The following newsletter is typical of the valuable information and research tips that will be yours free when you become a member of the

Craven County Genealogical Society.

Archival copies of our newsletters are available for viewing at the New Bern-Craven County Public Library in the Kellenberger Room.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

KINTRACKS

Newsletter

 of the

 

  CRAVEN COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

OF

NORTH CAROLINA

 

 

P.O. Box 1344, New Bern, NC 28563-1344

 

www.cravengenealogy.org

                                                                                                                       

 

Dedicated to Fostering Interest in the

Research, Preservation and Sharing

of

 Our Family Heritage

 

 

 

 

VOLUME XVI                                                                                                                             NUMBER 4

 

New Bern, NC, USA                                                                                                         July – August 2008

 

Notices, Table of Contents, Officers & Directors, and Editor’s Message

 

Upcoming Meetings: Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. - L.D.S. Church – “Our Collected Research”

                                                                                                                        Members’ Show & Tell

                                    Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008 – 7:00 p.m. L.D.S. Church – “Inherited Diseases”

                                                                                                                     Nancy Purdue and Judy Nelson

                                               

KinTracks:  &Cutoff date for Articles in September-October issue of KinTracks: Sept. 3, 2008 .

 

******************

  Pg #        Table of Contents:

3               President’s Message – Barbara Kerr

4-5        Examples of “How To” Connect Generations – Lou Walker

6-7        Death Records: … 10 Documents Every Genealogist Should Own - William Dollarhide

    8-9        Describing Your Ancestors’ Setting - Sharon DeBartolo Carmack

9-10      Search Tips for Online Genealogy - Diane Haddad

   11          Medley: News, Tips & Web Sites – Carolyn McCulley

   12          Membership Application & Renewal Form

 

  2008 Officers and Members of the Board:  

 

      President – Barbara Kerr                                                                Secretary – Robert Boyd

      Vice President and Program Chair – Rosa Johnson                   Treasurer – Mack Ballard

                                 Directors at Large: Mac Bonnett, Victor Horrell, and Jerri Fiolek

                                         Archivist: Margaret Baxter       Webmaster:  Bob Hennon

 

Message from Kintracks Editor:  Carolyn McCulley – mmccully@ec.rr.com

 

We appreciate members contributing to KinTracks.  President Barbara Kerr has provided her President’s Message on page 3, which includes suggestions for members to prepare a small family history or genealogy project over the summer to share at our next meeting on September 9^th.  Further help for members working on this project can be found on page 8 in Sharon DeBartolo Carmack’s article.  On page 4, you’ll find an article by a good friend from my DAR chapter, Lou Walker (who attended our meeting at the Register of Deeds Office in April).  Lou has contributed interesting examples of several sources that should help you discover and prove links between generations.

 

As a member, you are urged to contribute stories of your own research experiences, “how to” advice, helpful online resources you’ve discovered, a “Eureka!” moment, or any other items you think would be of genealogical or historical interest to our members.  Please send these items via email to me at the address shown above, or mail them to me at 421 Boros Road, New Bern, N.C. 28560. 

 

LDS Family History Center hours are: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 1:00 – 9:00 pm, and on the first two Saturdays of each month from 9:00 am – 1:00pm. The phone number is 638-5341 and it’s best to call ahead before going to make sure it is open, as staffing is by volunteers.

 

Please note that the web sites listed in the newsletter are hyperlinked; however, on some computers, instead of just “Left Clicking” your mouse on the web site address, you will need to do both “Control (depress Ctrl key) and Left Click” on the internet address to open the web link.

 

(The Society’s seal on the cover page of KinTracks was designed by Robert DeWitt Hennon, Jr. – March 2002. Copyright protected)

 

 

 

President’s Message

 

July - August 2008

 

Let us brand Craven County Genealogical Society of North Carolina by showing our faces and illustrating our voices. We have an image, one worth signing about, and others may stop to read what we have to say.

 

Help promote our brand name at the New Bern-Craven County Public Library November 1–30. Our annual library display that ties in with Family History Month in October will feature a photograph of your face and a short (150 words or less) vignette about an ancestor, descendant, or yourself.  The contributors to www.wikipedia.com constructed this rich introduction to an American icon. Feature one of your favorites!

