America at 250! Researching Your Revolutionary Ancestors

Scott Norrick, lead genealogist with Ancestral Past, a genealogy consulting company, gave an interesting presentation how to search for revolutionary war ancestors.

Scott first presented the historical background, context and timeline on the revolutionary war in what would become the United States. This background is important to understand who fought in the war and the types of service performed in support of the war. Not all colonists served in the military; many supported the cause by furnishing supplies, providing food, shelter and medical care, and engaging in political activities. Some colonists stayed loyal to the crown and many Native Americans, slaves, foreigners and women actively fought or supported the Continental Army and state and local militias. The variety of service and locality of battles and skirmishes can help in searches for information on ancestors.

Many of us have hundreds of direct ancestors who were living at the time of the revolution. If you can trace your family back to the mid-to-late 1700’s there is a plethora of potential sources of information. Scott recommended starting your search with the sites you already know such as Ancestry, Family Search, and Fold3. Records are also kept at the National Archives, state records, societies like the Daughters of the American Revolution and other research sources. Many published books exist that give information on war service record. Also search old newspapers, local town records, cemeteries, etc. Scott provided an excellent handout that describes these sources and provides some specific references to assist in your research.

Scott suggested working backwards in time when researching. Access multiple sources, there is no one-stop source. Be creative in your research – look in unexpected places, one source or story may lead to another. You will have the most success if you know where your ancestor lived and don’t assume that earlier research has been exhausted. You might start with a general search for an ancestor then look for more specific information. If you find where an ancestor lived or fought then look for battle details, newspaper, church and cemetery records in the area. This might lead to mentions in battles and pension records.

You can email Scott at scott@ancestralpast.com if you have questions on his presentation. Some additional tidbits and hints can be found on his website, www.ancestralpast.com. On the top ribbon click on “Journal” to find posts by Scott on several different topics, not just the revolutionary war. It is worth checking out!