The origins of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) date to 1876 and the Centennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This historic anniversary inspired the Colonial Revival period and a burst of patriotism throughout the United States. It especially moved a group of men in San Francisco whose ancestors had participated in the American Revolution.
Those men formed an organization called the Sons of Revolutionary Sires to celebrate their heritage and honor the legacy of America’s revolutionaries. Motivated by the Sons of Revolutionary Sires, another group, the Sons of the Revolution, was founded in New York. William O. McDowell organized a New Jersey branch of the group in 1889, but he disagreed with the fundamental structure that required all branches to be subordinate to the New York society.
McDowell founded his own organization, the Sons of the American Revolution, in New York City’s Fraunces Tavern on April 30, 1889. This coincided with another important anniversary: the Centennial of George Washington’s 1789 inauguration as the first President of the United States.
SAR became a fraternal organization for male descendants of those who supported the cause of American independence. This included Patriots who wintered at Valley Forge, signed the Declaration of Independence, fought in the battles of the American Revolution, and served in the Continental Congress.
In 1906, the organization was officially granted a congressional charter by an Act of Congress. President Theodore Roosevelt, an SAR member since 1898, signed the act. Roosevelt’s paternal great-great-grandfather, Jacobus Roosevelt, had been a captain in the New York Militia during the revolution.
The charter established the national society of SAR, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, and allowed for state and local chapters. Today, there are 550 chapters and over 37,000 members of SAR across the United States, and internationally. An estimated 210,000 descendants have been admitted since the organization's founding. This includes sixteen presidents of the United States, many U.S. senators and representatives, and even foreign dignitaries such as Sir Winston Churchill, and Kings Juan Carlos I and Felipe VI of Spain.
SAR promotes patriotism, education, and public service. The organization has several awards, contests, and scholarships designed to foster these ideals in American communities. It is also responsible for the official recognition of holidays including Flag Day (June 14th), Constitution Day (September 17th), and Bill of Rights Day (December 15th).
As part of its initiative to connect modern people to revolutionary Patriots, SAR boasts a robust genealogical library dating back to 1889. When the library was moved to a new building in Louisville’s Historic Museum District in 2010, the collection had grown to over 58,000 items, including family histories, state genealogy materials, federal censuses, Revolutionary War pension applications, and more.
A separate committee of SAR runs the Patriot Research System, an extensive database that includes biographies of revolutionary soldiers, sailors, and Patriots and information about the cemeteries and grave sites where they are buried.
The sheer numbers represented in this database, and in the modern membership of SAR, demonstrate just how deep the organization’s roots go—roots that reach back quite literally to America’s first plea for independence.