates from IA is here: http://idph.iowa.gov/Portals/1/Files/HealthStatistics/death_application.pdf

For various reasons, some prospective members drag their feet for months on ordering their documents. They may lack the necessary computer skills to accomplish the task, or they may be overwhelmed at the thought of ordering records from several different states.  When I encounter this situation, I meet in person with the prospective member.  I tell her to bring the following:

1)  her checkbook
2)  a book of stamps
3)  a dozen envelopes
4)  photocopies of her driver's license (enough for the number of documents to be ordered)

I fill out the forms for ordering the documents in advance. I have her sign the forms and write the checks. I help her address the envelopes. Finally, I make sure her driver's license is sealed in the envelope with the correct form and the correct check.

Avoiding AIR (Have Written) Letters

The NSDAR webinar "My APP Goes to Washington" provides an excellent discussion on how to avoid AIR (Have Written) letters.  Click here to download a .pdf file of the handout.

If you do not have documentation for a date and place, LEAVE IT BLANK on the application. If you fill in a date and place but do not provide documentation, DAR will assume that the documentation exists and DAR will request it.

Birth date, birth place, death date, and death place MUST be documented. If parents or grandparents are still living, birth certificates are usually required. If parents and grandparents are deceased, death certificates are usually required. Do not use the Social Security Death Index. It does not document birth place or death place. 

If you are using a previous application (e.g., a daughter going off her mother's application) and the previous application did not document birth date, birth place, death date (if applicable), and death place for each person in the current applicant's first 3 generations, documentation for these events must be provided. This applies even if the previous application is very recent.

Marriages in the recent generations (i.e.,1, 2, 3, & 4) usually do NOT have to be proven. (One important EXCEPTION is when a marriage record is needed to prove a parent-child relationship.)  If marriage records for Generations 1, 2, 3, and 4 can be easily obtained, INCLUDE them. If documentation for a marriage is NOT included, leave the marriage date and place BLANK on the application.

If death certificates are available, ALWAYS try to obtain these documents. (Do not just send a listing from a vital records index. DAR wants the actual death certificate.) For Generations 4 and beyond, DAR requires at least a birth date AND birth place (at list birth state) OR a death date AND death/burial place for EACH person in EACH generation. (Marriage dates and places do NOT count for one of date and place requirements.) Be aware that many old DAR applications do not list places. If you are using a previous application that does not list places, documentation for the places must be provided.

DAR usually accepts biographies from county and town histories when they meet both of the criteria listed here.

Generally, DAR will NOT accept family genealogies UNLESS they are well-documented and sourced regarding the particular people in the applicant's lineage. One exception to this rule would be for "older" family genealogies written from the mid 1800s to the very early 1900s. In this case, DAR would apply criteria similar to that discussed in the link above for county and town histories. Specifically, DAR would want some evidence that either the author of the book or the likely informant for the genealogy had personal knowledge of the people in the lineage.