Did your ancestors fight in the American Revolution two hundred
and twenty-five years ago? Thousands of men answered the call to arms in 1776.
These thousands probably have many millions of descendants today. Many Americans
can find a Revolutionary War veteran in the family tree if they expend a bit
of time and effort. Luckily, there are a number of online and offline sources
to help you in that search.
Finding revolutionary ancestors isn’t much different than
finding anyone else in your family tree. You always start with yourself and
then work your way back, one generation at a time. You can search the online
databases as well as the traditional resources, such as census records, vital
records, and especially, Revolutionary War pension applications. However, you
should be aware of several unique sources of records that contain information
about Revolutionary War soldiers.
One excellent tutorial to read is Finding Your Patriot: Basic
Sources for Starting Revolutionary War Research by Curt B. Witcher, available
on Ancestry.com at: www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/1561.asp.
Once you have learned the basics of Revolutionary War records,
you will want to search the Lineage Books of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The DAR have spent hundreds of thousands of hours compiling Patriot Index lists
of Revolutionary War ancestors of DAR members. The DAR Lineage Books are available
online to Ancestry.com members at: www.ancestry.com/ancestry/search/3174.htm.
(This database is available to Premium Members of Ancestry.com; a user ID and
password are required.)
Here is a typical entry from the online database of the DAR Lineage
Books:
Mrs. Kate S. Higgins.
DAR ID Number: 9168
Born in Virginia.
Wife of George E. Higgins.
Descendant of Col. Benjamin Wilson, of Virginia.
Daughter of Rev. William P. Harsha and Martha M. Wilson, his wife.
Granddaughter of Benjamin Wilson and Phoebe Davisson, his wife.
Benjamin Wilson was lieutenant in the expedition against Dunmore, and in
1775 commanded a company. He was active in warfare against the Indians during
the war and rose to the rank of colonel. He died in 1827, aged eighty.
Also Nos. 4095, 5719, 6510, 7843.
The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Volume
10
page 64
You see the DAR member’s lineage, plus you also obtain a
snippet of information about the Revolutionary War soldier. Armed with this
information, you can sally forth into other resources to find more information
about the soldier.
Keep in mind that the DAR Lineage Books contain the lineage of
accepted members. While these books often provide great clues about the lineage
of American patriots, the lineages they provide are often undocumented; as with
any undocumented secondary source, all aspects should be documented with further
research. Also remember that they do not list all the Revolutionary War soldiers.
These books only list those who were identified as ancestors of DAR members.
More information about the many services of the Daughters of the
American Revolution may be found at: www.dar.org.
However, you will not find online databases at that site.
The records of the National Society of the Sons of the American
Revolution are another great resource. Their records are being released on CD-ROM,
not online. I wrote about their Patriot Index database in the 11 December 1999
edition of this newsletter and about their Revolutionary War Graves Register
database in the 1 April 2000 edition, available at: www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/eastman/805.asp.
I am rather fond of the Revolutionary War Graves Register database
on CD-ROM, as I found an ancestor on that CD-ROM database that I had previously
not known about. The information on the CD-ROM gave me a "strong possibility."
Later, armed with that clue, I was able to prove that the Revolutionary War
soldier ancestor listed was, indeed, my great-great-grandfather. I now have
other documentation to prove my descent.
For more information about the National Society of the Sons of
the American Revolution, look at: www.sar.org/.
Finally, never overlook the best source of information: your family.
Are you attending a family gathering this Fourth of July? If so, ask your relatives,
especially your older relatives. They may know some family stories that you
have not heard before. Keep in mind that many family stories have a mixture
of truth and fiction interwoven in them, but they are always worth verifying.
Who knows? Your aunt or uncle just may be able to provide a clue that helps
you find information that previously eluded you.
Dick Eastman Online
