Is This Book Acceptable Proof for a Lineage Society? (Cases E & F)

One of the hardest things I've ever had to do as a Daughters of the American Revolution chapter registrar or lineage research liaison is to tell someone that the biographical information they found in a book is not sufficient proof for membership. How can that be? It says so right here in this publication!

Yes, I know. And this can be frustrating.

It does not matter if the generation in question is a patriot or someone further up the family tree. Just because a book "says so" doesn't prove lineage or service. This troubling scenario can happen to anyone, including me. As stated above, I am already a member of the DAR so I will use a couple of people in my own tree as examples of what does not meet the burden of proof.

The Historic Sites Committee of the Cincinnati Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution has been working for literally years to compile a book about Revolutionary War soldiers who are buried in their county. Their project recently came to fruition and is called, reasonably enough, Revolutionary War Soldiers Buried in Hamilton County, Ohio. Published by Little Miami Publishing of Milford, Ohio and available from either the chapter itself or the publisher, this volume contains 192 pages of biographical material, tombstone photos, and source references. With index, this paperback book is 224 pages in length. It is reasonably priced at $16.95. I recently obtained a copy for my home library.

I was not one of the women who compiled this book but I am acquainted with many who did. And I commend them for a job well done. Other chapters around have compiled similar volumes, too. Often I receive email from hopefuls who have found information concerning one of their ancestors in a similar book. It breaks my heart to break the news to them that even though a DAR chapter compiled the book, inclusion in it is not enough for membership in the society. It just doesn't seem fair somehow. And yet, as someone who has two patriots included in this new Hamilton County book who do not meet the criteria necessary for membership I must state that I understand why the rules are what they are.

One of my ancestors, whom I'll call Case E, has a gravestone stating that he served in the Revolutionary War. Although the stone appears to date back to the time of his death in the early 1800s, it is not enough to prove military service. Such claims must be supported by a muster roll, pension file, or receipt. We have been unable to find anything that backs up the words on this headstone and therefore, I cannot use this man as a patriot ancestor for membership.

Why isn't the claim on an old headstone enough? For one thing, there is no way of knowing for certain exactly when a headstone was erected on a grave. Although this stone appears to be ancient, it might have been erected several years after the man died. And at the time of his death, he was in territory that was geographically far from the area of his nativity. Correspondence with people who knew him in his prior life was probably rare or nonexistent. Moving to the then-frontier often meant taking on new identities at worst or embellishing one's accomplishments (lying) at best. I'm not suggesting that my ancestor did that. I am suggesting that there is no way for us to know for certain without an actual name on a muster roll or similar document.

Gravestones often hold untruths. A few years ago one of our excursions into a family cemetery revealed an ancestor's stone that claimed the man was born in England and even gave a date of migration. The only problem is that with the modern availability of records it is now known that he was born and raised in North Carolina. Either he or his descendants decided to tell tall-tales.

Unsubstantiated claims on tombstones are not the only reason why the information gleaned from books is not enough proof for lineage societies. Another of my ancestors, Case F, is also listed in this book. The biographical sketch itself mentions that his service is merely family tradition. Indeed, our family folklore states that Case F served as a child musician. Again, there is nothing found to support the claim that he served in any capacity although his father is a proven patriot. It would be reasonable to assume that the child's name would be found in the muster roll of his father's regiment or another of the local militia. Given the fact that this man lived to be an advanced age and even served in positions of state and local government in Ohio, it would also seem reasonable that he would be aware of his rights to land and a pension for services rendered. Yet he never filed. Did he serve as a child musician? Perhaps, but family folklore and tradition are never enough to constitute proof of service.

Using the information found in this book and in its listed resources, I attempted to obtain the necessary proofs for my two supposed-patriots. Nothing was found in the National Archives or the archives of their respective birth states to document these claims. Information in their biographies was useful for further documenting their family trees.

In conclusion, books published by lineage societies and their affiliates are wonderful sources of information that provide excellent clues for further research. They are worthy additions to the genealogist's library as long as one is aware of their limitations. They should be used as roadmaps to aid in the discovery of proof but not as proof themselves.

(If you would like to purchase a copy of the book mentioned in this article, please contact me privately at Karabeth6@gmail.com and I will put you in contact with a chapter representative.)