To earn this achievement, I had to provide documentation connecting each generation until I reached the Revolutionary War ancestor. In truth I had to provide 6 generations worth of material, then I was able to hook onto another member's application for our common ancestor. That common ancestor was James Churchwell Luttrell. His parents were William and Elizabeth (Witt) Luttrell. My Revolutionary War ancestor was John Witt, Jr., who was Elizabeth's father.
By just following the Luttrell line and its branches, I have at least 3 supplementals to add. That means I have 3 other Revolutionary War ancestors. This doesn't even take into account my other lines of Gunter, Fry, Brumbaugh, Alderson, and the Whitsett side. I have my work cut out for me.
You may wonder why I want to do this? A simple answer is; preservation. This is just another way for me to publish my family history that is accessible for future generations. Yes, I could (and plan) to write a family history book someday. However, I have no way of telling where that would end up in the future, if it would be accessible to somebody living far away, or even if it will survive time. At the very least the DAR is a repository that will store this information, and a potential descendant will be able to order my application. This application will not only show the connections of each generation, but the evidence I used to make that connection. I think that is pretty cool stuff.
Time to get busy on those other lines.
