Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War

Now listen. I know I said somewhere on the internet (maybe it was here on my blog) that this lineage society thing wasn’t typically my sort of thing, but it so happens now that I kind of enjoy this new exercise. Wouldn’t the preservation of your forefather’s legacy excite you as well? I’d only imagine it would, but if the bug hasn’t taken you yet I trust it shall in due time. So here’s the latest…

I am now a very jubilant and proud member of the DUVCW or Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War. In short DUVCW is:

a sororial lineage society of direct descendants of veterans of the Federal US Army who defended and preserved the Union during the Civil War.

Did I note how excited I am about this membership? It was in April of this year that I actually acquired successful membership, but I didn’t get my awesome certificate and badge in my mailbox until two days ago. How fitting that these items should arrive two days before the Juneteenth holiday. Also, I have joined the ladies at the Mary Todd Lincoln Detached Tent here in Florida and look forward to attending future meetings.

The application process for this society was much easier than the process I went through for DAR membership. This is mostly because there are fewer generations to work back to going to the Civil War as opposed to the Revolutionary War. Before I outline my process for membership allow me to introduce you to my Civil War ancestor: Private Alexander Branch and others in my direct line of descent.

Alexander Branch is my 3rd great grandfather on my maternal grandmother’s side. The line of descent is as follows:

Alexander Branch (Great-Great-Great Grandfather)
Louisa Branch (Great-Great Grandmother)
William “Willie” Jones (Great-Grandfather)
Johnetta Jones (Maternal Grandmother)
Mom
Me

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2017 MLK Day of Service – Youth Genealogy Program

C.A.R. Circle

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish as fools.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Indeed.

On Monday, January 16, 2017 the ChiChi-Okobee Society Children of the American Revolution hosted a half-day youth genealogy program at the Children’s Garden and Art Center. This program was made possible by a State College of Florida MLK Day of Service grant which I applied for on behalf of the Sarasota area C.A.R.

mlk2005_nolineHow about I quickly bring things up to speed before dishing out the details on the program. Shortly after joining the DAR last June I decided to to assist on the C.A.R. committee. It seemed like a common sense kind of idea considering I have two small children who I am working on getting into the C.A.R. as well. After a few months time one of my fellow Daughters shared with me a couple of grant opportunities that might be of interest. In October I applied for the MLK Day of Service grant. Just a few days before Thanksgiving I heard that my application for funding had been approved.

From that point forward until the day of the program, I worked tirelessly to develop and bring a youth based genealogy event to my community. And that in a nutshell was how the event came about and one of the many, many reasons I’ve been absent here.

Back to the C.A.R. For those who are not familiar:

C.A.R. is the nation’s oldest, largest patriotic youth organization offering membership to anyone under the ages of 21 who is lineally descended from someone who provided military or civil service or gave material aid or support to the cause of independence during the American Revolution.

C.A.R was chartered by the United States Congress in 1895, and is organized for the training of the young people in true patriotism and love of country.

Although the C.A.R. is only open to children with direct ancestral ties to the Revolution the Youth Genealogy Program was framed to assist children of any background with discovering tools and resources they may not have been previously aware of. Our C.A.R. society recognizes that no matter where your ancestry takes you knowing your lineage is important.
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