WELCOME
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Dear Visitors, Potential Members and Compatriots:
Welcome to the web site of the New Hampshire Society of the Sons of the American Revolution!
Our Society was formed over a century ago as an organization with patriotic, historical, and educational objectives, including the perpetuation of the memory of the men and women who, by their sacrifices during the war of the American Revolution, achieved the independence of the American people. Each of the members of our Society is a direct lineal descendant of at least one patriot who risked his or her life or property to establish the United States of America. As such, we seek not only to preserve the memory of our forebears, but to instill in all citizens an appreciation of our national heritage and a greater understanding of our national identity.
On these pages, you will find a number of resources of use to both researchers and those interested in membership in our Society. We offer, among other things, essays by our members on various aspects of the American Revolution in the State of New Hampshire, tips on conducting genealogical research in this State and information on the activities of our Society. Those interested in applying for membership are encouraged to contact us directly.
The activities of the New Hampshire Society of the SAR are varied. We meet as a group four times a year, thereby fostering camaraderie among the descendants of those individuals who formed our nation. Each meeting is followed by a luncheon and the presentation of a lecture or demonstration by speakers well-versed in topics of interest to our members. Our Society's activities do not end there, however. Our members are often asked to speak to educational groups and other societies on life in the Revolution and our living history unit engages in encampments, reenactments, dedications and demonstrations relating to the period of the Revolution. The New Hampshire Society has also been active in the formation of the John Stark Society of the Children of the American Revolution, thereby enabling a new generation to carry on the patriotic objectives and traditions of their ancestors.
We are a vibrant and expanding Society, forging into the new millennium with that zeal and commitment which governed the conduct of our forebears. We are heirs to the proud tradition of independence and liberty which motivated the men of the New Hampshire Seacoast to haul down the British flag at Fort William and Mary in Newcastle, four months before the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. We strive to carry on the spirit of such men as General John Stark, who, with his New Hampshire Militia, fought on the bloody ground of Bunker Hill and turned back the British regulars and their Hessian mercenaries at the Battle of Bennington. We are the descendants of the men who died in the snow before the Fortress of Quebec, who starved with Washington at Valley Forge, who saw their small vessels sink beneath the waves of the North Atlantic in the smoke of broadsides from British ships of war and who devoted their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to the formation of a new nation conceived in liberty. While those patriots who faced down the might of one of the most powerful empires on earth over two centuries ago now lie beneath the soil of battlefields such as Saratoga or White Plains, or in countless churchyards across the country, their gift to all of us as Americans - a nation of free men and women, forged even more strongly by the generations which followed - remains alive.
Visit our web page, recall the source of the freedoms that we all now enjoy and consider membership in our volunteer ranks - and regardless of the nature of your interest in these pages, join with us in General Stark's toast to his militiamen: "Live free or die! Death is not the worst of evils."
We welcome you to our web site and look forward to hearing from you.
Donald
P. Hayes, Jr., President
New Hampshire Society
Sons of the American
Revolution
PRESIDENT
Donald P. Hayes Jr.
1st VICE PRESIDENT
Philip M. Goodnow
2nd VICE PRESIDENT
James E. Witham
3rd VICE PRESIDENT
Vacant
SECRETARY
Patrick Arnold
TREASURER
Michael R. Stark
REGISTAR &
GENEALOGIST
Hans E. Jackson
ASSISTANT
Richard H. Tivey
CHANCELLOR
Michael J. Gunnison
HISTORIAN
Benjamin H. Hampton III
CHAPLAIN
Rev. Dr. Gregory Reynolds
AUDITOR
Joseph A. Melville
BOARD OF MANAGERS
Ray P. Carter '08
Vacant '08
Richard H. Tivey '08
David N. Getchell '09
Douglas M. Wood 09
Benjamin H. Hampton III '09
Richard P. Duckoff '10
John Moore '10
Carleton Rand '10
TRUSTEE
Finlay J. Coles
ALTERNATE
Dr. Henry M. McCarl
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