📋 Essential Documents

• MDSSAR Membership Brochure
• 1776 Census
• 1778 Oaths of Allegiance

⚔️ Military Records

• 1776-1780 American Revolution Muster Rolls
• 1781 Soldiers Pay
• 1781 Maryland Missing Muster Rolls

📊 Tax & Census Records

• 1783 Tax Lists
• Operation REACH (SAR's partnership with Ancestry.com)

🏛️ Westminster Chapter

• Carroll County, MD Patriot Index

⚰️ Smallwood Chapter

• Montgomery County, MD Patriot Grave Registry

📜 State Papers & Collections

• Maryland State Papers
• The Scharf Collection

📖 Revolutionary War Records

• Revolutionary War Papers
• Revolutionary War Records

📚 Published Indexes

• Red Books, Brown Books, Blue Books, and Executive Papers (Series A)

📋 Genealogy Policies & Systems

• NSSAR Genealogy Policy Manual
• Patriots Research System (Search proven ancestors)
• Updates from the Genealogist General

🗂️ Research Databases

• Revolutionary War Tax Law Records (Multiple States)
• NSSAR Genealogical Research Databases

🌐 Online Databases

• Ancestry.com SAR Applications 1889-1970 (external link)
• Find A Grave (external link)

🎖️ Military History

• Maryland 400 Mass Grave Index (external link)
• Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route (W3R) (external link)

👥 Partner Organizations

• National Society DAR Genealogical Research Databases (external link)

📋 About Revolutionary War Tax Lists

The National Society Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) recognizes not only the services of those who bore arms in the Revolution, but also those who rendered service in civil capacities and provided other support, material or verbal. Material support included the payment of taxes that were in support of the War, or honored requests of the Continental Congress to the States. These qualifying taxes provide evidence of Patriotic Service for an ancestor for membership of a descendant in the SAR.

The Maryland Revolutionary War Era Tax Lists are arranged by county/district/hundred. Researchers may use them to discover distant ancestors. SAR members and prospective members may use them as supporting evidence of Patriotic Service for new and supplemental applications.

In Maryland, landowners were listed on most tax records (but not all) with the specific land tracts that were taxed. So the tax records are useful in proofs of identity and lineage in addition to proofs of Patriotic Service. The tract names are a benefit to researchers because ancestor names and the lands they owned were listed in land records and often bequeathed to sons or other descendants in probate records.

🤝 What is Operation REACH?

Operation REACH is a partnership between NSSAR and Ancestry.com. In a nutshell, Ancestry will have access to thousands of SAR documents and expand their subscriber base, and NSSAR will gain by an enhanced opportunity to enroll new members. Brock Bierman is the National Chairman of Operation REACH, and has provided a wonderful presentation to describe this new program and its long term goals, to each of the state societies.

🔍 How It Works

Initially, Ancestry.com will contact every Maryland subscriber who has saved and attached to a person in their online tree(s) one of the digitized NSSAR Record Copy applications that already exists in Ancestry's database (pre-1970 applications and supplementals on file at NSSAR).

Ancestry.com will ask these subscribers if they are interested in learning more about the SAR and possible membership, and will provide a contact form to the MDSSAR Ancestry.com Committee Chairman. The chairman will then pass the information along to the closest point of contact, so that the subscriber can ask any questions about their research, the SAR, or even membership!

🎯 Membership Opportunity

We do not yet know how many Ancestry.com subscribers may be interested in having someone from SAR contact them. But it could be a large number. So, for chapters struggling to attract new members, this program is a gift.

Please also understand that SAR is not abandoning its commitment to maintaining the current genealogical proof standards for membership. Applicants will still be required to obtain documented proof of their lineage and patriot's service, but Ancestry.com will assist us in qualifying them quicker and easier.

📧 Contact Information

If you have any further questions about the program or how to get in touch with a local contact, please feel free to contact our chairman:

Christopher T. Smithson
9502 Perry Hall Blvd Apt 104
Nottingham, MD 21236-1338
Phone: 443-903-0135
Email: ctsmithson@gmail.com