 

Early life of Samuel Langhorne Clemens

He was born in Florida, Missouri, on November 30, 1835 to a Tennessee country merchant, John Marshall Clemens (August 11, 1798–March 24, 1847), and Jane Lampson Clemens (June 18, 1803–October 27, 1890). He was the sixth of seven children. Only three of his siblings survived childhood: his brothers Orion (July 17, 1825–December 11, 1897) and Henry (July 13, 1838–June 21, 1858) and his sister Pamela (September 19, 1827–August 31, 1904). His sister Margaret (May 31, 1830–August 17, 1839) died when he was four years old, and his brother Benjamin (June 8, 1832–May 12, 1842) died three years later. Another brother, Pleasant (1828–1829), died at the age of six months. He was born two weeks after the closest approach to Earth of Halley's Comet and he died April 21, 1910 in Redding, Connecticut, one day after the comet’s closest approach to Earth. “The Almighty has said, no doubt: ‘Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.”

 

At our June meeting, Vice President Rosa Johnson coached us to produce a small family history/genealogy project over the summer and share it with members at our September 9 meeting. From her handout, here are suggestions of “Things to Do Now.” (Source: Unpuzzling Your Past, 4^th Edition, by Emily Anne Croom, p. 230.)

 

1.      Choose one ancestor and write an introduction for a biographical sketch, making an effort to set that ancestor’s life into appropriate social, historical, and regional context.

2.      Choose one ancestral family and plot their known residences on a map.

3.      Choose one couple or family as the subject of a possible family history project.    Make an outline or list of the items you could include in a project about that couple or family.

4.      Choose an ancestor you knew and write your memories of the time you spent together, describing events, personality, appearance, etc.

 

Fresh from the 34^th annual Eastern Odiorne reunion in Rye, NH and various research repositories in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, I’ll look forward to seeing you at our next meeting, after the psychological end of summer 2008.  Enjoy it!

 

Barbara Kerr, President

 

Examples of “How To” Connect Generations

 

by Lou Walker

 

Among the ways genealogists connect one generation to the next are various types of “proof” documents, such as wills, estate records, birth & death certificates, burial records, marriage announcements, obits, deeds, journals, diaries, family Bibles, and government records, such as census, pension and land warrant records.  And… you never know where the connections you’re most eagerly seeking might be discovered! 

 

Here are examples of several connection sources that I have used in doing research for myself, and in helping others. Underlining of names and phrases is used to show the particular words in each source that gave me information to connect a husband/wife, parent/child, reveal a maiden name, estimate someone’s age, or provide other clues to help prove an elusive connection.

 

1.  County Deed Abstracts: Kinfolks of Johnston County, Abstracts of Deeds 1826-1865, Vol. II, abstracted by Elizabeth E. Ross and Zelda B. Wood, p. 172

 

Deed Book Z-2, p 574: 12 May 1862 Willie Holt and wife Chloe of JoCo [Johnston County, NC] to Christopher G Holt of JoCo for Natural Life and Affection to our son, and $5…175 Acres and 118 acres of land in JoCo, our full share of lands that descended to us as children of late Bright Jernigan ... a portion of the land to Chloe w/o Willie Holt, Esther A, wife of Henderson Graham, who were the only children of Bright Jernigan dec [deceased] except for dower right of Jerusha Jernigan... Lot #2- 316 acres excepting a lifetime right to us

 

Wit:  Will N Holt, LB Holt                          signed Willie Holt                     22 Sept 1862

                                                                               Chloe A Holt

 

2. Estate records, especially when no will exists: NC State Archives "Index to Johnston County Loose Estates 1771-1962," File Box #.056.508.17, Bulls, Barnaby 1814 Div of land 3,069 acres, 5 shares, number of documents (10+) pg. 16

 

Division of Slaves (from NC Archives microfilm)

 

Lot 1-Jermiah Deans adm. [administrator] for Elizabeth Bulls widow of Baranba Bulls

Lot 2-Dempsey Deans Bulls (a minor)

Lot 3-John Whitley, Jr. & wife Esther Bulls

Lot 4-Barnaby Bulls (a minor)

Lot 5-Thomas Rice adm. for Chloe Rice, dec'd [deceased]

Lot 6 Bright Jernigan & wife Elizabeth (formerly Elizabeth Watson) ... last two Negoes were put into the possession of the said Elizabeth during the life time of her 1st husband the late Willis Watson & are in the possession of said Bright Jernigan & wife.

