SAR Orange County Chapter

The Sons of the American Revolution are direct descendants of those patriots that achieved the independence of the American people.

 Any man shall be eligible for membership in this Society who,

  * being of the age of eighteen years or over and
  * a citizen of good repute in the community,
  * is a lineal descendant of an ancestor who was at all times unfailing in loyalty to and rendered active service in, the cause of American independence, either as an officer, soldier, seaman, marine, militiaman or Minuteman, in the armed forces of the Continental Congress, of any one of the several Colonies or States; or as a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, or as a member of a Committee of Safety or Correspondence; or as a member of any Continental, Provincial, or Colonial Congress or Legislature; or as a recognized patriot who performed actual service by overt acts of resistance to the authority of Great Britain.

Acceptable Service by a Patriot Ancestor

A patriot ancestor must have contributed service in at least one of the following activities:

* Signer of the Declaration of Independence
* Military or naval service from April 19, 1775 to November 26, 1783
* Battle of Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774
* Ft. William and Mary, December 14/15, 1774
* Civil service under the colonies from April 19, 1775 to November 26, 1783, inclusive
* Patriotic service by men or women during the Revolutionary period, including,

    * Members of committees made necessary by the war, such as:
    * Committee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety
    * Committee to care for solders' families
    * Including Committees from 6 months before the Battle of Point Pleasant which
      furthered the cause of the Colonies

* Members of the Continental Congress
* Furnishing a substitute for military service
* Signers of:

     * Mecklenburg Declaration, 1775
     * Albermarle, Virginia Declaration
     * Similar Declarations

* Signers of petitions addressed to and recognizing the authority of the provisional and new state governments
* Persons accepting obligations or acting under direction of the provisional and new state governments such as
* Persons directed to hold elections, to oversee road construction, to collection of provisions, etc.
* Members of the

      * Boston Tea Party
      * Kaskaskia Campaign
      * Cherokee Expedition
      * Edenton Tea Party

* Physician, surgeon, nurse or others rendering aid to the wounded
* Ministers know to be in sympathy with the Colonies, either by sermon, speech or action
* Defenders of forts and frontiers, and rangers
* Prisoners of war, including those on the British ship "Old Jersey" and other prison ships
* Rendering material aid, such as:

      * Furnishing supplies with or without remuneration
      * Lending money to the Colonies
      * Munitions makers and gunsmiths    
      * Anything else which furthered the cause

* Any pledge to support the cause of the Colonies, such as signing the Oath of Fidelity and Support, the Oath of Allegiance, Articles of Association, or the Association Test