Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York

Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York
Name	Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York
Caption	Emblem of a colonial soldier
Founded	1876
Founder	John Austin Stevens
Location	New York City, New York
Headquarters	Fraunces Tavern
Type	Hereditary society
Purpose	Commemoration of Revolutionary War service and lineage

Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York is a hereditary lineage society founded in 1876 to promote study and preservation of the heritage of participants in the American Revolutionary War. The society has been associated with historic preservation, patriotic observances, and genealogical research in New York City and throughout New York State, maintaining connections with other lineage organizations and historic sites.

History

Established in the centennial era, the society traces its origins to meetings among veterans of the American Revolutionary War's descendants and civic leaders in New York City, inspired by commemorations such as the United States Centennial and movements tied to figures like John Austin Stevens and contemporaries who emphasized patriotic memory. Early activities intersected with restorations at Fraunces Tavern, commemorations of the Evacuation Day (New York City) ceremonies, and associations with monuments like the Baldwin Fountain and projects honoring the Battle of Long Island and the Fort Washington engagements. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries the society engaged with preservationists linked to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow-era literary nationalism and civic leaders associated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New-York Historical Society. In the Progressive Era the society interacted with municipal officials during events at City Hall (New York City), linked to municipal celebrations of Revolutionary anniversaries and coordination with veterans' commemorations such as those held by the Grand Army of the Republic and later heritage efforts that paralleled activities of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Society of the Cincinnati.

Throughout the 20th century the society navigated changing interpretations of Revolutionary memory amid debates sparked by scholars at institutions including Columbia University, New York University, Fordham University, and state bodies such as the New York State Museum. The society has periodically collaborated with preservation campaigns tied to Trinity Church (Manhattan), St. Paul's Chapel, and the Battery (Manhattan), while members have participated in commemorations linked to the Boston Tea Party legacy and the wider network of patriotic societies that includes the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

Organization and Membership

The society maintains a hierarchical structure with an elected president, vice presidents, secretaries, and a board of managers, drawing members who prove descent from participants in the American Revolutionary War—soldiers, sailors, militiamen, civil officeholders, signers, and other recognized patriots. Prospective applicants document lineage through repositories such as the New York Public Library, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Library of Congress, and the New-York Historical Society archives, with genealogical standards comparable to those used by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Sons of the American Revolution, and the Society of Colonial Wars. Membership categories have included regular, honorary, and life members, and the society has conferred membership on descendants of signers of the United States Declaration of Independence, officers from engagements like the Battle of Saratoga and the Siege of Yorktown (1781), and families connected to the Continental Congress.

Eligible ancestors have ranged from participants in the Boston Massacre aftermath and Lexington and Concord-era militiamen to mariners involved in actions like the Battle of Valcour Island; documentation often references pension rolls, muster rolls, and wills preserved in repositories such as the New York State Archives and county clerk offices in places like Westchester County, New York and Kings County, New York.

Activities and Programs

Programs emphasize commemorative ceremonies, scholarly lectures, archival preservation, and educational outreach. Annual events have included wreath-laying ceremonies at sites such as Fraunces Tavern, the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House observances, and participation in Independence Day (United States) parades and Evacuation Day (New York City) remembrances. The society sponsors lectures featuring historians from Princeton University, Yale University, Harvard University, Rutgers University, Columbia University, and regional specialists on topics ranging from the Intolerable Acts and the Stamp Act to the careers of figures like George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Philip Schuyler, and Benedict Arnold.

Educational outreach includes partnerships with municipal school programs, collaborations with the New-York Historical Society and the Museum of the City of New York, and support for publications and markers coordinated with bodies such as the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the National Park Service. The society has also sponsored genealogical workshops using sources like the Pennsylvania Archives, Massachusetts Archives, and local county records.

Properties and Headquarters

Headquartered historically at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan, the society has stewardship interests in sites and artifacts connected to Revolutionary history across New York, including preservation efforts near Broadway (Manhattan), holdings in the Financial District, Manhattan, and involvement with commemorative plaques at locations such as Trinity Churchyard and the Custom House (New York City). The society's collections and regalia have been displayed at institutions including the New-York Historical Society, the Museum of the City of New York, and during exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Numismatic Society.

Notable Members

Notable members and affiliates have included civic leaders, jurists, and scholars with pedigrees linking them to Revolutionary-era figures: legal luminaries associated with the New York Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court, financiers with ties to the Bank of New York, politicians from Albany, New York and New York State Legislature delegations, and historians affiliated with Columbia University, Princeton University, Harvard University, and the New-York Historical Society. Specific descendants have connected to signers and officers such as John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Patrick Henry, George Clinton (vice president), Aaron Burr, Philip Livingston, Robert Livingston (1718–1775), Roger Sherman, Richard Montgomery, Ethan Allen, Horatio Gates, Henry Knox, Nathanael Greene, Daniel Morgan, Benedict Arnold, Israel Putnam, John Paul Jones, Alexander McDougall, Rufus King, and William Floyd.

Relationship with Other Lineage Societies

The society has maintained cooperative and occasionally competitive relationships with organizations such as the Sons of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Society of the Cincinnati, the Order of Colonial Lords of Manors, the Sons of the Revolution (California), the Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, and local chapters of the Sons of Veterans. Joint activities include commemorations at Bunker Hill Monument-related events, marker dedications coordinated with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and scholarly conferences involving faculty from Columbia University, Rutgers University, Fordham University, and Stony Brook University.

Category:Lineage societies