A reader asks, "Are there free Internet sites where I can determine if the history book reports are accurate concerning my ancestor's service as a captain in the Revolutionary War?"

Currently, there are four main Internet sites: Google.com, FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com, and Genealogy.com. Google.com is a search engine. Ancestry.com and Genealogy.com are "for fee" sites. The companies charge a fee because they spend millions of dollars each year to obtain the databases and to maintain the sites. Familysearch.org is the Mormon website, and it is free.

Genealogists love the Internet, but it doesn't do everything. Unfortunately, the chances are slim that the sites will tell you about an ancestor's Revolutionary War Service. For this, you need to look at a couple of books that are located in libraries.

The first set of books is Virgil White's four-volume set, Index to Revolutionary War Service Records.

A fire in the War Department in November 1800 destroyed most of the earliest service and pension records. A fire in August 1814 in the Treasury Department destroyed more records. During the 1890s, the War Department prepared "compiled" military service records for the volunteer soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. The sources used were muster rolls, pay rolls, rank rolls, returns, hospital and prison records, accounts for subsistence, ration and ordnance records, receipts for pay and bounties, clothing returns, and other records. Virgil D. White abstracted these compiled service records. The abstracts include the soldier's name, unit, and rank.

The second source is the three-volume set, D.A.R. Patriot Index. These volumes contain an alphabetical list of over 100,000 patriots whose service has been established by the Daughters of the American Revolution between October 1890 and October 1990.

Locally, copies of both of these books are found at the libraries of the Clark County Genealogical Society and the Genealogical Forum of Oregon. Check out their websites for information on hours and visitor fees. Clark County is at http://www.ccgs-wa.org and the Genealogical Forum is at http://www.gfo.org

The ancestor you are asking about is listed in the DAR Patriot Index.  However, the book shows that he served as a sergeant from Massachusetts.  In later life, he may have been given an honorary title of captain.

A good how-to book for researching your Revolutionary War Ancestor is James and Lila Neagles'Locating Your Revolutionary War Ancestor: A Guide to Military Records. This handbook contains more information than you ever thought you needed to know. It is available in bookstores, including online stores.

To read more about researching your Revolutionary War Ancestor, check out the research guide on the Genealogical Forum website. It is online at www.gfo.org/revwar.htm.

© 2000-2009

Connie Lenzen, CG

CG, Certified Genealogist is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board-certified genealogists after periodic evaluation, and the board name is registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office.