The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution founded in 1890 is a 501c(3) non-profit organization that is classified as a charitable lineage society “dedicated to patriotism, historic preservation, and education.”

If you are a woman over 18 years of age and can prove that you were descended from a patriot of the American Revolution, you can become a member of DAR.

Patriots could be any of the following: Signers of the Declaration of Independence; military service which included the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, The Marines, State and Local Militia, State Navies; Civil Service; Patriotic Service that included the Committee on Correspondence, The First Continental Congress, Committees of Inspection, Committees of Safety, State Governors and members of legislative bodies, Signers of Oaths of Allegiance, Signers of Petitions, Defenders of Forts and Stations, Doctors and nurses and others who aided the wounded, and there is more.

DAR members include all races, ethnic backgrounds, and religions.
There are DAR members in many countries of the world such as Mexico, Spain, Portugal, France and England. Princess Diana was a member of DAR. There are African American, Native American, and Jewish members of DAR.

DAR is active in Education and the providing of Scholarships. Since 1910 DAR has maintained and funded mountain schools and colleges in the Appalachians.

Scholarships are provided to undergraduates in the areas of political science, history, government and economics. There are some specific graduate scholarships offered in Chemistry and Law.
There are nursing and medical scholarships. And there are American Indian scholarships.

The DAR American Indian Committee supports and provides scholarships to the Bacone College, Muskogee, Oklahoma; and the Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Oregon.

Their website provides in the DAR Library a section entitled African American Genealogical Research and a section entitled Jewish Genealogical Research. Over 3,000 African Americans and Native Americans were patriots in the Revolutionary War. There are also Jewish families who can trace their lineage back to the patriots of the revolutionary war.

If you can prove your ancestry and would like to become a member of DAR, you can do so by going to their website and filling out a Membership Information Request Form and a local member will contact you. Or if you know someone who is a member, you can ask whom in the local area to contact in order to start doing your genealogical research.

Many libraries have a copy of the DAR Patriot Index that contains the names of patriots and their ancestry. Ask your local library to direct you to this set of books if you know the name of your ancestor that was involved in the Revolutionary War. You can get started right away.

DAR also maintains a copy of the Patriot Index and will look up your ancestor if you go to their website and request it.