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Revolutionary
Review: A Sampling of Sources for Tracking Revolutionary War Ancestors at
the Berkshire
Athenaeum
By
Kathleen
M.
Reilly, Local History
Supervisor, The Berkshire Athenaeum
The collections available
at the Berkshire Athenaeum for research in the period of the Revolution include sources too
numerous to list comprehensively in this publication. The reader should view
this article as an outline of the types of materials in the Library’s collections. Many related Athenaeum resources have
been discussed at length in previous issues of Archival Anecdotes.
The discussion of pre-1800 sources in the last issue (Fall/Winter) would be
particularly relevant for research on Revolutionary ancestors.
A list outlining the most
important materials for Revolutionary War research includes:
Pittsfield
The Town of Pittsfield Original Papers: This
collection of approximately 1000 manuscript items covers the period
1759-1843. Section XXI includes 37 original documents specifically related
to the Revolutionary period. The records are available for use on microfilm
and a 63 page guide aids the researcher in accessing pertinent material. A
name index to section XXI of the collection is included in the guide.
The
History of Pittsfield, Volume I,
1734-1800 by J.E.A. Smith.
Colonel
John Brown, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, The Brave Accuser of Benedict
Arnold. 1908.
Berkshire
County
Collections Unique to the Berkshire
Athenaeum
William Williams Collection: manuscript
materials, relating predominantly to the early history of western
Massachusetts and the settlement of Pittsfield, available for use on
microfilm. Inclusive dates 1734-1869, with the bulk of the material in the
1740s-1780s. Includes numerous documents from the Revolutionary period,
including the letter reproduced here, dated May 8, 1775, requesting troops
for Ticonderoga and signed by Benedict Arnold.
 
The Rollin H. Cooke, Berkshire, Browne, Shepard
and Knurow Collections discussed in the last issue all contain information
concerning revolutionary ancestors of Berkshire County.
Other Berkshire County Sources
Histories of Berkshire County: the 1829 history
by Field and the two volume comprehensive history of the county published by
Beers in 1885 both contain valuable information.
Histories of Berkshire County towns: Varying
widely in scope and content, individual town histories should nevertheless
be consulted, and oftentimes produce unique results.
Some Veterans of the American Revolution,
Berkshire County, Massachusetts: Items from newspaper files, 1790-1855. John
E. Bowman, compiler. 1929.
A list of one hundred twenty three
Revolutionary soldier’s graves and where located in the Pittsfield,
Lanesboro, Dalton and Hinsdale cemeteries, by the Peace Party Chapter of the
DAR, 193[?].
Revolutionary War Veterans: Graves in
Pittsfield, Lanesboro and Richmond.
Mohican
Warriors: A Documentary History (1747-1813). Compiled by Lion G.
Miles. 1999.
Revolutionary Ancestors of members (DAR):
Berkshire County, Massachusetts and Lewis County, New York. 1980[?].
Massachusetts
State, County & Town
Histories
Massachusetts Soldiers & Sailors in the
Revolution.
Massachusetts DAR
Genealogical Records – 39 microfilm reels w/guide.
Dwight Collection – 6
microfilm reels with guide: Collection of Richard Henry Winslow Dwight
(1859-1920) “records the lives and times of the early settlers of Western
Mass.”
Massachusetts Revolutionary
War Service Index: Appendix – 17 microfilm reels of records housed at the
Massachusetts State Archives.
Soldiers and Sailors Whose Graves Have Been
Designated by the Marker of the Society – Massachusetts Society of
the Sons of the American Revolution.
Historical Memoranda: With Lists of Members
and Their Revolutionary Ancestors. Massachusetts Society of the Sons
of the American Revolution.
New York
State
State, County & Town
Histories
A Guide to the Revolutionary War
Manuscripts in the New York State Library, ed. by Stefan Bielinski.
History of New York during the
Revolutionary War, ed. by Floyd De Lancey.
“Dead of the Several Regiments”: A List of
Revolutionary War Land Grants for Deceased Soldiers in New York’s Military
Tract, ed. by Galen R. Wilson.
Patriot-soldiers of 1775-1783: The Veterans
of the War for American Independence of Chatauqua County, New York,
by Frederick W. Kates.
Stubborn for Liberty: The Dutch in New
York, by Alice P. Kenney.
Revolutionary War Veterans Buried in
Columbia County, New York, comp. for Hendrick Hudson Chapter NSDAR.
The Iroquois in the American Revolution,
by Barbara Graymont.
Connecticut
State, County & Town
Histories
Connecticut Revolutionary Pensioners,
compiled by the Connecticut DAR.
Register of Revolutionary Soldiers and
Patriots Buried in Litchfield County, compiled by Joyce M. Cropsey.
Connecticut’s Black Soldiers, 1775-1783,
by David O. White.
Stamford’s Soldiers: Genealogical
Biographies of Revolutionary War Patriots from Stamford, Connecticut,
compiled by E. M. Wicks and V. H. Olson.
