DAR Genealogists at Work Remotely

Although it has not been “business as usual” since our DAR Headquarters shutdown in March, staff genealogists remain true to the Registrar General department’s mission: the review and verification of member Applications and Supplementals. The staff has shown creativity and flexibility in this new environment of working remotely, and I am proud to say that our team has responded beautifully.

One benefit of this new reality has been an increasing focus and adoption by the membership on completing eApplications. I am delighted to report that fully 21 percent of the applications verified for the May 5^th acceptance were eApps! That’s by far a record. If you would like to learn more about ways to use this technology to submit Applications, you will find a wealth of information on the Members’ Website: www.dar.org/eApp.

Several of our other special projects include:

• Review of more than 100 requests for correction of Ancestor vital and service data, which has resulted in the authentication or correction of Patriot profiles in the Ancestor Database in the Genealogical Research System (GRS), along with the verification and/or correction of information found on dozens of “flagged” Patriots, such as those coded TRNWAN (Treat as New Ancestor).
• In-house guides, including the Verification and Corrections Guides, have been updated.
• A new African American Resource Guide is being developed for in-house use.
• Several new Genie Clips have been created on topics such as eApps and Revolutionary War service. 
• The Genealogical Education Program (GEP) classes have been transferred to a new and improved Instructure platform “Bridge.”  The link for the new website is https://gep.bridgeapp.com.
• We rolled out our new Legacy program, learn more here:  https://www.dar.org/members/applications-supplementals/legacy-program.
• We also worked with the DAR Library to launch new Long Island service resource webpages: www.dar.org/LongIsland.

Overall, our focus has been on projects with the dual advantages of (1) being well-suited to the mandatory telework situation, and (2) being useful for improving the long-term efficiency of the verification process.

We are now making careful plans for an eventual return to the building. Many considerations are involved. These include realigning seating to facilitate social distancing and other precautions. The health and well-being of our staff and our members will be paramount as we make our plans.

The Genealogy staff will continue to work diligently to carry out the mission of the Registrar General and the National Society.