Sons of the Revolution Founded

Sons of the Revolution was founded in New York City, primarily by leading members of The Society of the Cincinnati and the businessman John Austin Stevens. He disagreed with the Society of the Cincinnati requirements limiting membership to the eldest male descendants based on the rules of primogeniture. Stevens held a preliminary meeting on December 18, 1875, at the New-York Historical Society in New York. At a second meeting held in January 1876, the first constitution was adopted and a flier that invited members was published.

After a few years of little activity, an elaborate "turtle feast" was held on December 4, 1883, in the Long Room of historic Fraunces Tavern. The banquet was to commemorate the centennial of General George Washington's farewell there to his officers. The 1883 dinner helped recruit 40 new members, and the group was reorganized as the Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York Inc.