I recently did a controversial thing (at least in my communities, it is controversial) – I submitted a DAR application for my ancestor Mingo Pollock. DAR is the Daughters of the American Revolution and they have a long, long history of racism against People of Color.

Which they are trying to overcome – they published some years ago the volume African American and American Indian Patriots in the Revolutionary War which can now be accessed via a PDF download. They also curated an exhibit about African American and Indigenous Revolutionary War patriots which you can access here.

I decided to submit an application after listening to a series of podcasts about women of color joining the DAR and why they did it. One of the podcasts featured a woman that descended from one of my ancestors, Mingo Pollock. I am still waiting to see if my application will be accepted.

As a child, I lived not far from the DAR headquarters in Worcester, MA. We had to drive past the yellow house on Lincoln St to get to our apartment further down the road. Sometimes my mother would point to the yellow house and say “that’s where bad people live”. This was in the late 1960s/early 1970s when, yes, the DAR were considered “bad people” for their rejection of famed singer Marion Anderson and subsequent refusals to admit women of color. But even now as an adult, I still subconsciously think that bad people live in that house whenever I drive past it.

My application was filed through a chapter in another town, LOL!! And the DAR has made a tremendous effort to revert from their prior racism. Here are the 4 ancestors of mine that have documentation that they fought in the American Revolution. We suspect that a 5th ancestor, Primus Storms, obtained his freedom from enslavement by service during this war but we cannot find proof of it.

Mingo Pollock (1750-1797) – My maternal 6th great-grandfather. He enlisted in Connecticut as a replacement for his enslaver’s son, Henry Pollock. He survived the war but died in 1797 at the age of 47. He had 3 known children with his wife, Molly Pegan, a Nipmuc woman. His granddaughter, Mary Curliss Vickers is considered the matriarch for one of the largest Hassanamisco Nipmuc family lines.

Christopher Vickers (1758-1805) – My 5th great-grandfather and the father-in-law of the Mary noted above. He was of Narragansett origin though he lived nearly all of his life in Nipmuc country. His wife, Roba Coffee, was the subject of a dispute between the towns of Medway and Natick for her support after she was widowed.

John Nedson (1750-1778) – My 6th great-grandfather who died in service on 25 April 1778. He was a Pequot and was married and living in Nipmuc country to Mary Pegan, a Nipmuc woman, when he enlisted in Connecticut.

Sampson Hazard (1750-1832) – Another 6th great-grandfather of mine, Sampson enlisted in Rhode Island where he is listed in an all-Black regiment. He is the only Revolutionary War ancestor of mine to apply for a bounty land warrant though it looks like he never claimed the land.

Thanks for reading – let’s see if my application is approved!

Aquene, Cher