Boston Chapter

History

National Society - In 1876 there were many celebrations to commemorate the centennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. As part of this fervor, a group of men in the San Francisco, California, area who were descendants of patriots involved in the American Revolution, formed an organization called the Sons of Revolutionary Sires.

Out of the Sires grew the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, which was organized on April 30, 1889, the 100th anniversary of the inauguration of George Washington as our nation’s first President. The society was conceived as a fraternal and civic society composed of lineal descendants of those that supported the cause of American Independence. The National Society was chartered by an Act of the United States Congress on June 9, 1906.

Massachusetts SAR - The Massachusetts Society is one of the oldest state societies in the nation, having been organized on Patriot’s Day, April 19, 1889. The first State President was Charles Hicks Saunders, whose great-grandfather, John Hicks, was a Revolutionary War Patriot. Seven Massachusetts residents have served as President General of the National Society: Edwin Shepard Barrett (1897-99), Francis Henry Appleton (1905-06), Dr. Moses Greeley Parker (1911-12), Benjamin Newhall Johnson (1931-32), Paul Howard Walker (1992-93), Henry N. McCarl (2004-05), and John T. “Jack” Manning (2019-21). The Massachusetts Society has hosted eight NSSAR Congresses. Six were held in Boston - in 1895, 1906, 1912, 1975, 2000, and 2016. The 1922 event took place in Springfield, and the 1925 Congress was held in Swampscott.

Boston SAR - The Boston Chapter of Massachusetts SAR, the oldest chapter in Massachusetts, was founded October 31, 1895 by noted Plymouth Colony historian, George Ernest Bowman. Bowman also served as the first Chapter President.

The SAR, Massachusetts SAR, and Boston SAR, are tax exempt charitable and educational organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. We receive no government funding, despite being a Congressionally Chartered Organization.

Past Boston SAR Chapter Presidents:
*=Past State President, †=Past State President and Past President General
1895-1896 George Ernest Bowman
1896-1910 tbd - let us know if you have information
1910-1913 Frederick Gilbert Bauer
1913-1916 Alvin Richards Bailey
1916-1919 Charles Brooks Appleton
1919-1926 Willis Norman Tuller
1926-1930 T. Julian Silsby
1930-1932 Morgan H. Stafford
1932-1938 Gilbert C. Brown Jr.
1938-1939 John K. Allen
1939-1943 Frederic G. Kileski
1943-1946 Francis E. Buckley
1946-1950 Herbert L. Phillips
1950-1952 Everett B Goodrich
1952-1954 Charles D. O’Malley
1954-1959 George W. Roberts
1959-1975 Hon. Judge Thomas W. Hoag
1975-1976 Paul Howard Walker †
1976-1977 Malloy Myron Miller
1977-1978 Thomas Peter Wittemore Jr.
1978-1979 Robert Gladwin
1979-1980 George Walter Chandler Bingham
1980-1982 MG Rush Blodget Lincoln Jr.
1982-1991 Howard Thomas Hay
1991-1992 Bernard Althin Toombs
1992-1994 Dr. Walter Glenn Patterson
1994-1995 Wayne Earl Higley Jr.
1995-1997 Scott Raymond Foster
1997-2000 Richard Roy Stanley *
2000-2002 John Thomas Manning †
2002-2004 Geoffrey Gunther Colby
2004-2006 Daniel Warren Kraft
2006-2008 Geoffrey Gunther Colby
2008-2010 Stephen J. Hawko
2010-2011 Christopher Evan Mellen
2011-2016 James Michael Mitchell
2016-2018 Caleb John Blankenship
2018-2020 Andrew Charles Schell
2020 Caleb John Blankenship
2020-2021 Daniel Warren Kraft
2021-2023 Paul Joseph Marcus