Unsung Heroes Award - Daughters of the American Revolution LIbrary

There are many libraries and archives deserving recognition for their dedicated work in digitizing, indexing, transcribing, and making available the rich historical and genealogical materials that survive. The Unsung Heroes Award received many such nominations from public, academic, and archival institutions for our first quarterly awards, and these exciting projects will be considered for recognition in the future quarterly set of awards.

We believe, however, that the first award in the Libraries and Archives Category deserves to be bestowed on the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Library. The library was nominated by the Anasazi Chapter of the NSDAR, located in Glendale, Arizona. 

The DAR Library states at its website at https://www.dar.org/library that "Since its founding in 1896, the DAR Library has grown into a specialized collection of American genealogical and historical manuscripts and publications, as well as powerful on-site databases. The DAR Library collection contains over 225,000 books, 10,000 research files, thousands of manuscript items, and special collections of African American, Native American, and women’s history, genealogy and culture. Nearly 40,000 family histories and genealogies comprise a major portion of the book collection, many of which are unique or available in only a few libraries in the country. The DAR Library is free and open to the public."

While helping descendants of Revolutionary American War patriots document their lineage, their collections have preserved and protected original documents and members' applications in many cases by digitizing images and indexing documents. The Genealogical Research Committee have indexed 20% of the books and have entered more than 20 million names.

The DAR Genealogical Research System (GRS) is a free resource provided by the National

GRS Search from NSDAR website.
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Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) to aid general genealogical research and to assist with the DAR membership process. The GRS is a collection of databases that provide access to the many materials amassed by the DAR since its founding in 1890.

The Ancestor Database was created by and is maintained by the staff of the DAR's Office of the Registrar General. With few exceptions, the data is taken from verified membership applications and supplemental applications. New records and information are added on a daily basis.

The Descendants database is an index of the names found on the lineage page of DAR applications and supplementals. The purpose of the Descendants Database is to help those looking for a DAR Patriot or lineage to determine how much of their lineage has already been proven and to identify the best possible Record Copy to order. Once a connection has been found using the information in this database, copies may be ordered online or by mail. This database contains lineage from most original applications starting with National Number 1 through 889,069. Also included are the lineages from most supplemental applications in Add Volumes 1 through 1004. This database is possible thanks to the efforts of over 3,000 volunteers.

• Genealogical Records Committee Reports (GRC) began in 1913. The DAR Genealogical Records Committee Reports comprise one of the most unique parts of the DAR Library’s holdings. This 20,000+ volume set includes a wide variety of content including transcriptions of local probate, court and land records; Bible records; cemetery transcriptions; family genealogies and lineages; Revolutionary War service; and other  genealogically significant types of records.

The GRC Index that is included in the GRS is an every‐name index to the complete GRC

Collection. Names in this index are spelled exactly as they appear in the GRC Report.

Search results include the name of the individual, the title of the specific GRC Report in

which the name appears, and the page number on which the name appears. When

searching the index, the state refers to the state from which the report was submitted

and may not have anything to do with where the ancestor sought may have lived.

• Bible Records and Transcriptions Index: The DAR Library collection includes a large number of family Bible records—whether copies of original pages or transcriptions in published or unpublished works. The GRS includes a searchable index to a portion of these family Bible Records with more records to be added in the future. The first set of records added to this searchable index are identified as a subset of the GRC Collection so there is some overlap between the Bible Records and Transcriptions Index and the GRC Index.
• Patriot’s Record Project Index (PRP) The DAR Library is actively identifying, obtaining, digitizing and indexing records related to the Revolutionary War that might serve as proof of Revolutionary War service for a particular ancestor. This is an ongoing effort and additional records are being added to the index on a regular basis.

What impact will making these materials available have on the research

communities? The DAR Library databases make available to researchers everything from transcriptions of local probate, court and land records; Bible records; cemetery transcriptions; family genealogies and lineages; Revolutionary War service; and other genealogically significant types of records. 

From novices to professionals, the DAR Library offers a wealth of unique materials for

Bible Record Search and Transcription page.
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researchers of all levels. Since its founding, the DAR Library has grown into a specialized collection of American genealogical and historical manuscripts and publications, as well as powerful onsite databases. The collection contains more than 225,000 books, 10,000 research files, thousands of manuscript items, and special collections of African American, Native American, and women’s history, genealogy and culture. Nearly 40,000 family histories and genealogies comprise a major portion of the book collection, many of which are unique or available in only a few libraries in the country. Research at the Library is free to the public.

The DAR library also provides “Search Services” for researchers that need assistance searching various resources including, but not limited to documenting lineage gaps in NSDAR, NSSAR, and NSCAR. applications, searching for Family Bibles in the DAR Collections, conducting research related to Mayflower Descendants and searching the resources of the Huguenot Society that are currently included in the DAR Library Collection.

We believe that the NSDAR has performed an invaluable service to genealogy and historical research, and it continues to provide exemplary service to preservation, education, and research.

We Sing Your Praises!