Message From President General John Dodd
Abigail Adams famously entreated John: “I desire you would remember the ladies. . . .” We, too, should remember the contributions of the ladies to the Patriot cause during the American Revolution. Many know the exciting stories of Mary Ludwig Hays, a.k.a. “Molly Pitcher,” and Deborah Sampson, who fought in several battles, keeping her female identity secret. Women such as Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, and Phillis Wheatley provided intellectual and literary support to the Revolution. Perhaps more important were the women who supported the Revolution as “camp followers,” not in the pejorative sense, but by doing the often-backbreaking work of washing, mending and cooking for the men in the Continental Army. Still more numerous were those who “kept the home fires burning” by managing the family farm while the men were away fighting for independence.
There are many resources available to assist you in researching your female Patriot Ancestor. Some background information is linked below. We also present a few SAR members’ stories of their female Patriot Ancestor. So, if you have met a genealogical “roadblock” with your male line, be sure to “remember the ladies,” and be creative in finding your Patriot Ancestor, be that your qualifying ancestor, or a “supplemental” Patriot. Contact your local SAR chapter for help in documenting your SAR lineage. Please join us in celebrating the contributions of your female ancestor to the Patriot cause by becoming a member of the SAR.
John L. Dodd President General 2023-2024
A Women’s War by The Museum of the American Revolution
Women in the American Revolution by American Battlefield Trust
Women of the Continental Army by the National Park Service
Women and the American Story by New York Historical Society
Women in the American Revolution by Library of Congress
PG John Dodd Tells the Stories of His Female Patriot Ancestor
HG Brooks Lyles Tells the Stories of His Female Patriot Ancestor
Compatriot Jim Cates Tells the Stories of His Female Patriot Ancestor
Compatriot David Sikes Tells the Stories of His Female Patriot Ancestor
Two of the SAR Annual Conferences on the American Revolution have concerned the role of women in the Revolution. The papers from both of these conferences have been published in peer-reviewed, edited volumes by a major academic press. These books are:
Women in the American Revolution: Gender, Politics, and the Domestic World
