Revolutionary War Ancestors
Given the number of ancestors my family has who were here before the Revolutionary War, it was clear that there must have been a few associated with the Revolutionary War, but I never realized how many. And many is the right word. I have found thirty so far, plus two loyalists.The hunt for Revolutionary War ancestors was sparked by a visit by my step-daughter to her local Georgia library to meet some members of the DAR Chapter. She knew her daughters had a Revolutionary ancestor by the name of Etheldred Futral. And how could you possibly resist knowing more about an ancestor with a name like Etheldred? The DAR members were welcoming and helpful. I immediately started looking for more ancestors for her family and hunted for mine. After more conversation and a very helpful meeting, we have started on the journey to validate our ancestors and join the DAR.
Even if you don't want to join the DAR or another patriotic group, the execise of searching for these ancestors solved two brick walls, helped me flesh out several neglected lines and fix a few more. In a short period of time, I've increased my skills in working with land and probate records in the south and identified sources for records I thought were hidden forever. Taking the time to do this has been very rewarding and we still have much more to do.
The Daughters of the American Revolution now regard anyone who assisted in the Revolution as eligible to be a DAR Patriot. This means that women can be Patriots as well those who helped by offering other types of assistance during the war. Our twenty-two ancestors include a 16 year-old drummer boy, at least two Lt. Colonels, several who assisted with money or goods, one who was massacured at the Battle of Wyoming, plus two who were born in Germany. As you can see from the list belwo, they came from a number of different states, some were father and son and the oldest was born in 1710, the youngest in 1762. The list represents a good cross section of America during the War.
| Name | Born | Died |
|---|---|---|
| Arthur, Barnabas | 1735, Bedford County, Virginia | 1815, Bedford County, Virginia, United States |
| Arthur, John A. | 1758, Virginia | 24 Aug 1850, Bedford County, Virginia, United States |
| Black, Lemuel | Cir 1759, Pennsylvania | 1826, Glade, Oglethorpe, Georgia, USA |
| Black, Thomas | 1740 | 1801, , Oglethorpe, Georgia, USA |
| Budd, Gilbert | 1736, Westchester County, New York | 1813, Duchess County, New York |
| Budd, John | 8 Nov 1730, Clinton, Dutchess County, New York | 1 Oct 1813, Clinton, Oneida, NY, United States |
| Case, Roger | 15 Aug 1746, Hebron, Connecticut | 1827, Smyrna, Chenango, NY, USA |
| Davenport, James Glover | 1719, King William , Virginia | 25 Dec 1803, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, USA |
| Field, John | Abt 1745 | 8 May 1823, Bedford County, Virginia |
| Fretwell, Richard | 24 Dec 1752, Virginia | 1843, Newton County, Georgia |
| Fretwell, William | 1710, Virginia | After 25 Feb 1788, Cumberland, Virginia |
| Gouldsmith, Josiah | 10 Mar 1749/50, Southold, Suffolk CO, New York, USA | 16 Dec 1835, , Cayuga, New York, USA |
| Hamilton, George | 1745 | Cir 1799, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, USA |
| Hewell, William | 15 Oct 1756, , Frederick, Virginia, USA | 1 Oct 1818, , Oglethorpe, Georgia, USA |
| Hurt, James | 1749, Caroline, Virginia, United States | After 1820, prob Maury, Tennessee, United States |
| Hurt, Moses | 1718, Virginia | 1806, Bedford County, Virginia |
| Husted, Joseph | 10 Nov 1719 | Between 3 Nov 1800 and 30 Sep 1805, of Phillips |
| Marvin, Jedediah | 27 Nov 1748, Norwalk, Connecticut, USA | 1813, Sodus, Wayne, New York, United States |
| Marvin, John | 22 Jul 1705, Norwalk, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States | 25 Aug 1775, Brookhaven, Suffolk, New York, United States |
| Phelps, Elijah | 31 Jul 1724, Hebron, Tolland Co., CT | post 1783, Amenia, Dutchess, New York, USA |
| Price, John, Rev. | 1724, Indian Creek, Montgomery Co, Pennsylvania | 27 Jan 1803, Chambersburg, Franklin Co, Pennsylvania |
| Stover, George, Dr. | 29 Sep 1747, Brickerville, Lancaster Co, Pennsylvania | 12 Jul 1826, Botetourt Co, Virginia |
| Stover, William, Rev. | 15 Sep 1726, Staffort, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany | Jan 1800, Shady Grove (Antrim Twp), Franklin Co, Pennsylvania |
| Turner, Elijah | 1740, , Caroline, Virginia, USA | Bef 23 Oct 1820, , Bedford, Virginia, USA |
| Waterman, Flavius | 17 Aug 1736, Norwich, CT | 3 Jul 1778, Wyoming Valley, PA |
| Webster, Samuel | 10 Apr 1749, Goochland County, Virginia | 24 Jan 1823, Franklin County, Virginia |
| Williams, Joseph | 7 Jan 1720/21, Hanover, , Virginia, USA | 1 Oct 1792, Elberton, Elbert, GA, USA |
| Williams, Matthew Jouett | 1749, Lunenburg, , Virginia, USA | 8 Jul 1818, Surry, North Carolina |
| Zimmerman, Bernard Johann | Cir 1740, Germany | Feb 1822, Wilkes County, Georgia, United States |
| Zimmerman, Phillip | 25 Nov 1762, Pennsylvania | 1835, Tallapoosa County, Alabama, USA |
Resources
There are many resouces for finding more information on the Revolutionary War, the records it produced and the people who lived in that time period. In fact, it can be overwhelming. A good place to start is the DAR website which includes a database of Patriot Ancestors indentifed to date, plus some descendents, as well as their library catelog, etc. For original records, Fold3, a subsidiary of Ancestry, holds military records for all the wars, including the Revolutionary War. There is a subscription cost.
Books Some of my favorite books were written by David Hackett Fischer.Though the books are long and well sourced, they read like novels.
Fischer, David Hackett. Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. ———. Paul Revere’s Ride. Norwalk, CT.: Easton Press, 1996. ———. Washington’s Crossing. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Fischer, David Hackett, James C Kelly, and Virginia Historical Society. Bound Away: Virginia and the Westward Movement. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000.
