This is the
250th Anniversary of the founding of the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence was adopted
and signed unanimously by the Second Continental Congress of July 4th,
1776. When Americans today call
themselves ‘Patriots’ they are evoking a sentiment that is 250 years old. According to the dictionary a ‘patriot’ is
someone who loves and supports their county.
250 years ago, Patriots in the thirteen colonies were also known as
Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels or Whigs. The colonial population was
basically divided into three groups: patriots, who supported the end of British
rule; loyalists, who supported Britain’s continued control over the colonies;
and those who remained neutral.
As America’s
250th birthday is approaching it seemed appropriate to focus on my
Revolutionary ancestors with some very in-depth research. Previously, 8-10 ancestors had been located
who had some mention of them being involved in the Revolutionary War. My hunger for additional information was increasing
with a desire to learn more about their service; when and where they served,
what battles were they in and how actually did they serve? Was the information previously located
correct and was there more to their stories?
As frequently happens when we start researching our ancestors, along the
way as we locate names and dates, we also learn a great deal about history in
general. This journey was no
exception. My journey continued with locating
records I previously hadn’t researched or even realized existed, several
meetings with local historians and ended with even more appreciation at what my
ancestors endured during this period.
What did it mean to be a ‘Patriot’ in the American Revolution? I set out to determine, as much as possible, which of my ancestors were involved in the fight for independence during the Revolutionary War. At fi looking for the service records of those ancestors that were in the Military, I quickly learned the difference between the Militia (short term service) and the Continental Army (longer service with benefits). I also discovered some ancestors were representatives at local and state meetings or were involved in signing oaths of allegiance based on their beliefs or what was required by the current government. Weren’t these ancestors also serving in the War? Not in the same capacity as a soldier but they were still participants in what was happening. My search widened to include any ancestor that participated in the War for Independence. All of their service was important in telling their story and the country’s story. There was also the realization that some historical information was state specific and also important in saying that person’s story. This research was going to be more extensive than I originally thought. This research was going to be more extensive than I orginally thought.
Researching: When researching I always strive to find the original sources/documents and not just info someone has compiled in a book, blog, etc.
Caution: Father
and sons with the same names served. This
can be very confusing when you have a father and son of the same name. Sometimes further information is needed to
try and determine who’s service you are looking at. And…sometimes, you just can’t be sure which
person was named.
Surnames
were not always spelled the same across documents. Sometimes there are several men with the same
name.
Where to
research? Checking out records on Ancestry, FamilySearch, Fold3 are always good places to begin. I knew I would also need to look at state archives, books published about the War, newspapers, local historians, etc.
Organizing
information: The
information gathering process needs to fit your purpose and your style of
researching. I gather information
differently based on the project I am working on. How information is gathered and reviewed is
different for each of us. For this
project I decided to just begin to research and find as much information as I
could before I ever began to write my ancestor’s stories. Compiling information found into a word
document in a folder for each ancestor surname I came across seemed to work
best for me.
Then I
discovered I needed a way to be able to look at all of my ancestor’s basic
information at once as I was adding information to save time searching when I thought
I found some common names of Commanding Officers or Regiments so I started a
spreadsheet arranged by State, then alphabetical by Surname and different lines
for each enlistment.
Now, I believe, I’m ready to tell their stories…
Enjoy the journey,
Debby
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