Join us for this five-week course and uncover your Empire State roots! Our New York experts will discuss the settlement of New York and early migrations, vital records and substitutes, land and probate records, the state census, and more. All classes will be recorded and made available following the live broadcasts. Learn More
Recently on Vita Brevis
Who is Folger?
When Jeopardy! contestant Emily Croke correctly responded "Who is Folger?" in Final Jeopardy, she was doing more than answering a trivia question—she was naming her great-great-great-aunt. In the latest Vita Brevis article, Senior Genealogist Christopher C. Child traces Emily's remarkable lineage and uncovers the deep roots of the Folger family. Read More
The Weekly Genealogist Survey
This Week's Survey:
Ancestors Who Practiced a Needlework Craft
Share your thoughts about the survey! Please limit submissions to 150 words or fewer. Your submission may be featured in an upcoming newsletter or shared on social media; please note in your email if you do not want your story to be shared. Published responses may be edited for clarity and length.
Ancestors Who Were Involved in the American Revolution
Total: 2,912 Responses
85%, Yes, I have at least one ancestor who served as an officer, soldier, or sailor on the American side.
4%, Yes, I am a descendant of a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
49%, Yes, I have at least one American ancestor who supported the American side through patriotic activity (providing aid, serving as a government officer, etc.)
5%, Yes, I have at least one French or French-Canadian ancestor, or an ancestor of another nationality, who supported the American side.
11%, Yes, I have at least one ancestor who served as an officer, soldier, or sailor on the British side (including mercenaries).
23%, Yes, I have at least one ancestor who was a Loyalist.
16%, Yes, I have ancestors who were involved on both sides of the conflict.
31%, Yes, I joined a lineage society based on an ancestor's involvement in the American Revolution (on either side).
6%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors have an American Revolution connection not mentioned above.
6%, No, none of my ancestors were involved in the American Revolution.
5%, I am not sure if any of my ancestors were involved in the American Revolution.
25%, I have participated in at least one 250th anniversary event or activity and/or plan to participate in the future.
Readers Respond
Paul Botts, Chicago, Illinois: My favorite Revolutionary War ancestor is my 5th-great grandfather Simeon Crosman (1749-1830). A working-class guy living with his new wife on Long Island, he was "impressed" by the Royal Army as a laborer but escaped to his native town of Taunton, Massachusetts. After serving as a foot soldier in the Continental Army, he was a crewman on an American schooner in Long Island Sound in 1778, then a boat captain in the whale boat fleet of privateers who snuck around attacking British supply ships and coastal outposts for three years. Simeon and his wife, Sarah Smith, eventually had thirteen children. He told amazing tales of adventure to scores of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Emily V. Birch of Arlington, Virginia: My female ancestor Abigail Hartman Rice was a nurse to Revolutionary soldiers and contracted typhus treating them at the Yellow Springs hospital in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. I would have liked to have seen a question in the survey about women and people of color who served.
Bob Scobie, New Bern, North Carolina: Many of my ancestors lived in Tewksbury and Billerica, Massachusetts. Forty-four of them responded to the call at Lexington and Concord. Of special note is my fourth-great grandfather Amos Foster (1753-1835), who also fought at Bunker Hill, where he witnessed the death of General Joseph Warren. In addition, Amos Foster attended the dedication of the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston in 1825.
Diane Stepro, New Albany, Indiana: My many-times-great aunt Marie Godare is one of my many French-Canadian relatives who were involved in the Revolution. She is known as the Betsy Ross of the West for sewing the red and green banner flown over Vincennes, Indiana, when the town was taken by George Rogers Clark's men.
Christine West, Annapolis, Maryland: My ancestor Francis Newton (1751-1830) from Sutton, Massachusetts, served at the beginning and end of the American Revolution. He enlisted in 1775 for eight months at Roxbury, then re-enlisted and served at Brookline. He enlisted again in 1781 as a substitute for someone else and was sent to Yorktown, Virginia. His 1814 pension application contains testimony that he walked home barefoot because his feet were too swollen for shoes.
Debra Lawson, Clayton, California: My Rose ancestors arrived in Long Island, New York, in the 1600s. During the Revolution, the family was Loyalist. They relocated to Ernestown, Ontario, after the war and received land for their loyalty to the crown. My great-grandfather James Rose grew up on that land. He served for a short time in the Canadian Army, then migrated south and joined the U.S. Army, later becoming a citizen.
What We’re Reading
Pioneering Project Releases More Lost Irish Records Spanning 700 Years “The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland, a global academic collaboration led by Trinity College Dublin . . . [aims] to digitally recreate parts of a vast archive destroyed in Ireland’s civil war. . . . The latest material includes 60,000 names from the lost censuses, creating a data hoard for genealogists.”
Adventures in Amateur Newspaper Cataloging: The Acorn This American Antiquarian Society blog post examines The Acorn, an “amateur newspaper” published in 1878 in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, by Fannie Hamilton.
Spotlight: The Digital Archives of the Salmon Public Library, Idaho
by Valerie Beaudrault
Lemhi County, seated in the city of Salmon, is located in east central Idaho. The Salmon Public Library has made several newspaper resources available in its Digital Archives. The collection comprises more than 75,000 pages from nineteen newspapers, including Recorder Herald (1927-2012), The Recorder Herald (1951-2023), The Idaho Recorder (1886-1927), The Salmon Herald (1914-1926), and The Lemhi Herald (1901-1914). The database can be searched by keyword or browsed. Search Now
FREE Workshop for Boston-Area Educators: Genealogy in the Classroom
Genealogy is a powerful tool for teaching history, culture, and geography. This three-day workshop at American Ancestors will provide Boston-area Social Studies teachers, English Language Arts teachers, and school librarians (grades 4–8) with the training and resources needed to implement our Family History Curriculum. Receive free lesson plans, teaching strategies, case studies, and more. Each participant will receive a $200 stipend. Learn More
Your Legacy. Your Peace of Mind. Your Free Will.
As a family historian, you know that wills are important in your research—but have you created a will for yourself? Free Will, an easy and free online will creation tool, will guide you step-by-step through identifying beneficiaries for your assets, supporting the causes that are important to you, and planning for the preservation of your research. Learn More