Serving Our Communities

The Kentucky SAR is a dedicated group that stays active nearly the whole year.  Here are just a few ways in which we serve our community as well as our past.

Historical Preservation - Ground Penetrating Radar locates unmarked graves

Historical Preservation Efforts

The Kentucky SAR works to preserve the memory of those that came before.  This takes on many forms, but here we are highlighting the hard work and elbow grease that our dedicated members put into remembering our history.

In the photo to the right, the image displays the outcome of a ground-penetrating radar survey in a neglected family cemetery. Each flag marks a previously unidentified grave, likely once marked by fieldstones that have deteriorated or become buried. The SAR collaborates with other organizations and descendants to identify individuals, especially Revolutionary War patriots, and to mark their graves.

 

Historical Preservation - SAR volunteers work to maintain and clean older headstones

 

This image shows restored gravestones with new footers and foundations, ensuring their stability for the future. The SAR assists in repairing and cleaning headstones of located patriots. Additionally, the organization supports other groups in their preservation endeavors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patriot Grave Marking Service - A grave has been marked.

Patriot Grave Marking Services

The Sons of the American Revolution works diligently to locate the remains of American Revolutionary War veterans.  This begins with genealogical research but will often involve all sorts of detective work and sleuthing.  Once located however, we will add an SAR marker to the grave location, and this marker is usually accompanied by a ceremony called a Patriot Grave Marking Service.

These services have several components, all intended to bring honor to the patriot being remembered. A biography of the patriot will be prepared from the research previously conducted and recited at the service.  A musket salute and color guard are provided as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

Patriot Grave Marking Service - Musket Salute

Each Patriot Grave Marking Service is slightly different, but the honor given our patriot ancestors is unwavering. These events are often attended by SAR members, members of other lineage societies, as well as living descendants of the Patriot being honored during the event.

If you would like to attend a Patriot Grave Marking Service near you, check out our Events Calendar for dates and locations.

 

 

 

 

Document Preservation

We encourage our members to get involved in helping preserve our nation's wealth of historical documentation.  As more organizations work to digitize their paper records, there are an increasing number of volunteer opportunities that can be done by anyone, from their own computer and mostly without leaving home.  Here are a few possible opportunities to help ongoing preservation efforts in our country as well as local communities.

National Volunteer Opportunities

  • National Archives' Citizen Archivist program -  You can make contributions to the National Archives Catalog to enhance access and discoverability. Transcribe historical documents, tag archival photographs, or share comments with other community members. Join us! Every contribution you make helps unlock history.
  • Family Search Volunteer Opportunities - You can volunteer at FamilySearch in a variety of ways—even if you have only a few hours to spare.  You can improve records, place-names, and even assist in translating their content into different languages.
  • Genealogy Volunteer Opportunities at ConferenceKeeper.org - Are you looking for some genealogy volunteer opportunities? Have you got just a minute to spare, or a couple, or maybe even an hour? Are you looking for a volunteer project that the kids might enjoy doing too? Click this link for a few great volunteer projects that will benefit the genealogy community.

 

Local State and Community Opportunities