How It Began

The General Society of the Sons of the Revolution came into being in 1876, when our nation was celebrating the 100th anniversary of American Independence.

Two decades later, the Virginia Society was organized "...to perpetuate the memory of the men who, in the military, naval and civil service of the Colonies and of the Continental Congress by their acts or counsel, achieved the Independence  of the country, and to further the proper celebration of the anniversaries of the birthday of Washington and of prominent events connected with the War of the Revolution; to collect and secure for preservation the rolls, records, and other documents related to that period; to inspire the members of the Society with the Patriotic spirit of their forefathers; and to promote the feeling of friendship among them."

On June 7, 1895, the gentlemen listed below met in Richmond to form the Virginia Society. The new Society's first Washington's Birthday Dinner was held on February 22, 1896. Through good times and bad, through the depressions and wars, that tradition has continued.