Learn about researching your Colonial era Ancestors. After a short introduction to European settlement along the eastern seaboard, we will discuss published and other resources for learning about your ancestor. The available resources will differ depending on region: New England, mid-Atlantic or Southern colonies.
The American War of Independence was not only a fight for freedom from a tyrannical world superpower. For the thousands of Black soldiers who fought for the patriot cause, and even more—tens of thousands—for the Loyalists, emancipation was on the line. In this online lecture, we will provide a brief history of Black soldiers during the Revolutionary War and their motivations for joining either side; and discuss several resources, records, and strategies for piecing together the service and stories of individuals.
There are hundreds of resources available physically and online through the New England Historic Genealogical Society and other New England repositories to assist you with researching African American ancestors. This online lecture will highlight useful collections including court and account records, local histories, original manuscripts, rare documents, and online databases, plus provide advice for searching for less obvious source material in archives and repositories in New England.
By Harold Bowditch
Foreword by Brady Brim-DeForest
Preface by Ryan J. Woods
Introduction by D. Brenton Simons OBE
“The Gore Roll and the Committee on Heraldry’s Roll of Arms” by Nathaniel Lane Taylor
7-¾ x 12-½ hardcover, 344 pages, illustrated
This extensive volume covers the direct ancestral lines of Thomas’s and Delinda’s grandparents. The four paternal families left England for New England and New York. Meanwhile, the four maternal families eventually lived in nearly every southeastern state. The marriage between the north and south makes for a genuinely all-American story.
Our colonial war ancestors may appear in a variety of sources: militia rolls, payment for services, town records, and manuscript materials such as account books and correspondence. Luckily, many of these materials have been transcribed and published or are available online. This lecture will point you to both original and published records and provide useful tips for evaluating other published materials you may encounter.
