16 - Can I Get Into the DAR or SAR through Daniel Haston?
The centennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1876 renewed a fervor to honor our country’s Revolutionary War patriots. In the year of that centennial, the Society of Cincinnati (Ohio) launched The Sons of the Revolution and a group of men in San Francisco, California who were descendants of Revolutionary War soldiers formed the Sons of Revolutionary Sires. These organizations were the pioneers of hereditary patriotic societies and the forerunners of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR). Sensing a need to have their own organization a group of women met in Washington, D.C., the year following the founding of the SAR, and formed the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
Yes, but can I get into the SAR or DAR through Daniel?
This is probably the most often-asked question I been asked, in my years of researching the Daniel Haston family. I’ll get right to the point and say: Yes, for the SAR, if you can prove your lineage back to Daniel. Very doubtful if not impossible, for the DAR. But don’t stop reading yet, there is more you should know.
IMPORTANT: But before we move on, keep in mind that membership in either of these societies does NOT prove an ancestor was a Revolutionary War soldier, AND inability to get in does NOT prove he was not.
SAR - Sons of the American Revolution
A couple of years ago, I was told by the Record Copy Clerk of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution that two men had joined the SAR through Daniel Haston, one in 1960 and the other in 1974. I have since learned that a son and a grandson of one of those men have recently been admitted into the SAR, and perhaps other.
On November 10, 1960, the SAR application for Keith Monroe Wallace of Sparta, Tennessee was “approved and registered” by the SAR Registrar General. Keith (descendant of Daniel Haston through Daniel’s son David) submitted the North Carolina bounty land grant document #2344 as evidence of his eligibility for the SAR. His national SAR membership number was 86049 and his Tennessee membership number was 1074. Keith indicated that he was of the “lineal descent in the…line from Daniel Hastings.” He stated, at that time, that Daniel was from Holland and was born about 1756.[i] We now know that Daniel’s ancestors were originally from Switzerland, but his father grew up on the Rhineland of what is now Southwest Germany.
[i] Keith Monroe Wallace, “National Society Sons of the American Revolution – Application for Membership, 86049-1074.” (Nashville, TN: Tennessee Society of SAR, November 10, 1960)
Dwight E. Haston of Spencer, Tennessee (descendant of Daniel Haston through Daniel’s son Joseph) was accepted into the SAR on May 23, 1974 as member 105819-1569 (national membership 105819, Tennessee member 1569). Dwight also submitted the “Daniel Haston” land grant document (that will be discussed in the next article) as proof that he was a “son of the revolution.”[i] But he also cited page 280 of the Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution, a DAR publication, which was based on the North Carolina Revolutionary War military land warrant #2344. Dwight claimed, at that time, that Daniel Haston was born in North Carolina in the year 1735. The 1735 birth date came from another document that I’ll write about in a later article. Dwight no longer believes the 1735 birth date for Daniel is accurate, nor does he believe that Daniel was born in North Carolina–more on that, later. It is understandable that he based his application on what was known at that time. But much about Daniel Haston has been discovered since 1974.
[i] Dwight Haston, “National Society Sons of the American Revolution – Application for Membership, 105819-1569.” (Nashville, TN: Tennessee Society of SAR, May 23, 1974).
According to the SAR, no one has applied to the SAR through either of Daniel’s brothers—Jacob Hiestand, Peter Hiestand, Abraham Hiestand, or John Hiestand.[i] A descendant of a Pennsylvania “Abraham Hiestand” was accepted into the SAR in 2005, but this was not the Abraham Hiestand, son of Henrich Hiestand of Virginia.
[i] NSSAR Record Copy Clerk, response to the author with regard to searches for membership applications, March 14, 2019.
DAR - Daughters of the American Revolution
The DAR has admitted more than one million members since its founding, with nearly 200,000 members in 2021, compared to over 37,000 members in the SAR.
Jacob and Peter Hiestand’s Descendants and the DAR
Even though Daniel’s older brothers, Jacob and Peter, probably did not fight in the Revolutionary War, their descendants are eligible for membership in the DAR. How is that possible? “The DAR defines a ‘patriot’ as one who provided service or direct assistance in achieving America’s independence,” which includes “those who rendered material aid and supported the cause of American Independence by furnishing supplies, with or without remuneration.”[i] Jacob, Peter, John, and Abraham Hiestant all appeared on militia rolls during (or leading up to) the Revolutionary War. But it is doubtful that either of them participated in active service.
