The Spiraling Chains: Kowalski - Bellan Family Trees
  • Home
  • Licciardi
    • Licciardi Family Photos
    • DeRigo
  • Bellan
    • Beljan Family in Croatia
    • Benicki >
      • Zagar
  • Bodziony
    • Bodziony - Poland
    • Golonka >
      • Bawołek
    • Krupa >
      • Kołodziej
  • Kowalski
  • The Spiraling Chains

I AM a Daughter of the American Revolution

12/27/2012

1 Comment

 
Picture
Even though technically I'm not and never will be.  For those of you unfamiliar  with the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), you must be a descendant of an American patriot in order to join the organization.  I am the great-grandchild of Polish, Italian, and Croatian immigrants who came to America between 1890 and 1920.  I know exactly where my ancestors came from and where and when they entered this country; I have no physical tie to the American Revolution or its descendants. 

Does that mean that I am any less of an American?  Does that mean that I'm not entitled to the same rights and freedoms for which Revolutionary-era patriots fought?  No, of course not, and I think nearly all DAR members would agree.  In fact, I like to think that I actually have a better idea of what the "pursuit of the American Dream" looks like compared with people whose families have been here for many generations.  I KNEW some of the people who left their homelands for America.  Their stories, though some of them still vague and fleeting, are fresher in the minds of living family members than a family whose ancestors came over 250 years ago.

I have to admit, I don't completely 'get' the desire to join lineage societies.  I DO understand their value in the realms of genealogy, especially if they possess books, papers, photos, and other documentation of people and families from generations past.  I also DO understand the desire to join an organization in order to meet new people and to share common interests (I joined a women's fraternal organization in college and I'm still involved in its alumnae group).  But to exclude (harsh word, I know, but accurate) people simply because they do not have or cannot prove blood connections to the Revolutionary War seems wrong to me. 

People will probably tell me, "Well, you could probably join an Italian- or Polish-American society due to your heritage."  True, but I don't want to.  I am an American; I don't have any connections to the Old Country.  I identify more with the language, history, and heritage of THIS country. 

I visited Boston for the first time this past summer with my husband.  We walked the Freedom Trail and took the T down to Quincy to see the Adams Homestead.  I had never before walked through a burial ground in which some of the people were born in the 1600s - I loved it.  I truly see the value in preserving and educating future generations about our founding mothers and fathers - something to which the DAR is also dedicated - and I can see myself volunteering within this realm of society once my kids get a little older.  But, they don't want me.  It's their loss. 



©2012, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

1 Comment
Becky link
12/27/2012 09:02:18 am

I have a friend who is in DAR. She and her husband were having a difficult time getting pregnant and we talked with them about adoption. She decided she didn't want to adopt because her children (grandchildren,etc...) would not be eligible to join DAR. It baffles me. (And thruthfully pisses me off.) Some things I don't get and this desire to join DAR is one of them.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Emily Kowalski Schroeder

    Emily Kowalski Schroeder

    Archives

    April 2017
    March 2017
    August 2016
    July 2016
    August 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012


    Categories

    All
    Anniversaries
    Antoni
    Aubry
    Bellan
    Bernard
    Bernhold
    Birthdays
    Birth Records
    Blogging
    Bodziony
    Braun
    Brunswick
    Bulcher
    Catholic
    Cemeteries
    Census Schedules
    Civil War
    Conferences And Talks
    Cousins
    Death Certificates
    Decorating
    Dna
    Drees
    Editorials
    First Communion
    France
    Funeral Cards
    Galicia
    Germany
    Golonka
    Grilliot
    Heirlooms
    Holidays
    Homes
    Hut
    Immigration
    Italy
    Janning
    Kahlig
    Knob
    Kowalski
    Krupa
    Licciardi
    Magottaux/Magoto
    Mapping
    Marriage
    Military
    Obituaries
    Occupations
    Organization
    Parazzini
    Poland
    Research
    Rolfes
    Schools
    Schroeder
    Ship Manifests
    Sports
    Surnames
    Tips
    Travel
    Tumbusch
    Voisinet
    Watercutter
    Weather
    Weddings
    Wellerding
    Wilkens
    Wills
    Wimmers
    World War II
    World War II
    Yearbooks


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.