The lower meeting room was full on Saturday to listen to Emma Jean Smith, Registrar of the Celilo Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution speaking on the organization and her involvement which spans many years as registrar, a job that is truly mind numbing. The qualifications for membership is not easy as it sounds, deep research and proofing is a must to become a member of the organization. Emma works many , many hours a week helping families prove their patriotic ancestors fought or contributed to the cause of American independence from the British. The organizations motto is " God, Country and Home" and is open to any women over 18 years or older, regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background, who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution. The organization will be celebrating its 125th anniversary this year.
At 90 years old, she was asked what will happen to the job when she is no longer able to be the registrar and she said it will be taken over by another member. Right now she is looking for a assistant to train in that capacity but no one has come forward to train for the job. The job requires advanced genealogy education in the form of classes and you must pass tests given by the organization to be a "registrar". It requires many hours of research and the knowledge of sources where the information can be found. She writes, calls and has even traveled to track down that "clue"
to proof a individual for membership eligibility. It is truly a career in itself. The organization is non-profit and is all volunteer.
A member of the audience asked Emma what she does to keep her memory , vitality and perseverance since she has the ability to remember the fourth cousin of a family that lived in 6 different places and is 3 times removed from a research many years ago, she just smiled and laughed.
On that , the audience laughed and commended her on her abilities to do such a job at her youthful age. Emma has a following too, several members of the local DAR were present to comment on her job and to cheer her on because they love to see her talking about her work and the organization. We were all in aaahhh at her devotion, commitment and the depth in which the job entails.
Emma, you are truly a patriot!
For more information about the Daughters of the American Revolution organization follow the links below.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ortdcdar/
http://www.dar.org/
