Week 20 (May 10-May 16) Let's think about our ancestors and family members that have served their co

LegacyUser

Week 20 (May 10-May 16) Let's think about our ancestors and family members that have served their country. Who can you write about that has served?

Where did they serve? How could you discover more about them? Do you have military photos? Do you know if they received medals or awards? How can you share this information with your family? How have you learned more about your family that has served in the military?

Glenn R Whicker

Interesting that you should ask, as I've spent the last week doing just that! I searched to see if I had any ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War, and found THREE! Mind you, they are 5th cousins once removed, but they shared my surname, Whicker, and they all came from the same area in North Carolina and Virginia where my direct ancestors hailed from.

 

What I found was SO interesting - I knew my brothers and sisters and parents would be interested. Most of the info came from their (or their widowed spouses') applications for pensions based on the Revolutionary War Pension Act of 1818 and its subsequent related acts (there were several follow-ons, but the Act of 1832 is what allowed widows to apply for a pension).

 

Anyway, compiling a readable, interesting narrative from the depositions for the pension application took some time, but I think the result will be interesting to the family. I've attached my results so far, with two of the three Revolutionary Ward Whicker narratives included, for your enjoyment. I have much more to say on this, since my father and I are both career military men, but I've got to go teach a class now, so I'll come back later.

 

EDIT: Disregard. I didn't realize this system doesn't allow upload of PDFs. Quite the limitation!

CarolynWebber

Thanks Glenn for sharing this. I love your excitement. I would love to see the narrative. I think that seeing the information that others compile is very inspiring to me.

PDF's are blocked at this time. Maybe you could take a photo of the PDF's and add a jpb to your post to share the information. Yes, it is an extra step. Another option is to turn the PDF into a document in your google drive and share a link to the document.

Glenn R Whicker

Here's a link to my document on my ancestors' participation in the U.S. Revolutionary War: https://drive.google.com/open?id=11_yVRlUpQnnax7ovatA9E5fbe0VmI0l_

LegacyUser

Thanks for sharing this document about your Whicker ancestors. I love the details that you have added. I think adding the signatures was a really neat touch too!