Oregon SAR Annual Meeting of April 10, 2021

The Oregon SAR Annual Membership met electronically by Zoom video conferencing at 10:30. Next week the minutes of the meeting will be here to download, but the highlights of the meeting were the following two items:

Election of officers took place at the membership meeting. A ballot was mailed to all members and returned by April 9, 2021. There were 41 ballots returned and the slate of nominees were approved. There were no additional nominations from the floor.
 

The 2021/2022 Oregon Society Sons of the American Revolution officers are:

President- Michael Tieman
Secretary/Treasurer - John Berg
Registrar - Rob Greene
Chaplain - Eugene Foley
National Trustee - Rob Greene and Alternate Trustee - Ken Roberts
 

The Oregon Society awarded three medals:
 

State Medal of Distinguished Service
Compatriot Jim Martin

The State President may present one medal during his term at the Society’s Annual Meeting to a Compatriot in recognition for that Compatriot's conspicuous service to the State Society President during his administration.  

Several years ago, the President of the Southern Oregon Chapter resigned due to health and Compatriot Martin took his place. The chapter was having a problem with membership and participation. For several years now, Jim was all of the officers of the chapter. Last year the chapter was down to 6 members, less than the 8 required by National, but instead of closing the chapter, Jim worked tirelessly to rebuild it. This year the Southern Oregon chapter by his efforts alone, has grown to 10 members and there are four membership applications being worked on.

State Meritorious Service Medal
Compatriot Robie Greene

The State Meritorious Service Medal may be awarded to SAR members who have rendered faithful and meritorious service to their state society.  

Compatriot Greene's first experience at the State Society was as a chapter trustee several years ago. As the Oregon SAR needed volunteers for the Auditing Committee, Bylaws Committee, America 250^th Anniversary National Committee, Social Media Committee and the State Registrar officer, Rob was there. Again this year he has stepped up and taken on all of those duties again. 

Patriot Medal
Compatriot Dave Witter Jr.

The Patriot Medal is the highest award presented to a Compatriot by a State Society that recognizes outstanding, and distinguished service at the chapter level. The Patriot Medal is awarded only by a State Society.

Compatriot Witter stepped into the position of Chapter Registrar when it became vacant midterm. With his tenacity and enthusiasm Dave not only added 19 new members to the Lewis & Clark Chapter last year and worked on over forty, but he also reworked how the chapter registrar makes contact and works with new prospects. He then has shared this procedure and has worked with and trained other chapter registrars as well. Since he had nothing else to do with his spare time, he took on the position of Treasurer for the Oregon Revolutionary War Memorial and is a member of their steering committee.

---

 Links.
Just a reminder that the ORSSAR has a YouTube page.

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS

 

The Oregon State Society will host a monthly Zoom meeting on the second Saturday of each month. All members of all of our chapters are invited to attend.

The meeting will be a 30 minute presentation from one of the chapters, followed by a 5 min. recap from each Chapter President on what is happening at their chapter, followed by a 5 min. recap from the State President. That's it.

The first Zoom meeting will be held at 10:00am on December 12. The Republic Chapter will make the presentation.

The following is a synopsis for their presentation on Dec 12th by Compatriot David Devin. A Bible Bought at Valley Forge. Family stories for my Devin lines talk of a Bible that was purchased at Valley Forge by my Patriot Ancestor, Sergeant William Devin of the 14th Virginia Regiment of Foot. This presentation covers the history of the Bible, my search to find it, and what it contained.

The dates of the other Zoom meetings hosted by the Oregon SAR are: Jan 9, 2021 (followed by the quarterly State BOM meeting), Feb 13, 2021 and March 13, 2021. The April meeting is the Annual Meeting for all members where we vote for our new State SAR officers.

When it is closer to the meeting time we will email all members the Zoom meeting information, ID and password.

Membership Renewal

 

Don't Forget To Renew Your SAR
Membership For 2021

If you have not received your membership renewal form in the mail, contact your Chapter.    

All six small sculptures of Continental Soldier, The Militia Soldier, the Minuteman, the Woman Patriot, the Black Soldier and the Oneida Warrior are ready to order.

Download the "Six Patriot Sculptures" Brochure HERE. It tells about each of the six sculptures and has a handy order form that you can print and send in with a check. Soon you will be able to order on our website with a credit card.

To see them all, go to our BLOG which is the journal of the sculptor Michael Tieman.

DONATIONS
 

If you want to make a contribution to the Memorial, you can write a check for cash, to purchase bricks or sculptures. Make the check out to ORWM and mail it to:  Dave Witter 4840 SW Fairhaven Dr. Portland, OR 97221

If you want to use your credit card, go to our web site www.ORWM.org and click on the DONATE button. Here you can order bricks, coins, Patriot sculpture, Wreaths across America and also make a cash donation.

