DAR Headquarters in Washington, D.C. boasts experts in a variety of fields such as its renowned genealogical research center, American decorative arts museum and specialized collection of early American manuscripts and imprints. The following books represent the fruits of several long-term DAR research projects. These publications serve as invaluable resources to DAR members, history scholars and anyone interested in family lineage and can be purchased through the DAR Store Online.
State Source Guides for Genealogists and Historians
The DAR Library has begun a new series of publications that focus on research in each of the original states during the period of the American Revolution. These studies will be offered as downloadable PDF documents and as printed volumes. Purchasers will be able to download the entire text of each publication for use on their home computer, laptop, and other electronic devices. Check the availability of these Source Guides on the DAR Store Online.
New York in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians
New York in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians provides detailed information on the availability of manuscript and archival material that exists for New York State for the period of the Revolutionary War along with listings of historical and genealogical studies that have been published and which supplement the original sources. It is the most extensive gathering of such information ever published, and researchers will find it an essential resource with which to identify materials and studies located in many scattered libraries and archives. The PDF comprises more than 700 pages including table of contents, text pages, map pages, and an index to the text.
New York in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians is available as a PDF download and as a printed book through the DAR Store Online.
South Carolina in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians
The DAR Library offers the second in its new series of publications that focus on research in each of the original states during the period of the American Revolution. These studies will be offered as downloadable PDF documents and as printed volumes. For the PDF download, purchasers will be able to download the entire text of each publication for use on their home computer, laptop and other electronic devices.
South Carolina in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians, compiled by Eric G. Grundset, is now available as the second in the series of these research source guides. The series is designed to provide detailed information on the availability of manuscript and archival material that exists for each state for the period of the Revolutionary War, along with listings of historical and genealogical studies that have been published and which supplement the original sources.
In many ways, these source guides will be very large expansions of the sections on each state that appeared in an earlier DAR publication, Is That Service Right? For example, the New York section in that older publication was only a few pages long, whereas the new source guide on New York is over 700 pages in length.
While DAR Library employees are collecting information and writing the text, they are also incorporating listings of materials identified by the DAR Office of the Registrar General (Genealogy Department) as being useful for establishing the Revolutionary Service of individuals in military and civil records. When possible, the guides' researchers are enlisting the assistance of recognized authorities at state archives or historical societies to review the contents before actual publication.
The South Carolina volume is now available in PDF and printed version for purchase from the DAR Store Online. For purchasing the PDF version, add the book to your shopping cart as you would any other item from the online store. Once your payment is verified, you will receive an email with a special download link to the PDF of the book.
Georgia in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians
Georgia in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians provides detailed information on the availability of manuscript and archival material that exists for the state for the period of the Revolutionary War along with listings of historical and genealogical studies that have been published and which supplement the original sources. It is the most extensive gathering of such information ever published, and researchers will find it an essential resource with which to identify materials and studies located in many scattered libraries and archives. The book comprises more than 300 pages including text pages, map pages, and an index to the text.
The Georgia volume is now available in PDF and printed version for purchase from the DAR Store Online.
Rhode Island in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians
Rhode Island in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians provides detailed information on the availability of manuscript and archival material that exists for the Ocean State for the period of the Revolutionary War along with listings of historical and genealogical studies that have been published and which supplement the original sources. It is the most extensive gathering of such information ever published, and researchers will find it an essential resource with which to identify materials and studies located in many scattered libraries and archives. The book comprises more than 550 pages including table of contents, text pages, map pages, and an index to the text.
The Rhode Island volume is now available in PDF format for purchase from the DAR Store Online.
DAR Coffee Table Book
American Treasure: The Enduring Spirit of the DAR
The DAR coffee table book, American Treasure: The Enduring Spirit of the DAR, is a full-color, 9" by 12" hardbound book with 304 pages and more than 400 contemporary and historic photos.
Through vibrant photos and compelling text, author Diana Bailey tells the remarkable story of an organization more than a century old that has grown and changed with the times. The book illustrates how the organization continues to build on the amazing service work of its members to keep the Society relevant and vibrant in today's world. American Treasure is not only a valuable resource for anyone interested in the past, present and future of DAR, but also a stunning keepsake to treasure for years to come.
The book's fifteen chapters include the following topics:
- Promotion of education through the DAR schools, scholarships, and good citizenship programs
- DAR support of active military and veterans in times of war and peace
- Preservation projects from identifying patriot gravesites to erecting commemorative monuments, and from marking historic trails to saving historic homes
- The magnificent National Headquarters complex and collections
- The excitement of Continental Congress
- And much, much more!
Take a look at several beautiful pages from American Treasure.
The DAR coffee table book, American Treasure: The Enduring Spirit of the DAR, is available through the DAR Store. Don't miss your opportunity to own this wonderful book. Order your copy today!
To order American Treasure: The Enduring Spirit of the DAR, visit the DAR Store Online.
Minority Genealogical Studies
Forgotten Patriots – African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War:
A Guide to Service, Sources, and Studies
Click here to download a free PDF of the
Forgotten Patriots research guide
The second edition of Forgotten Patriots (2008) identifies over 6,600 names of African Americans and American Indians who contributed to American Independence and is a nearly five-fold expansion in pages over the 2001 edition. Now available as a free PDF download, this 874 page document contains details of the documented service of the listed Patriots, historical commentary on happenings of the time, an assortment of illustrations, and an extensive bibliography of research sources related to the topic.
Following an introduction that provides context to the service of these often overlooked Patriots and the challenges faced in documenting their service, the book organizes its findings into chapters that include historical commentary, sources cited, names of identified Patriots and a bibliography directly related to each state and region of the country. Additional chapters also cover miscellaneous naval and military records, foreign allies, and the West Indies.