[i] “Accepted Revolutionary War Service,” DAR – Daughters of the American Revolution, accessed December 1, 2019, https://www.dar.org/national-society/accepted-revolutionary-war-service.
In addition to their participation in a local militia, in late 1780 or early 1781, “Jacob Heistand” [Hiestand] sold 490 pounds of beef for two pounds and six shillings to the state of Virginia for use by the American army. Peter received a certificate for 200 pounds of beef he sold for two pounds and ten shillings.[i] Jacob Hiestand is Ancestor # A055132 in the DAR. Peter is Ancestor # A055141.
[i] Harry M. Strickler, A Short History of Page County, Virginia. (1952; reprinted, Harrisonburg, VA: C.J. Carrier Company, 2003), 392.
The Battle of Yorktown that essentially ended the war for the American patriots was fought about 200 miles southeast of the Virginia Massanutten settlement where the Hiestands lived. Harry Strickler noted that “These cattle were driven toward Yorktown no doubt. The year 1780 was the darkness before the dawn. In 1781 Washington concentrated on Yorktown and on October 19, 1781, Cornwallis surrendered.”[i]
[i] Strickler, A Short History of Page County, Virginia, 392.
And Massanutten beef [including Hiestand beef cattle] helped bring the war to a victorious end for American patriots.
Daniel Hiestand/Haston’s Descendants and the DAR
The “Daniel Haston” name does appear in the DAR’s 1931 publication, The Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution, on page 280 where it cites military bounty land warrant (incorrectly) #2345 (should be #2344) as a basis for the entry.[i] But you will see in a later blog article, there are serious questions about the validity of warrant #2344.
[i] Hay, 280.
Because the “Daniel Haston” land warrant #2344 was recommended by a Lieutenant William Faircloth, Haston family researchers have assumed that OUR Daniel Haston served in the 10th Regiment of the North Carolina Army during the Revolutionary War (in which Faircloth served briefly). But in the section of the 1931 DAR book which lists the soldiers of that regiment, the name of Daniel Haston does not appear. More will be said about all of this later in this series of articles. The DAR no longer approves applications based on their 1931 book.
I have had several female descendants of Daniel Haston contact me with this question and these (or similar) statements:
"Can you help me get into the DAR? I've applied but have been turned down. They want documented proof that our Daniel Haston was a soldier in the Revolutionary War."
So I contacted the DAR. I was told, “No woman has ever been admitted to the DAR through Daniel Haston.” And I was told they do not keep records of applications that are not approved. From what I have learned recently, that is still the case with the DAR and “Daniel Haston” at the present time (2021).
From some tidbits of evidence I have, my guess is that many women who descended from Daniel Haston have been refused admittance in the DAR throughout its history, from 1877 to the present. But there are no DAR records of rejected applications, so we will never know who or how many.
In some of the following articles, I will tell you more about what I’ve learned over 20+ years of trying to answer this question: Was our Daniel Hiestand/Haston a soldier in the American Revolution?
Why can Daniel Haston male descendants join the SAR when
Daniel Haston's female descendants can't join the DAR?
Bottom line: Because the SAR and DAR are totally separate patriot lineage societies, with their own policies and standards of admission.
The DAR has a history of having a more stringent application process than the SAR–they delve more deeply into the documentation presented in applications than the SAR. That is even more-true in recent years than in the earlier years of its history, as explained by Barbara Esler.
Tracing ones ancestors back to that period and proving that they took part in the conflict becomes the chief task of anyone wanting to join the DAR. They require strict proof. “You have to able to prove by birth, marriage and death records your tie to the ancestor. They can include everything from church records and photos of tombstones to family Bibles,” says Esler.
In the past, say 50 or 60 years ago, the DAR was not as strict about these rules as it is today. “A lot of people got in then that might not pass muster today,” says Esler. But the DAR’s current admission form is quite detailed, much to the chagrin of many who try to join. “People call and say, ‘I have an ancestor who I know was in the Revolution,’ so I send them the admissions form and we never hear from them again,” says Esler.
In some cases people do call back. And at least one was highly indignant. She told Esler that she knew her ancestors had fought in the Revolution, it had been handed down in her family and she didn’t have to prove it to anyone. Esler had to tell her that unfortunately rules are rules and the DAR could not bend them.
In the following two articles, we will look at the two documents that have often been used to prove that our Daniel Haston was a veteran of the American Revolution. If you have a serious interest in this topic, contact me and I will send you a copy of the drafts of two chapters from the book I’m working on–chapters that address this subject in much more detail than I can cram into these articles.
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