 

3.  Abstracts of vital records from newspapers:  Abstracts of Vital Records from Raleigh, North Carolina Newspapers 1820-1829, Vol. II, pgs. 687-688, #5681 Tate: M. [married] In Orange county, on the 24th ult., Mr. Samuel Tate to Miss Mary Squires, dau of Mr. Thomas Squires.   RaNCSw Fri 18 Mar 1825.

 

 

 

 

4.  Family records, including old newspaper clippings:  Clipping from unknown newspaper dated

9 October 1905 [Source: Frances Jordan Tate Blair’s papers - great granddaughter]  “JORDAN - On the morning of the 9th of October, 1905, Mrs. Mary Faucette Jordan, widow of the late Col. William H. Jordan, breathed her spirit into the hands of Him who gave it.  Thus ended the life of one whom to know was to admire.  She let [left] five children - Dr. T. M. Jordan, of Raleigh; J. D. Jordan, of New Mexico; J. Wesley Jordan, Mrs. Wilkerson and Mrs. McLade [McDade], of Orange County, N. C.”

 

5.  Government Records: [This example is from U.S. Southern Claims Commission records]

 

Question # 36 - [from Reuben Fulcher’s Application to U.S. Southern Claims Commission]

 

“Had you any near relatives in the Confederate army, or in any military or naval service ….?”     

 

Answer: “I had a son. Wallace Fulcher, age 18 years, --- residence Hunting Quarter, Carteret, N.C.

I begged him not to go in the service, but he would not listen to me.  I couldn’t do nothing.”

 

These records, and an index, are available in the following www.ancestry.com  databases:

 

U.S. Southern Claims Commission Master Index, 1871-1880 

This database contains a complete index to all claims filed with the Southern Claims Commission, even those which were appealed. Gary Mills has combined all available indexes, created since these records were made public, into one. In it you will find all the information you will need to locate the case file.

 

U.S. Southern Claims Commission, Allowed Claims, 1871-1880 

· Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880: Georgia; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1658, 761fiche); Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of the Treasury, Record Group 217; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

 

· Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880: West Virginia; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1762, 3 rolls); Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of the Treasury, Record Group 217; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

 

· Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880: Alabama; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M2062, 36 rolls); Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of the Treasury, Record Group 217; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

 

· Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880: Virginia; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M2094, 45 rolls); Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of the Treasury, Record Group 217; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

 

U.S. Southern Claims Commission, Disallowed and Barred Claims, 1871-1880 

This database contains an index to all claims Disallowed & Barred Claims, filed with the Southern Claims Commission. Information available in the claim files can vary from packet to packet, but many of the files are very rich in genealogical information.

 

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Genealogical Writing: Brackets by Michael J. Leclerc:

Brackets are used to enclose any material that the quoter wants to insert into a quotation. They are also used to add explanatory information to clarify intent. Parentheses should never be used for this purpose. When quoting passages, parentheses should only be used within the quotation marks if that is the way it appeared in the original

 

Death Records: A Checklist of 10 Documents Every Genealogist Should Own

by William Dollarhide

(Adapted from a blog on genealogyandfamilyhistory.com, a blog site sponsored by Genealogical Publishing Co.)

 

1. DEATH CERTIFICATES. Always start with a death certificate as the names, dates, and places it contains will lead you to even further records. (Please remember that the certificate in itself is the beginning, not the end, of your search and that the information included may be incorrect.) A good rule is to treat the brothers and sisters of your ancestor as equals. Obtain a death certificate for each deceased ancestor on your pedigree chart, and for every deceased brother or sister of that ancestor. For example, if there were six siblings in the family, a death certificate for each sibling will give six different sources about the same parents, places where the family lived, names of spouses, names of cemeteries, names of funeral directors, and other facts about a family. If a death certificate for your ancestor fails to provide the name of the deceased’s mother, a sibling’s death certificate might give the full maiden name. How do you get a death certificate? Go to www.vitalrec.com where detailed information about accessing death records can be found. It is a free-access website and all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories or possessions are represented.