Genealogy - Pay Attention to the Detail

 SAR Compatriot:Eugene Foley

Pay Attention to the Detail
 

When we qualify our ancestors as patriots with proof of birth, death, and marriage, we often don’t bother with other information that might lead to a better understanding of who they are.  Census records, city directories and obituaries also provide information, such as occupation or employers, that can help us understand more about who our ancestors are and how they lived.

In my research, I very much enjoy finding interesting facts and digging deeper into them.  As I was looking at my Jamestown families, I found a ship’s captain by the name of James Davis or Davies from whom I am descended.  In the notes about his life, it mentioned that he had also delivered colonists to the Popham Plantation, and that he had captained a pinnace that had been built there (the first English ship built in North America).  Pretty cool, I thought.
              
Of course, there are many ancestry-based societies other than SAR/DAR, Mayflower, and Jamestown.  One of them is dedicated to the descendants of what is often called the Popham Plantation, located in the area near Kennebunk, Maine.  The colonists arrived there in mid-1607.  Yep, 1607.  About the same time as Jamestown was first settled.  The Popham settlement was apparently pretty well managed, as it only lost one of its colonists in the first year…unlike Jamestown and Plymouth.
              
Interestingly, the colony, which was principally a commercial enterprise, was abandoned a year later.  Such presence of Europeans in North America was enough that by the time the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, the indigenous people had some knowledge of the English.  This helps to explain the comfort with which Squanto and Massasoit could communicate with the colonists.

We Need You ...

Want to get more involved in your Oregon Society and National SAR but don't know how?  

Here are three great opportunities below that we need help with. We are just forming these new committees this year and need your help in making them happen. If you are interested in joining one of these committees please contact President Michael Tieman.

ORSSAR  Recognition Committee
This committee shall coordinate ORSSAR activities for tracking eligibility, encouraging activities, reporting achievements and recognizing individuals and organizations for noteworthy accomplishments. This committee combines the Eagle Scout, the Flag, the Medals and Awards and the Society and Chapter Competition Award Committee.

ORSSAR  Outreach Committee  
This committee will develop relationships with the Oregon community, the CAR, the DAR and the NSSAR committees. This committee combines the Center for Advancing American Heritage, the Color Guard, the CAR, the DAR and the Veterans and Patriotic Outreach Committees.

National SAR "America 250" Committee
In the tradition of Samuel Adams and Joseph Warren, we are calling on each State Society to form a state America 250 SAR Planning Committee to plan and organize State Society activities.  So we can help each other be informed, each State Society will have a CoC Secretary as the point of contact to the National Society America 250 SAR Committee.  Shortly, we will be launching an online area to report progress and develop interactive tools to help each other. For now, I ask that you have your State Society’s Committee of Correspondence Secretary send an email to the America 250 SAR Committee at America250SAR@sar.org 

As you know, the 250^th Anniversary of the American Revolution is not only fast approaching, it is already here! While we are five years away from the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, March 6 of this year was the 250^th anniversary of the Boston Massacre.  Leading up to July 4, 2026 we will have many unique opportunities promote patriotism, our objectives of education, and the honor our ancestors. No doubt you will agree, our nation needs to focus on our founding principles of liberty and freedom.

America 250 SAR is the anniversary coordinating committee of the National Society. Our charge is to work with the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, the America 250 staff of the American Battlefield Trust, America 250 DAR, CAR, and other heritage partners to plan the national celebrations throughout the country. State Societies and Chapters will be awarded streamers for activity related to the 250^th and medals can be earned based on activities. America 250 SAR flags will soon be available through merchandising in the Flags section in the “Members Only” section of the SAR Store. 

We look forward to hearing from your state’s Committee of Correspondence Secretary.
Your most honorable servant,
Clifford Olsen,
NSSAR Chair
America 250 SAR
573-634-8200

Genealogy

 SAR Compatriot:Eugene Foley

Fraternal Connections
 

I have heard, over the years, that the “Indians” responsible for the Boston Tea Party were Freemasons.  While I’ve not yet been convinced that there is evidence of clandestine meetings of the lodge to execute such a plan, it is true that many of the Founding Fathers were active Freemasons.  Franklin, Washington, Otis, Wooster, Marshall, Lafayette, Montgomery, Putnam and Hancock were all active Masons.

 

While Masonry is often characterized as a “secret” society...it really isn’t.  In fact, one might compare it with many other fraternal organizations, like the Grange, Pythians, Odd Fellows, and many others that use ritual and symbolism in their lessons teaching commonly held virtues of the communities they serve.  Such would certainly be consistent with the actions evident among those who would actively seek the abolition of tyranny and despotism.

As genealogical researchers, the lack of secrecy is a treasure trove of information.  Members wanted to be known as such, and even paraded (literally) to make their presence known.  The famous painting of the laying of the corner stone of the first national capital building shows Washington in Masonic adornment.  But, perhaps, most useful is the availability of historic membership information.  Many grand lodges have allowed the transcription of membership files which provide useful dates, occupations, and locations.  And now...you can search them on the internet.