The Record of Service of Connecticut Men in
the I. War of the Revolution, II. War of 1812, III. Mexican War,
compiled by the Connecticut Adjutant General's Office.
Supplement to the Record of Connecticut Men
during the War of the Revolution, 1775-1783, Connecticut Historical
Society, 2 vols.
A Historical Collection, from Official
Records, Files, etc, of the Part Sustained by Connecticut, during the War of
the Revolution, compiled by R. R. Hinman.
Vermont
State, County & Town
Histories
Soldiers, Sailors and Patriots of the
Revolutionary War, Vermont, by Carlton E. Fisher
Soldiers of the Revolutionary War Buried in
Vermont, and Anecdotes and Incidents Relating to Some of Them, by
Walter H. Crockett.
Rolls of the soldiers in the Revolutionary
War, 1775-1783, compiled by John E. Goodrich.
The Vermont Historical Gazetteer,
edited by Abby Maria Hemenway. 5 volumes.
Maine
State, County & Town
Histories
Soldiers, Sailors and Patriots of the
Revolutionary War, Maine, by Carlton E. Fisher.
Supplement to Soldiers, Sailors and
Patriots of the Revolutionary War, Vermont, by Carlton E. Fisher.
An
Alphabetical Index of Revolutionary Pensioners Living in Maine, by
Charles A. Flagg.
A Record of the Services of the
Commissioned Officers and Enlisted Men of Kittery and Eliot, Maine, Who
Served in the American Revolution, by Oliver P. Remick.
Soldiers and Sailors of the Plantation of
Lower St. Georges, Maine, who served in the War for American Independence,
by Frank B. Miller.
Names of Soldiers of the American
Revolution Who Applied for State Bounty under Resolves of March 17, 1835,
March 24, 1836, and March 20, 1836 As Appears of Record in Land Office,
compiled by Charles J. House.
Soldiers of the American Revolution of
Lebanon, Maine, by George W. Chamberlain.
Miscellaneous Maine
Statistics, compiled at the
Berkshire Athenaeum – Includes muster rolls, gravestone records, marriage
intentions and lists of Revolutionary War soldiers from the towns of
Brunswick, Cushing, Greenwood, Knox County, Newry, Paris and Riley
Plantations.
Rhode
Island
State, County & Town
Histories
Civil and Military List of Rhode Island,
1647-1850. A List of All Officers Elected by the General assembly,
compiled from the records by Joseph J. Smith. 3 vols.
The Black Regiment of the American
Revolution, compiled by Linda C. Brennan.
The Rhode Island 1777 Military Census,
transcribed by Mildred M. Chamberlain.
So Few the Brave: Rhode Island
Continentals, 1775-1783, by Anthony Walker.
New
Hampshire
State, County & Town
Histories
New Hampshire Revolutionary War Rolls.
CD-ROM.
New Hampshire State Papers, New Hampshire
Revolutionary Rolls, compIiled by Isaac W. Hammond. Multi-volume set,
vols. 1 and 2 contain the Revolutionary War rolls.
Roll of New Hampshire Soldiers at the
Battle of Bennington, August 16, 1777, compiled by George C. Gilmore.
History of the First New Hampshire Regiment
in the War of the Revolution, by Frederic Kidder.
Miscellaneous
Sources
Index of Revolutionary War Pension
Applications in the National Archives, 1976.
Genealogical Abstracts of Revolutionary War
Pension Files, by Virgil D. White. 4 vols.
The Pension Rolls of 1835, from the
records of the U.S. War Department. 1968 reprint of the 1835 edition. 4
vols.
Muster and Pay Rolls of the War of the
Revolution, 1775-1783, reprinted from the collections of the New York
Historical Society for the years 1914 and 1915.
Men and Times of the Revolution, by
Elkanah Watson.
Arnold’s Expedition to Quebec, by
W.E. Collins. 1894.
Minority Military Service 1775-1783.
A collection of pamphlets produced by the NSDAR documenting service of
minority groups in the Revolution. The Athenaeum has bound eight pamphlets
together into one volume. Records for the following states are included:
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
DAR Patriot Indexes.
Miscellaneous Records of the
Society of Sons of the American Revolution.
Periodical Sources such as those published by the New England Historic
Genealogical Society, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society and
others.
In
Summary
The discussion here of
Revolutionary period records in the collections at the Berkshire Athenaeum
is by no means comprehensive. The volumes and categories listed provide an
indication of the types of materials available, most of which can be located
via the electronic card catalog by conducting keyword searches. Searching by
specific localities or topics will result in the location of other
materials. Library staff in the Local History Department are always
available to help you locate records applicable to your particular research
problem.
Also, as always, keep in mind that
through the LDS microfilm-ordering program,
records from around the country and around the world can be delivered to the
Athenaeum for your use, without the expense of traveling!
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