2. FUNERAL RECORDS. A death certificate may mention the name and location of a funeral director. A funeral record may include names of survivors, names of the persons responsible for the funeral expenses, and, often, obscure biographical information about the deceased not available anywhere else. Modern funeral records are full of genealogical information about the deceased and may include copies of newspaper obituaries, death certificates, printed eulogies, funeral programs, and other details about the person. A reference to a burial permit, cremation, or cemetery may be included as well. Find a current funeral home in North America at www.funeralnet.com. This site provides the listings from “The Yellow Book,” a directory of funeral homes. If the funeral home listed on the death certificate is no longer listed in the current directory, it should be possible to locate the current funeral home holding the records of an earlier one. Funeral directors are also experts on the location of cemeteries in their area.

3. CEMETERY RECORDS. If the name of a cemetery is mentioned on the death certificate or funeral record, there may be a record in the sexton’s office of the cemetery or off-site at a caretaker’s home; the gravestone inscription may be revealing as well. When you contact a funeral home, ask about the cemetery where the person was buried and whether the funeral home has an address or phone number for the cemetery office, or if it can give you the name of the keeper of the cemetery’s records. Ask the funeral director for the names of monument sellers who cater to cemeteries in the area. A local stone mason may have a record of a monument inscription for the deceased’s gravestone. To locate a cemetery anywhere in the U.S., a special list can be obtained from the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). The GNIS contains the names of over two million place names (map features) in America, of which about 107,000 are cemeteries. The GNIS website is located at http://geonames.usgs.gov/. Click on “Domestic Names” to search for any named cemetery.

4. OBITUARIES. A newspaper obituary, or a death notice, was probably published soon after the person’s death. Old newspapers from the town where the person died are usually available in the local public library, often on microfilm. If you know the name of the local newspaper or the name of the local library, try a Google search to obtain more information. Many libraries are at: http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/ or you can ask your local librarian to assist you in determining the name of the local newspaper, or libraries in that area, or perhaps online resources, that may have the newspaper issue of interest to you.  If a library does not provide obituary searches, contact the local genealogical society to obtain contact information for local researchers who could obtain the obituary for you. A good list of American genealogical societies is in The Genealogist’s Address Book (available on CD from genealogical.com).

 

You might also find a researcher via the Internet. Do a “place search” for people involved in genealogy in a locale near where you need help, send them an e-mail message, and promise to do something for them in exchange. Finally, check www.cyndislist.com under the category “obituaries” for direct links to sites that make obituary transcripts available online.

5. SOCIAL SECURITY RECORDS. If a person died within the last 35 years or so, the death certificate may include the deceased’s Social Security number. With or without a person’s Social Security number, you can write for a copy of any deceased person’s original application for a Social Security card, called a form SS-5. Since 1935, virtually every working person in America has applied for a Social Security account. You will need to consult the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) to see if the person is listed. Most people who died after 1962 will be listed there. One of the easiest of these look-up services is found at http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/, where you can search in the SSDI by the surname, or optional first name, or the place in the U.S. where a person died. With the name and Social Security number, you can obtain a copy of the deceased’s application for a Social Security account. This document was completed by the person and gives his/her full name, date and place of birth, place of residence, names of parents, occupations, and names of employers. For deaths before 1962, the RootsWeb SSDI site is still a good place to start; click on any person to get the form letter asking for a form SS-5, modify it to fit the person you want, and add more details.

6. PROBATE RECORDS. Details about a deceased person’s estate may be located in a county courthouse. These records may provide important information about the heirs of the deceased. Probate records may include dockets (court calendars), recorded wills, administrator’s records, inventories of estates, sheriff’s sales, and judgments. Microfilmed probate records for nearly every county in the U.S. are located at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. To find them, go to www.familysearch.org . Do a “place” search for a state, then click on “Review Related Places” to see a list of the counties for that state. The topics listed include probate records, so a review of what records have been filmed can be located quickly.

7. PRIVATE DEATH RECORDS (Insurance Papers, Medical Records, Doctor’s Office Records). If the deceased had insurance, there will be a record of the death within the insurance company’s files, perhaps with information concerning the deceased’s survivors and the disposition of an estate. Hospital records are almost always closed, but a close family member might be able to obtain information. Records at a doctor’s office are usually closed also; but, again, close family members might be given access.

