The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
Origins, founding in 1889 and Congressional Charter of 1906 of the parent society in Louisville (Kentucky)
The Society in France of the Sons of the American Revolution is the first state society outside the United States of The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR) – www.sar.org
The headquarters of the National Society is located in Louisville, Kentucky. The society is organized into state chapters: one society for each of the 50 states of the Union, each comprising several chapters (506 American chapters with nearly 38,000 members), plus the Society in France and societies in Canada, Germany, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Belgium — the latter two now being attached to the Society in France.
Sixteen Presidents of the United States have been members of the National Society SAR.
NSSAR Address: 809 West Main Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, USA
Origins
1876: A Great Patriotic Movement
In the 1870s, the United States was emerging from the Civil War (1861–1865). Americans felt the need to reconnect with what had united them — the War of Independence — to better forget what had divided them. The approach of 1876 would allow them to celebrate the centennial of the Declaration of Independence.
On Friday, October 22, 1875, seven descendants of combatants gathered in San Francisco and formed the Society of the Revolutionary Sires.
1889: Founding Assembly
On April 30, 1889, in the Long Room of Fraunces Tavern in New York — the very place where George Washington gathered his officers on December 3, 1783 — the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution was founded. Among the elected vice-presidents, representing France, was the last Marquis de La Fayette, Edmond (1818–1890), the general’s own grandson.
1906: The Congressional Charter
The year 1906 was marked by the granting by the Senate and the House of Representatives of a Charter bearing the signature of the 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, a member of the Sons since 1898.
Article 2 of this Charter describes the spirit that still animates the Sons of the American Revolution:
“The purpose of said association is patriotic, historical, and educational. It perpetuates the memory of those who, by their actions or sacrifice during the American Revolution, enabled the American people to win their independence.”
Count Thierry de Seguins-Cohorn, Historian of the Society in France of the SAR
See also: Our History