Genealogy - Search Heritage Quest for Revolutionary War Ancestors

Learn how to use the Heritage Quest "Search for Revolutionary War" records for free, plus access valuable, original, microfilmed pension application files on your ancestor. This article will focus on obtaining information on Revolutionary War ancestors using the Heritage Quest pension and bounty-land-warranty applications dating from 1800. Military service records plus family genealogy information were found in my Revolutionary War search for my patriot, William Mitchell.

Genealogy - How to Access Heritage Quest for Free

I am doing research on my great-great-great-great grandfather, named William Mitchell (1746-1836). I had discovered his name and the fact that he was in the Revolutionary War based on a biographical sketch of his grandson, James Mitchell, of Champaign County, Illinois. My grandfather had visited a library in Champaign County, Illinois and made a photocopy from the book, Champaign, Ill., Containing Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, Together with Portraits and Biographies of all the Governors of Illinois, and of the Presidents of the United States. Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1887. Incidentally, this book is available as a free download at the Internet Archive website.

To search at Heritage Quest for free, go to your library's web page and click on searchable databases or Research/Reference tabs. Go to the genealogy tab and see which databases are available to you as a library card holder. Many databases have been subscribed to by your library, and as a card holder, you may access these. Some databases are only available to search while physically at the library. My library offers Ancestry.com while using library computers. Other genealogy databases, as in my case for Heritage Quest, can be accessed from home or at the library. If you are a college student or staff member, many databases are available to you through your university's library, using your student login information.

Genealogy - Search Heritage Quest for Your Revolutionary War Patriot

My search for William Mitchell yielded five William Mitchell's from Virginia. I was then able to find my William Mitchell's record and found a goldmine of information. I was able to download the 14-page file as a pdf. The information contained his military services, approved pension application in 1832, as well as the declined pension application by his widow for herself and her children in 1842. Her application was declined because she did not submit a required proof of marriage date. Other genealogical data included were names, dates and places of births for six children. Also included were places of residence, spouses of the children, and other personal information. There are also other family names included in the file. It is interesting to note that William Mitchell's wife's widow application was taken at her residence, as she was "very old and infirm" and she died eight days later at the age of 91.

Genealogy - Original Microfilmed Records Found at Heritage Quest Database

Heritage Quest includes selected files and I was lucky that my ancestor was included. Those that were selected are rich in either battle significance, or contain family data. Again, I was lucky in that my Patriot ancestor lived to be 98 and had 11 children.

Genealogy - DAR - Daughters of the American Revolution

To find out about membership in the DAR, go to their website www.dar.org. You can also perform Revolutionary War patriot lookup on their website. There is also another search tab for searching descendents, so if you don't know the name of your patriot, you may have luck searching for a descendent.

Learning a bit about the American Revolution helps Americans to really appreciate the courageous efforts of these patriots to gain independence and create the free country that we live in today. Researching your family back to the Revolutionary War gives a sense of history and patriotism and enables us to pass the torch to our children.

Independence and personal freedom is of utmost importance. In light of the current administration's big government and the continual eroding of our personal freedom, the lessons learned from the Revolutionary War are just as important today as in 1776.

Sources:
Heritage Quest
DAR Patriot Lookup
Internet Archive