8. CORONER AND MEDICAL EXAMINER RECORDS exist for any person who died under suspicious conditions, any person for whom an autopsy was performed, or, in most cases, for people who died outside of a hospital. Coroner records are public records kept at the county level in virtually all states. In addition to the circumstances of death, there may be vital details about the deceased. Locating a coroner or medical examiner for a county is not difficult as many have their own websites or are part of a county government website.

9. MEDICAL RECORDS for deceased veterans are public records. The National Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center (Military Records Facility) is located at 9700 Page Ave., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100. Write for a form SF-80 to request copies from any soldier’s or sailor’s military file. The online website is www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/index.html. Next-of-kin to a deceased veteran may access data online. Others must use form SF-80 to obtain information about the deceased veteran.

10. CHURCH RECORDS. A death record might be recorded as part of a church’s records in addition to information about a burial. Check www.cyndislist.com under the category “Religion and Church” to survey what is available online.  NOW…GO GET THOSE DEATH RECORDS!

 

Describing Your Ancestors' Setting

 

by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack

 

(Excerpted from “Genealogy Pointers” email newsletter from Genealogical Publishing Co.)

 

I was born in Port Chester, New York, in 1956. That's enough information, right? That's all you need to know about the time and place into which I was born. From that information alone, you know exactly what Port Chester is like and what the year 1956 is all about. No? You need more information? From reading some family histories, you'd think that's all a writer needed to do to give the story its setting. Ah, if only it were that simple.

Where does your family history take place? What's the time period? You'll need to know a lot about both to describe them for your reader, but, as Noble says in "Writing Dramatic Nonfiction," "the emphasis is on 'sense,' not place." If you state in your narrative that an ancestor lived in Philadelphia, you have identified the place, but you haven't conveyed a "sense" of it. What was it like to live in Philadelphia in your ancestors' day? If you write, "The year was 1850," you've identified the time period, but not a sense of what life in 1850 was like.

Instead, describe what Philadelphia in 1850 looked like. Remember, your readers may have little or no knowledge of the way people lived then and how the city looked. Also, bare dates lend a dry, academic textbook style that you are trying to avoid. Show us the time period through the typical clothing people like your ancestors wore, the forms of lighting used in houses and on city streets, the types of furniture people had in their houses, and the modes of transportation--the social details.

Don't overwhelm your reader with description, however. When we tour Philadelphia, we don't have a bird's-eye view; we see the city piece by piece. Show readers the setting little by little in your narrative. Readers don't want a geography lesson or to feel like they are reading an almanac. Let the reader visualize the setting by describing social life in detail:

"Philadelphia was a bustling metropolis when, by 1849, the Zesingers made the area their home. The city was in a state of constant change during the mid-nineteenth century. Philadelphians were tearing down old buildings and replacing them with imposing new structures made of red sandstone, granite, and iron. More than one hundred miles of gas lines fed the city's 1,718 street lamps. Iron water pipes replaced wooden ones, so that indoor plumbing was commonplace for better housing. In poorer districts, families received their water supply from public hydrant pumps. The only way in which Philadelphia lagged behind other urban areas was in its transportation. Citizens were not in favor of introducing streetcars for fear of 'increased congestion, noise, and accident hazards.' In the 1850s, people traveled by hacks, cabs, and horse-drawn omnibuses. During deep winter snows, people used large, open sleighs drawn by four-horse teams."

IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS!  Here are some items to consider adding to your narrative:
- place (describe the countryside, town, community; topography)
- time and season (describe the climate and seasonal appearance)
- architecture (describe the interior, exterior, and landscaping of homes, public buildings and outbuildings)
- artifacts (describe household furniture and objects)

If the story involves a setting where you have never been, the best case is to visit it and walk the streets, fields, and neighborhood. If that's not possible, research it. Interview someone who has been there. Remember, you don't need to break a leg to know that it would hurt; likewise, you don't need to visit an area to be able to write about it. But you do need to do thorough enough research to make sure you have accurate information. Some things you just can't experience first hand--like crossing the Atlantic in the 1600s on a sailing ship from England to America--yet you can still convey the sense of the experience by researching historical accounts of people who were there and experienced the things you want to write about.

