[Verginius Rufus]

Years ago I corresponded with a fifth cousin who is a Mormon. Later I found that he had entered the data I had sent him into the Mormon records--in some cases the information was uncertain or may have been wrong, but now others will see the records and assume all the information is accurate.

I did the research to get my mother into the DAR. I found some distant cousins of hers who had joined the DAR under their common ancestor, and she joined under that ancestor. I now think that the records that were accepted for that ancestor's Revolutionary War service were for a different man of the same name, not even related to our ancestor (unless related way back in England) and that our ancestor was living in a different state at the time of the Revolutionary War.

The first person to join the DAR under that ancestor was a prominent lady and they may have been less inclined to scrutinize the evidence too closely in her case--but I think there were many cases of sloppy research in the early years. My understanding is that they are now much stricter in their standards of proof.

I know the SAR is very demanding in requiring proof of the ancestor's service and in proving descent every generation down to the person who wants to join.

[Little Bill]

I got a certification from the State of New York that one of my ancestors was a Rev War Veteran and our genealogy to prove it and my daughter sill did not want to join the DAR.