Finding Your Female Patriots

Last Saturday my DAR Chapter hosted a webinar on “Finding your Female Patriots” by JoLene Mullen.

The first step is to prove the Residence first using birth/marriage/death records; birth/baptism of children; probate records; land transactions or tax lists.

The next step is to look for possible sources of Service. 

There are very few women with Revolutionary War Military Service: One of them was Deborah Samson who assumed/served under the name of Robert Shurtleff. JoLene warned us to be careful because there is no documentary proof that several women including Sybil Ludington from Danbury, CT who reportedly rode twice as far as Paul Revere to warn the militia that the “red coats” were coming. One of my female ancestors Rosannah Waters Farrar falls into this category-Service is based on family tradition with no other source found.

Sources of Civil Service could include: Key Keepers who were appointed or elected at town meetings.

Sources of Patriotic Service include: paying a supply tax, loaning money to the Continental Loan Office, furnishing supplies (one of my friends Ancestor supplied bacon), suffering depredation/losses by the British, or was paid for services rendered.

If you are a member of NSDAR there is a private Facebook page: Finding our Female Patriots. You need to enter your DAR member to be approved. Once you are approved check out the files and there is an Excel spreadsheet with the Female Patriots by state.

Links:Finding Our Female Patriots

 

NY: Abstracts of Wills, Admins. & Guardianships, 1787-1835 available at: http://AmericanAncestors.org

SSA Application for mother’s maiden name: http://www.ssa.gov>forms>ssa-711

1779 Tax List-Claverack District: https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/225055-redirection

Empire State Society, SAR:  http://www.ees-sar.org/pages/nytax_counties/nys_taxlilsts

Pennsylvania Archives, Series 3 is free: https://www.fold3.com/title/450/pennsylvania-archives

Virginia Supply Tax: https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/guides/pptax.htm

Annals of Georgia, Vol 1. Caroline Price Wilson: https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/180375-redirection

North Carolina Revolutionary Pay Vouchers, 1779-1782: Searchable: https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1498361

New Jersey State Archives, Revolutionary War Damage Claims, 1776-1782: https://wwwnet-dos.state.nj.us/DOS_ArchivesDBPortal/RevWarDamages.aspx

Archives of Maryland Online: http://aomol.msa.maryland.gov/html/index.html

Abercrombie & Slatten: “Virginia Revolutionary ‘Publick’ Claims” (Book): https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/guides/opac/revpscabout.htm

South Carolina Archives-Record & Image Search: http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/

Rebel Prisoners At Quebec 1778-1783: https://archive.org/details/rebelprisonersat00mche/mode/2up

The Revolutionary Records of the State of Georgia: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/179013?availability=Family%20History%20Library

New York State Archives: Digital Collections: NY State Auditor General copies of accounts audited by Auditor General for bills presented to the State: 1775-1794  https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/index.php/Detail/collections/263

Delaware Archives: Delaware Militia 1776- https://archive.org/details/delawarearchives02dela/page/820/mode/2up

 

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