Seven appendices are included to elaborate on topics not often addressed in other publications:
- Map of the Enslaved Population, 1790 Census
- Documenting the Color of Participants in the American Revolution
- Names as Clues to Finding Forgotten Patriots
- The Numbers of Minority Participants in the Revolution
- Glossary of Terms Used
- Master List of Source Abbreviations Used in This Book
- Contacting the DAR
Just as important to researchers will be the vast array of thousands of sources found in the book’s extensive bibliography that provides a roadmap for those seeking to discover even more information on the topic.
The Forgotten Patriots research guide is an indispensable tool for students, scholars, historians, and genealogists interested in the important contributions of African Americans and American Indians in America’s fight for Independence. On an additional level, the hope is that it will also encourage the female descendents of these patriots to join the important volunteer and educational work of the DAR.
Forgotten Patriots - African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War: A Guide to Service, Sources, and Studies is out of print, however, the entirety of the information can be downloaded for free as a PDF document.
The DAR Library continues to seek new opportunities to expand the Forgotten Patriots project. A supplement to this book includes additional names and documentation and can be downloaded for free as a PDF document - Forgotten Patriots Supplement 2008-2012.
For more information and to read excerpts from the book, visit the Forgotten Patriots page of the DAR Library section.
Women in the Revolutionary Era
America's Women in the Revolutionary Era 1760-1790:
A History Through Bibliography
America’s Women in the Revolutionary Era 1760-1790: A History Through Bibliography, edited by Eric G. Grundset, is an authoritative guide to women’s and girls’ lives in the era of the American Revolution. DAR Library researchers made an effort to locate every relevant published resource about Revolutionary women possible, including books, articles, dissertations and online documents, in order to aid researchers, understand existing literature and illuminate gaps to encourage future research. This encyclopedic bibliography is sorted in several ways to make it as useful as possible, including by topic, geography and a chronology that shows how historians’ understanding of these women and girls has developed over time.
The book documents sources about America’s women from the famous to the obscure. Researchers discovered references to some unique women, such as one woman who lived as a hermit in a cave on the border of Connecticut and Massachusetts, along with documentation about famous, influential women and, most importantly, a great wealth of resources describing the daily lives of regular women of different races and classes. This focus on “average” women was a driving force of the research behind the book, which aims to find resources that paint a holistic picture of life in the revolutionary era.
Volume one contains many subject chapters including ones on general studies, African American Women, Native American Women, women in the family and society, women as mothers and their children, women’s health, women’s work in the home and elsewhere, women’s rights, religious experiences, women’s cultural life and activities, the creative activities of women in literature and writing, historical fiction, women and textiles, and women and girls in the many aspects of the war effort.
The second volume takes a geographical approach to the broad subject incorporating materials from volume one with other locally-specific studies. It is arranged by state and region and provides extensive listings of books, articles, dissertations, theses, and other writings on the rolls of women and girls across the emerging United States.
Volume three provides a listing of all of this information by author and a separate chronological section showing the development of the published literature in this field of study from the late eighteenth century to the present.
To order America’s Women in the Revolutionary Era 1760-1790: A History Through Bibliography, visit the DAR Store Online or call the store toll-free at 888-673-2732.
DAR Historian General
My Father Was A Soldier:
Real Daughters of the American Revolution
This book celebrates the Real Daughters of the American Revolution, those early DAR members whose fathers took part in the cause of Independence. Compiled by Tracy Robinson and Rebecca Baird of the DAR Office of the Historian General, My Father Was A Soldier collects biographical sketches of 58 Real Daughters, and 18 of their Patriot fathers, in addition to a list of all 767 Real Daughters and archival photos, into one captivating volume.
The group of profiled patriots includes men who participated in the Boston Tea Party, endured confinement on the prison ship Jersey, sailed with John Paul Jones, traveled to the United States with the Marquise de Lafayette, persevered through the harsh winter at Valley Forge, and signed the Declaration of Independence. The Real Daughters must have been listening attentively as their fathers recalled their Revolutionary experiences, for a number of them worked as suffragists, abolitionists, businesswomen and advocates for women’s education, helping to further the development of the free country forged by the Revolutionary generation into an enlightened nation.
Researchers will appreciate the wealth of information found in the book’s appendix, which lists the name of each Real Daughter, her father, DAR chapter, spouse, date of death and the state in which her grave is located. The appendix may also encourage exploration of the hidden stories of the Real Daughters whose biographies aren’t included in the book.
My Father Was a Soldier is an introduction to a collection of women who, inspired by the spirit of their fathers, lived widely varied lives, each of which in its own way celebrated the new country’s freedom.
To order My Father Was a Soldier visit the DAR Store Online or call the store toll-free at 888-673-2732.
DAR Museum
Preserving the American Spirit in the DAR Museum
Learn about many of the hidden treasures carefully preserved in the DAR Museum. This full-color softbound book provides an exciting introduction to the DAR Museum and its holdings. Detailed descriptions accompany vivid photos of items such as ceramics, glass, furniture, paintings, quilts, toys and dolls.
Featured items range from the unique Schnapshunde – a dog-shaped vessel used to drink schnapps in the 18th century - to an ornate armchair ordered by President James Monroe for the Oval Room of the White House. Discover the 31 period rooms of Memorial Continental Hall - each representing different periods, locales, and activities.
This book includes the following topics:
- Overview of the DAR
- Overview of the DAR Museum
- An extensive view of the collections
- A look at each Period Room
- Visiting the DAR Museum
To order Preserving the American Spirit in the DAR Museum, visit the DAR Store Online or call the store toll-free at 888-673-2732.