You'll find many sources beyond county histories that will give you the type of material you need to give your readers a sense of the time period and place:

- historic photographs of the area in local history collections and in the vertical files of libraries and archives
- genealogical sources (land and tax records, city directories, agricultural schedules, manufacturing  schedules, family stories)
- social histories
- travel guidebooks that offer historical information
- books on historic homes, architecture, and antiques
- books on an area's geography and topography
- maps (Sanborn fire insurance maps, topographical maps, bird's-eye view maps)
- farmer's almanacs
- newspapers

 

[Editor’s note: The foregoing article was excerpted from Sharon Carmack's book, You Can Write Your Family History. In this article, the author gives you some pointers for writing a family history, or just a short article about an ancestor, which could bring to life the time in which your ancestors lived.]

 

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Search Tips for Online Genealogy

 

by Diane Haddad

 

(Reprinted with permission from Family Tree Magazine Email Update, copyright 2008 F+W Publications Inc.)

 

Searching Online Databases:  These tips will help you target ancestor searches in genealogy databases.

• Read a site's search instructions. This will reveal tricks such as omitting a given name or including wildcards.

• On Web sites with multiple databases, search individual databases one at a time. Those customized search engines often include fields you won’t get with the site’s global search.

• Make sure the collection covers the right time and place. Go to the page for an individual database and look for background information. You might learn the collection doesn't contain records for all years, or that your ancestor's county didn't keep those particular records; then you can move on to a more-promising resource.

• Database searches call up your ancestor’s record only if an indexer entered the same information you’re searching on—so try different approaches. Start by entering all you know about the person. If you don’t get results, search on fewer terms and combinations of terms (such as the person’s name and residence, or his name and birthplace, or even just his birthplace and year of immigration).

• Seek alternate name spellings. Check the search tips to see whether a search automatically looks for similar names. Even if it does, try odd spellings: A census taker or an indexer might’ve interpreted the name so outlandishly that a “sounds like” search wouldn’t pick up on the misspelling.

• Use “One-Step Search Tools” such as http://www.stevemorse.org which offers more-flexible searching of several databases in Ancestry.com, Footnote, EllisIsland.org and other sites (to view results from a fee-based site, you need a subscription to the site). For example, the One-Step tools might let you search on a name fragment, more year ranges, or more combinations of terms.

• When all else fails, try browsing (on some sites, such as Ancestry.com, you'll need to go to the page for the individual database). Start with the records for the most-probable date or place. Keep a written track of which records you've already examined in case you have to stop and come back later.

Searching for Revolutionary War Ancestors:

 

In this birthday celebration month for the United States, here’s a quick look at resources for learning about ancestors who witnessed our country’s struggle into existence:

 

Request a free lookup from the DAR Patriot index, a three-volume set with facts on 100,000-plus people, on the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Web site: www.dar.org/natsociety

To go straight to the free patriot lookup section: www.dar.org/natsociety/pi_lookup.cfm

 

[Editor’s note: Or, just contact your editor with names & residence areas of any ancestors you think may have been Revolutionary patriots, and I’ll be happy to search the DAR Patriot database and let you know what I find.]

 

Revolutionary War veterans’ pension files are digitized on HeritageQuest Online, available free through many public libraries [our local library in New Bern provides access to this service either at the library, or from your home computer, using a password obtainable from the library]. For pension files longer than 10 pages, this collection contains just the genealogically significant documents.

 

In Footnote’s Revolutionary Era Collection, www.footnote.com/browse.php#Revolution:%201775-1815%7C-1  you’ll find full pension files, plus Revolutionary War muster rolls and service records. You’ll need a subscription to access those, but many historical documents here are free, including Constitutional Convention records and George Washington’s correspondence. Many veterans of the Revolutionary War (and the War of 1812) received government compensation in the form of land.

 

Bounty land warrant records are on microfilm at the National Archives and Records Administration, the Family History Library and some public libraries. You also can find them on www.ancestry.com

 

Many of these warrants awarded land in what’s now Kentucky and Ohio; the Kentucky Land Office made its records free online: www.sos.ky.gov/land/military/revwar

 

Check out these genealogy and history Web sites, too:

 

Documents and maps from 18th-century America - www.earlyamerica.com 

 

The Battle of Bunker Hill - http://www.masshist.org/bh

The Declaration of Independence - http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html

Hargrett Map Collection: Revolutionary America - www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/revamer.html

National Society Sons of the American Revolution - www.sar.org

New England Historic Genealogical Society - www.newenglandancestors.org