War records can aid family search

A neat little article (Dallas Morning News) by Lloyd Bockstruck, supervisor of the genealogy section of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library in Dallas, about some Revolutionary War records from Pennsylvania.

The military accounts of Pennsylvania list civilians performing various overt functions in support of the war, as well as white men between the ages of 18 and 53 summoned for military duty. The records indicate those who were absent, those who failed to support the war effort and those who reported for duty. These records are arranged by county and thereunder by company and battalion. Quakers and members of various German sects may also appear as being assessed fines for failing to serve. There is not, however, a master index.

The General Levi Casey Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, made an important contribution of these records from Pennsylvania, to the Dallas Public Library. Unfortunately they aren’t online yet (still microfilm). Only one other set west of the Mississippi River exists.

This interests me, because I may have an ancestor I could find some more information about (and I’m lucky enough to live near Dallas). When you find yourself amazed at how much is available online, just think about the things (like this), that isn’t.

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