There are hundreds of lineage societies in America. I used to be familiar with many of them because back in my day we had the Hereditary Society Blue Book. Now it’s outdated now and apparently out of print. I’d bet if it ever comes back it will be just a web page somewhere.

I was pretty sure I’d never join a lineage society myself. My strong suit is being irreverent. I’ve always thought lineage societies are somewhat odd. What’s the point, really? Am I somehow more a descendant of my ancestors if I have a piece of paper? Am I less a descendant if I don’t have someone else’s certification? Or is the point that I’m supposed to be smug that I’m a descendant and you’re not? So, ha.

In the end I did join, though. And I joined Sons of American Revolution (SAR), which is about as conventional as you can get. Along with Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and Mayflower Descendants it’s one of Big Three that people use to define themselves as American Blue Bloods.

This could become one of those long, shaggy dog stories if I’m not careful. The short version is that my mom wanted to join DAR. She was already a member of Daughters of Utah Pioneers. I thought it might be easiest to follow the same line, particularly since I’d get a boost from Mormon records. And, if I joined SAR myself that might give me a head start on Mom’s DAR application. So I joined a lineage society, despite having thought probably I never would.

But here’s the thing. In those fleeting moments when I did think I would join a lineage society, my thought was that it would be Boonesborough. How could anything be cooler or more American than that? And, if we’re talking exclusivity here, there were far fewer pioneers with Daniel Boone at Boonesborough than there were soldiers in the Revolutionary War.

So now that my mom’s DAR application has been accepted, and that application ended up being through our Boonesborough line rather than through our Mormon line anyway, I’m thinking Boonesborough is the next logical step on what has accidentally become my lineage society journey.

More Information

• Early Settlers of Boonesborough. “This list is from a memorial located at the fort and paid for by The Society of Boonesbrough in 1981. You may purchase “the little yellow book” Early Settlers of Fort Boonesborough by H. Thomas Tudor (1975) which lists the names of all the pioneers on the monument. It is available for sale in the Transylvania Store Gift Shop at the fort.”
• Fort Boonesborough Foundation.
  • Join the Fort Boonesborough Foundation.
  • Raffle for 18th Century Squirrel Rifle (Nov. 23, 2019).
• Fort Boonesborough Living History.

My mother and sister Laura have had their applications approved to join Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). They’ll be sworn in on April 6th. This has been in process for quite a while now. We have a couple dozen ancestors they could have used, but they’ve held out for James Kenney, a horse breeder in Kentucky.

Lots of reasons. First, he’s in our direct female line, which gives him a special place in all our hearts.

Second, his breeding operation at Stonerside Farm stayed in the family for many generations. It’s now part of the holdings of the ruler of Dubai. (Yes, really.) The last horse breeder in our direct line (although not at Stonerside) was my mom’s grandfather, Wilford Luce.

And third, he and his family were pioneer settlers with Daniel Boone at Boonesborough (Kentucky), which means the DAR applications clear the way for all of us to join the Boonesborough Society. (Probably, I’m the only one who will.)

One of my grandmother’s cousins was a member of DAR on this line, but it needed some work to bring it up to modern standards.

My cousin Mark and I joined Sons of the American Revolution last year but we did it on a different line—Capt. Andrew Grant. This line also has special meaning for us. It’s essentially our Mormon line. Andrew Grant’s daughter Ruth (Grant) Luce was an early Mormon convert. She was a pioneer of Nauvoo (Illinois), then came across the plains in 1848 when she was 73 to become a pioneer also of Salt Lake City City (Utah) and Ogden (Utah).