Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Library

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Contact Information
Address:


 * National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
 * 1776 D Street, NW Washington, DC 20006-5303

Telephone: 202-628-1776  Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 to 4:00, Saturday 9:00 to 5:00

Internet sites and databases:


 * DAR Library Internet site: National Society, Constitution Hall, Museum, Library, collection, giving, shopping, announcements, news, photos and videos, online library catalog, membership, genealogy research.
 * DAR Library Catalog online: Search titles, authors, subjects (including places or surnames), notes, or anything.
 * DAR Genealogical Research System (GRS): master search engine for databases and indexes created by the DAR -


 * Ancestor tab: Database of proven patriots of the Revolutionary War. Not complete and constantly being added to as individuals are proven through DAR membership applications and supplementals.
 * Member tab: Used to find limited information on DAR members.
 * Descendents tab: Index of names found on lineage page of DAR applications and supplementals. Used to identify the best DAR application to order. Names still being added.
 * GRC tab: Index database for over 20,000 typescript volumes of the Genealogical Records Committee Reports containing mostly Bible and cemetery records from across the United States compiled by Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution starting in 1913. Names are still being added. This index gives the title, series, volume, and page number to go to the original typescript. Copies can be ordered from the DAR. Some volumes have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library.
 * Resources tab: Links to other resources including The DAR Library Analytical Card Index and The Revolutionary War Pension Index. More information will be added in the future.
 * Library Catalog tab: Another link to the DAR Library Catalog online. Search titles, authors, subjects (including places or surnames), notes, or anything.

Collection Description
The DAR Library houses one of the largest genealogical collections in the United States. Its book collection includes more than 150,000 volumes concerning people and places throughout the nation. The collection focuses primarily on the generation of the American Revolution, but also includes substantial resources for studying people from the colonial period and the nineteenth century. "Through the efforts of local DAR members and chapters nationwide approximately 15,000 volumes of Genealogical Records Committee Reports have entered the Library and constitute a unique source for family histories, cemetery record transcriptions, and Bible records." They are also a family history center affiliate library, and can order microfilms and microfiche from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

Note: In 1990, the DAR released a Centennial edition index of DAR revolutionary soldiers. This index omitted many names and in the preface stated, "Omission from this edition of the name of a DAR member's ancestor would be due to conflicting data received which raised some questions about the patriot's identity, service or descendants."

For many years, the DAR was criticized because of the poor quality of DAR applications and they were universally treated as unreliable. With the release of the new index in 1990, the DAR has cleaned up its records and eliminated many of the revolutionary soldiers created by applications that did not meet reliable standards.

Tips
Visitors who are not members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Sons of the Revolution, or the Children of the American Revolution pay a small entrance fee. The Library's rules are listed on the page "Info for Beginners."

Guides

 * Eric G. Grundset, and Steven B. Rhodes, American Genealogical Research at the DAR Washington, DC, 2nd ed. (Washington, D.C.: National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, 2004) ( 973 A37g). WorldCat entry.
 * Christina K. Schaefer, The Center: A Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Capitol Area (Baltimore: Genealogical Publ., 1996), 65-73. ( 975.3 A3sc). WorldCat entry. Describes procedures and resources in three DAR collections.

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a record at the DAR Library, a similar record may be available at one of the following.

Overlapping Collections


 * Sons of the American Revolution Library, Louisville KY, 58,000 items: family histories, state genealogy materials, federal census, Revolutionary War pension applications and CD collections. Mostly for revolutionary period.
 * Daughters of the Revolution of 1776 (DOR or DR), Riverhead NY, similar requirements and goals to the N.S.D.A.R.

Similar Collections or Related Books


 * Family History Library, Salt Lake City, 450 computers, 3,400 databases, 3.1 million microforms, 4,500 periodicals, 310,000 books of worldwide family and local histories, civil, church, immigration, ethnic, military, Mormon records.
 * Allen County Public Library (Indiana) has a premier genealogical periodical collection, genealogies, local histories, databases, military, censuses, directories, passenger lists, American Indians, African Americans, Canadians.
 * United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada, Toronto ONT, Loyalists directory, and Toronto Branch Library.
 * Hessische Truppen im Amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieg (Hetrina) : Index nach Familiennamen (Hessian Troops in the American War for Independence (HETRINA) : Index by Surname), 6 vols., Veröffentlichungen der Archivschule Marburg, Institut für Archivwissenschaft, Nr. 10 (Marburg : Der Archivschule Marburg, Institut für Archivwissenschaft, 1972) [].
 * Les combattants français de la guerre américaine, 1778-1783 (French soldiers in the American Revolution). Baltimore, Md: Genealogical Publ., 1969. Originally published as: United States Congress. 58th Congress, Second Session. Senate. Document number 77. []. Includes index.

Neighboring Collections


 * Library of Congress, Washington DC, Local History and Genealogy Reading Room is part of the world's largest library including 50,000 genealogies, 100,000 local histories, and collections of manuscripts, microfilms, maps, newspapers, photographs, and published material, strong in North American, British Isles, and German sources.
 * National Archives I, Washington DC, census, pre-WWI military service &amp; pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, federal bounty land, homesteads, bankruptcy, ethnic sources, prisons, and federal employees.
 * National Archives II, College Park MD, Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health &amp; Human Services, Housing &amp; Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury after 1900.
 * DC Vital Records Division for birth and death records. DC Superior Court for marriage and divorce records.
 * Maryland State Archives, census, court, church, vital, military, probate, land, tax, immigration, naturalizations.
 * Library of Virginia, digital sources, databases, vital, military, newspapers, periodicals, tax, history, land records.