I have a patriot ancestor. Actually I have several, but one in particular was kind of a big deal. James Mayson's troops fired the first shots in the American Revolution south of New England. It was relatively easy to prove I was a direct descendant, so I applied, paid $195, and was accepted into SAR.

Then things soured.

The Patrick Henry chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution was very cliquish. No one talked to me. I introduced myself, got a curt response, they would turn to have a conversation with someone else.

I went to the next meeting and no one was there. I emailed the one person whose address I had. It took a couple of months to get a response, but I learned they had moved the meeting location. I asked how they communicated this. It was via their mailing list. I asked to be added. Never happened.

Later in the year they moved yet again. I went to location #2, found no one. I drive out to location #1. Empty. I now had two email addresses, neither responded to my emails about where to meet.

I learned from a Facebook group I was supposed to have been receiving a quarterly magazine. I never got this. I also never got the membership card I was supposedly sent. I got a hold of someone at national who offered me a subscription at a steep price. I said my dues should cover the magazine. The trouble was I wasn't member. The local chapter didn't send in all of my paperwork. At this point the leaders of the local chapter were ignoring me.

At this point I was almost at the 12 month mark of my membership. I emailed various people asking how I renewed. I got a one line response from the state organization telling me I had received it via email and US mail. I didn't get either as I wasn't a member.