July 4 a good time to remember your patriot ancestors

Independence Day is a good time to think about our patriot ancestors and resolve to learn more about them.

Even though I have been doing genealogy for more than 50 years, I still have not uncovered all of my own patriot ancestors.

Patriots who have been certified by the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Sons of the American Revolution can be found listed on dar.org and sar.org as well as in published volumes found at many genealogy libraries.

Membership applications of deceased or inactive members can be found online at the DAR website, and at ancestry.com for SAR. Both organizations have more rigorous application proofs today than they did in the past, so some lines have been closed.

Eric Grundset, DAR staff librarian, has compiled a great series of Revolutionary War source guides for many of the original colonies, including Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Virginia, some of which are now at the Georgia Archives and other libraries. (For a list see the DAR website and publications.) Pension records for many patriots can be found at fold3.com.

Preserving local legacies

The Orange County Library System in Orlando has created EPOCH (Electronically Preserving Obituaries as Cultural Heritage) to save local history and memories. This is a free service (for now) and anyone can go to epochlegacies.org, create a free account and compose your tributes.

Many people are posting obituaries there, but the site has no limit on text or adding multi-media formats. This is a great way to get more information out there about your family as well as memorialize them.

Genealogy charts

Many readers ask where to find blank genealogy charts, as well as how to create a decorative family chart, suitable for framing.

Familychartmasters.com offers some free blank charts and other genealogy advice, including its Zap the Grandma Gap collection of activities for young people. It also helps you create very decorative family charts, at various prices.