Skipping Page Two

     Thanks Lewis, for living to an elderly age.  Not that you didn't accomplish a whole lot in your life, but I appreciate that you lived long enough to be enumerated on the 1840 census.  You provided me with an ancestor that utilized the "Revolutionary War Pension" and exact "age" column.   Of course, if I'd skipped page two, I never would have seen that little fact anyway.

     There's so much information that can be found on the 2nd page of many documents.  Unfortunately it's often not clear that there is a page two.

     You do your search and come up with a document.  You get your information, download a copy, attach it to your tree, etc, and move on.  But in reality, there was a gold mine of information on the second page that you missed.  Such as the fact that Lewis Stowers wasn't just age "70 and under 80;" he was 76.  And by the way, he has a Revolutionary War Pension that you need to go looking for.

     Here's a short list of documents that you should always flip to the next page on - and sometimes keep flipping.

• 1840 & 1830 Federal Census Records
• Census Non-Population Schedules
• Military Service Records
• Military Pension Records
• WWII Draft Cards
• Veterans Headstone Applications
• Ship Passenger Records
• Naturalization Records
• Estates & Deeds

     In general, it's always a good idea to check the page before and after the record that you've found. Even if the information doesn't pertain to your ancestor, you might find family, acquaintances or neighbors (FAN) that can help you.

     It can also help to learn more about the record collection that you're looking at.  Both Ancestry and FamilySearch will have a link to "more about this collection."  This will sometimes include a list of the enumerated information or questions asked, or even a blank form that is more legible than the actual document.  If you know what information should be there, you'll know to keep looking if you don't see it right away.

     So remember to check the 2nd page and just maybe you'll learn someone's exact age from the 1840 census too.

  

Non-Eligable Ancestors

     I'm sort of in a holding pattern right now with my DAR application: I'm waiting for the next meeting while the registrar works on my application.  Meanwhile, I went on a vacation to Colonial Williamsburg, a historically preserved town set in 1776.  I learned a lot about what life was like in the early days of the American Revolution.  In part, I have a better understanding of why many folks choose to remain loyal to the British Crown.  Sure, you didn't feel like you were being treated fairly by your government, but was it bad enough to go to war and face an unknown future?

     On the way home, I visited the Kings Mountain National Battlefield Park, where I learned that citizens of South Carolina were strongly divided on the issue.  Odds are, if you can trace your ancestor back to that time and place, your ancestors were Loyalists.  Mine were.

     The books "Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, Vol I, II, III" are great sources for finding Loyalist ancestors.  The first ancestor that I found was my 5th Great Grandfather, Barnet Bernard Hyler (aka Hiller, Hoiler, Hoyler, etc).  Thanks to his fairly unique name he was pretty easy to identify.  From this book, I know that he was a "prisoner with rebels" while his unit was mustered in Savannah in December of 1779.  I'd love to find out more information on where, when and how he became a prisoner.  I do know, however, that he was back serving again from February through June of 1781.

     I also might have 5th Great-Grandfather, John Meetze.  He is listed with an Orangeburgh militia, along with a Christopher Meetze, which was his father's name.   I'm still looking, but wouldn't be surprised to find more Loyalist ancestors.  I hope I might be able to find out more about them as people and understand their choice.

John Cash: Private in the Virginia Militia

signature of John Cash

     I have a few ancestors who were known to have fought in the Revolutionary War, but I probably know the most about the service of John Cash.  Thanks to Fold3, I have a copy of his pension application, in which he details his service.  It seems fitting today to write about him and honor his service in helping to found this country.

     Based on his pension application, John Cash was born on 5 April 1757 in Amherst County, Virginia.  In September of 1776 he joined up under Captain Sale (Sayle) of the Virginia Militia as part of a mission called the Cherokee Expedition.  The Cherokee had joined forces with the British and were waging war on settlers on the Tennessee frontier.  John Cash and his fellow militiamen marched in a scouting party, mostly following the path of a larger army that had gone before them.  They did experience a "small skirmish" at Fort Chiswell in Virginia, but John was home a short three months later.

     John served two more times: for one month in Charlottesville, VA, guarding the barracks, and again as a minuteman under Captain Lawson, in which he saw battle near Jamestown, VA at the Battle of Green Springs Plantation in 1781.

     Finally, John was called up for an extra three months of service, during which he was involved in "driving hogs, Cattle & sheep" and "gathering and storing grain for the army."  Hey, whatever you can do for your country, right?  Armies have to eat too!

     John Cash was rewarded for his service when he received extra draws in the 1832 Land Lottery and won land in Henry County, Georgia.  He applied for a pension after his house burned down in 1831 when he was 75 years old.