I always wondered how people found their relatives that fought in the American Revolution. I know people who families have been members of SAR/DAR (Sons/Daughters of the American Revolution) for generations. How did they find them? I was curious to know how they found these military records to prove a colonial ancestor.
Daughters of the American Revolution
Many years ago, I was invited to attend a DAR meeting because they were looking for members. I did not understand the “assignment” so I turned down the invitation. They were a nice group but they never explained to me how they worked and what I had to do. I had limited knowledge about the organization. I knew that membership was based on your ancestor having fought in the American Revolutionary War. Why would I think I had an ancestor who fought in that war? I’m African American! My people were enslaved in 1776. From what I learned in elementary school, only one Black person fought in that war. His name was Crispus Attucks and he was the first person to die.
What I thought I knew: The criteria for membership is that you must be 18 years old and “can prove lineal, bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American Independence.” What I know now: I now understand that membership is not just based on your ancestor’s participation in the Revolutionary War. I learned that there were other types of military, civilian or patriotic services that the organization encompassed. DAR will assist with your research because they have over 190,000 members with proven documentation. If you can connect your information to another member, you will have the necessary paperwork to apply.
Why Research Military Records?
Membership to patriotic societies like DAR is one reason why people seek their ancestor’s military records. African Americans want to know if their ancestors served as members of the United States Colored Troops (USCT), Buffalo Soldiers, Montford Point Marine or Tuskegee Airmen. Military records can also tell you about the servicemen’s family members. Military records, especially pension records, from the American Revolution to the Spanish American War contained information about the service member (including rank, unit, muster dates and medical info), their widow’s name, members of his family and a physical description. The file might also include marriage certificates, birth and death records, deposition and affidavits from witnesses and appeal letters from widows attempting to get their husband’s pensions.
Military records could also tell you if your ancestor owned land. During the American Revolution, War of 1812, the Indian Wars and the Mexican War, service members received land in place of a pension or salary. These bounty land warrants required an application and contained valuable information from your ancestor. It could also track their migration throughout the United States.
How do you look for these military records? If you pay for a genealogical subscription service like Ancestry.com or Fold3.com, they have extensive records (national and international) available to search. The free genealogy sites have military records too; unfortunately, some collections are not indexed so they are not easily searchable.
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