Sunday, January 1, 2023

Rock, Paper, DAR


The Daughters of the American Revolution as a lineage society is well-respected for it's devotion to accuracy. The DAR requires documentation of each link in a family’s lineage to a Revolutionary War Patriot. The connections of each generation in the line must have approved documentation to support the relationships.

Joining the DAR for me was a way of validating my genealogy skills. When I found I connected to a Patriot through each of my Grandparents, I made it my goal to prove each line through DAR and to honor each of them with their proven lineage to a Patriot. My paternal Grandparents are descendants of Asa Corbin and Stephen Bliss. My maternal Grandfather is a descendant of John Adair, Sr (and Jr). My maternal Grandmother is a descendant of Libbeus Simmons, Sr, but after many years of searching, my application was denied due to lack of documentation for two of the links in two generations. DAR had the Scissors to my Paper.


Family notes told me my 2nd Great Grandparents were John McGrath and Rachel Simmons, Rachel was born somewhere in Pennsylvania. Searching for Rachel in the 1850 Pennsylvania census, when she was a young girl, I found an 8 year old Rachel with parents Lebius and Ruth Simmons. Then I found a Libbeus Simmons listed as a Revolutionary War Patriot. Seeing some information that the Patriot had a son named Lebbeus, who was too old for the father of Rachel, led me to believe there was a line of 3 men named Lebbeus Simmons. Exact spelling having no significance, I am sure of this line of men. The problem is finding any documentation to prove this - a Rock I'm up against.


The records I need fall into a time period where record keeping was sparse in the locations they were living. Births, marriages and deaths may have been recorded at the time, but those records did not survive until they were compiled and published. I have always tried my best to be accurate with my family history research, including finding actual documentation to link each person through the generations. The records I need here just don't seem to exist anymore. There is no contradicting information, nothing that doesn’t make sense. Awritten analysis of the connection between two generations is allowed only once. I wrote an analysis for the link between Rachel and her father Lebius III to no avail. Can there be any prophecy in my naming this blog “Old Trunk in the Attic? What I need might have to come from someone's personal stash of very old papers, if they have kept them this long. Does anyone have a Simmons Family Bible from the early 1800's? 

Until I can cover the Rock with a Paper that the DAR will accept, the DAR takes this one. But we're going best of 3. 



2 comments:

  1. Definitely frustrating to lack evidence. Is there a chance that DNA might provide the missing documentation?

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    1. The DAR will only accept DNA for the most recent 3 generations, and my problem areas are generations 5 & 6. So unfortunately no, it won't work in this case. I appreciate your suggestion, though. Thanks for reading!

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