RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 16, 2011
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
As more family researchers use the “Genealogy at a Glance” guides, they soon learn to appreciate the ease and convenience of the series. Since the material is published in the form of a folder, the four-page laminated template can be stood up or lain down for immediate reference at home or at the library. In addition to preventing the guide from tearing, the lamination keeps it clean and, therefore, readable despite much handling over time. The newest addition to the popular series is Revolutionary War Genealogy Research by Craig R. Scott.
Following the format of the previous “Genealogy at a Glance” publications, Revolutionary War Genealogy Research provides in a concise manner an overview of the fundamentals for tracing Revolutionary ancestors and offers quick suggestions for locating and utilizing crucial resources to obtain that goal. Divided into five parts, the material furnishes ample information in the space allotted. The short “quick facts” segment gives a few background tidbits, such as dates of the war, names of participating countries, and number of soldiers and seamen involved. Craig explains in another brief section the steps necessary to find a Revolutionary War forebear, regardless of which side he or she supported. In the remaining segments, the compiler discusses topics in more detail. Under major record sources, he tells about lineage societies, pension records, pension lists and pension office ledgers, and compiled military service records. Other record sources include muster rolls, settled accounts, bounty land, manuscript collections, and Loyalist (those individuals who sided with the British during the war) records. Completing the data is a succinct annotated list of websites.
Needless to say, Revolutionary War Genealogy Research is a handy guide that can be easily kept by your computer or packed and transported to any research site. Individuals who are tracing their lineages during the Revolutionary era may want to include Craig’s publication in their “tools of the trade.”
To the guide's price of $7.95, buyers should add the cost for postage and handling charges. For U. S. postal mail, the cost is $4.50 for one item and $2.50 for each additional copy; for FedEx ground service, the cost is $6.00 for one copy and $2.50 for each additional item. The guide (item order 5210) may be purchased by check, money order, MasterCard, or Visa from Genealogical Publishing Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, Maryland 21211-1953. For phone orders, call toll free 1-800-296-6687; fax 1-410-752-8492; website www.genealogical.com.
A fascinating article concerning Revolutionary War veterans appears on pages 51-61 of the Summer 2011 (Volume 43, Number 2) issue of Prologue, the quarterly of the National Archives and Record Administration. Written by Damani Davis, “The Rejection of Elizabeth Mason: The Case of a ‘Free Colored’ Revolutionary Widow” tells the story of Elizabeth Mason, a resident of Campbell County, Virginia. At age ninety, she applied for a military widow’s pension in 1854. She stated that her deceased husband, Thomas Mason, was a “free man of color” who served in a military unit from Caswell County, North Carolina. As Elizabeth Ailstock, she had married Thomas in 1791 in Louisa County, Virginia; they later moved to Campbell County. The controversy over the Mason pension highlights the often-forgotten fact that approximately 5,000 African Americans participated on the American side during the Revolutionary War.