Tracing Your Revolutionary War Ancestor

Please note: This post was last updated 24 May 2024. - gmc 

Today's post concentrates on Library materials and databases about Revolutionary War soldiers and sympathizers. Perhaps some of your ancestors fought in the war for American Independence - and the Library has resources to help you find out! Taking that one step further, perhaps some of your ancestors fought in the Revolution and you are applying for membership into one or more of the Revolutionary War related heritage societies listed on the FamilySearch website. 

Genealogical research always benefits from some historical context. The Revolutionary War in South Carolina had an enduring impact and involved a great deal of fighting -- more so than in any other British colony. We suggest that you begin by reading Chapters 12 and 13 of A History of Beaufort County, South Carolina, vol. 1,1514-1861 by Lawrence Rowland. (Call # SC 975.799 ROW) that discusses how the American Revolution unfolded here in Beaufort District. Check out a copy from the local history section at your favorite Beaufort County Library branch.

Attack on Savannah, Oct. 8, 1779 (National Archives)

Establishing your blood ties to a Revolutionary War soldier can be thrilling, time-consuming, and may afford you the opportunity to join a heritage society such as the Sons of the American Revolution or the Daughters of the American Revolution. There are other fraternal and social organizations that only accept members who can prove through documentary evidence that they are descended from a Patriot or Loyalist. To get started, one must know a little about the various types of military service related records.

General Types of Military Records

Military records provide a variety of information about an individual and could include their birthplace, age at enlistment, occupation, and names of immediate family members. Some types of military records include:

 Service records: Service records for militia, volunteer, or regular forces document that an individual served in the military and can provide your ancestor’s unit or organization.

 Draft, Conscription, or Selective Service Records: Since 1863, the federal government has registered millions of men who may have been eligible for military service. Enrollment and Draft information include name residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, physical description, and other information.

 Bounty Land Warrants: The federal government provided bounty land for those who served in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and Indian wars between 1790 and 1855.

 Pension Records: The federal government and some state governments granted pensions or bounty land to officers, disabled veterans, needy veterans, widows or orphans of veterans, and veterans who served a certain length of time. Pension records usually contain more genealogical information than service records. However, not every veteran received or applied for a pension.

Materials in the Beaufort District Collection as well as in our branch libraries can help you work your ancestral line. In order to do ancestral research properly, you must make accurate notes of the work you've done. Here are a few suggestions to get you started uncovering your Patriot or Loyalist or Tory roots.

Ancestry Library Edition

Ancestry has a YouTube channel that includes a 4 minute video "Using the Sons of the American Revolution Applications" that offers you some handy tips.

At the present time, ALE has 73 Revolutionary War related databases one can search for American Patriots and Tories. 

You can also use the Ancestry Library Edition suite to access Census records. Finding a clue in the census that says an ancestor served in a specific war can speed up your search for associated military records. For example in the 1840 census, you’ll find names of surviving Revolutionary War veterans. 

All branch libraries provide access to ALE. If you want one-on-one help with Ancestry Library Edition, call the BDC at 843-255-6468 or send us an e-mail to bdc@bcgov.net.

SC 369.135 DAR PT. 1- 3 DAR Patriot Index: Centennial Edition by the Daughters of the American Revolution (Washington, DC: National Society of the DAR Centennial Administration, c1994).

Covers Patriots whose service has been established through DAR membership applications submitted between October 1890 and 11 October 1990. Part 1: Surnames beginning with A - F; Part 2: Surnames beginning with G - O; and, Part 3: Surnames beginning with P - Z.  

SC 929.3 BOC 1998 Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants Awarded by State Governments by Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing, 1996).

"A land bounty is a grant of land from a government as a reward to pay citizens for the risks and hardships they endured in the service of their country, usually in a military related capacity." This volume lists bounty land grants in Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and "Virginia-Indiana."- introduction

SC 929.3 BOC 2011 Revolutionary War Pensions Awarded by State Governments, 1775 – 1874, the General and Federal governments prior to 1814, and by Private Acts of Congress to 1905 by Lloyd de Witt Bockstruck, (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing, [2011]).                                                      More than 16,500 pensioners are featured in this work compiled in an attempt to identify and recreate the Revolutionary War pension files generated prior to the disastrous fire in the War Department on 8 November 1800, which destroyed nearly a quarter-century of records.

SC REF 929.3 STU Stub Entries to Indents issued in payments of Claims against South

Carolina growing out of the Revolution (Columbia SC: The Historical Commission of South Carolina, 1910-1939).

973.3 EDG 2001 Partisans & Redcoats: The Southern Campaign that Turned the Tide of the American Revolution by Walter Edgar (New York: Morrow, 2001). 

SC REF 973.314 LAM South Carolina Loyalists in the American Revolution by Robert

Lambert (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1987).

SC 973.343 MOS 2004 African-American Patriots in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution by Bobby G. Moss and Michael C. Scoggins (Blacksburg, SC: Scotia-Hibernia Press, 2004).

SC 973.353 MOS 2005 African-American Loyalists in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution by Bobby G. Moss and Michael C. Scoggins (Blacksburg, SC: Scotia-Hibernia Press, 2005).

REF 973.344 AFR African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary

War (Washington, D.C.: National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, 2001).                  

Note: This is also available free as a downloadable PDF file. Online the title is "Forgotten Patriots: African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War." Please note: The item is 874 pages so it can take some time for the item to download. 

Gen. Benjamin Lincoln (National Archives)

SC REF 973.3457 ERV South Carolinians in the Revolution by Sara Ervin ([S.l.]: Genealogical Publishing, 1965). 

SC REF 973.3457 GAR Anecdotes of the Revolutionary War in America with sketches of character of persons the most distinguished, in the Southern States, for Civil and Military services by Alexander Garden (Charleston, SC: A.E. Miller, 1822). Also available online available online through Hathitrust. 

SC 973.3457 GRU 2013 South Carolina in the American Revolution: a source guide for genealogists and historians by Eric G. Grundset for the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. (Washington, D.C.: National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, 2013).

SC REF 973.3457 MOS Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution

by Bobby Moss ([S.l.]: Genealogical Publishing, 1985).

SC 973.38 JOH Traditions and reminiscences, chiefly of the American revolution in the South : including biographical sketches, incidents, and anecdotes, few of which have been published, particularly of residents in the upper country by Joseph Johnson ([S.l.] : Walker and James 1851). Also available online through Hathitrust.

State of South Carolina Records on Microfilm in the BDC Research Room:

Beaufort is a "Burned County": Almost all of our pre-Civil War records were destroyed in 1865. This fact makes genealogy more challenging here. For this reason, the BDC has 18 series of microfilmed records from the SC State Archives on hand. Among those most important for identifying American Revolution ancestors are:

South Carolina Tax Returns, 1783-1800. (2 rolls)

This series supplies information about land owners and size of holdings that census records and deed books leave out for the period covered. Printed guide is available in our Research Room. 

Records of the South Carolina Treasury, 1775-1780. (6 rolls)  This office was critical to the operation of the newly independent colony and funding of the Revolutionary War effort. The records reflect the increased responsibilities of the revolutionary treasury as the expenses of the war and the problems of supplying the new government grew. They hold a wealth of information on the financial management of the colony during this period and detail military expenditures. Printed guide is available in our Research Room.

Accounts Audited Growing Out of the Revolution in South Carolina. (165 rolls)

This is a fundamental genealogical and historical resource for information regarding the

Revolutionary War era. Printed guide is available in our Research Room. You can search series S108092 online via the Online Records Index at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. 

South Carolina Will Transcripts, 1782-1868. (31 rolls)

This is a fundamental genealogical and historical resource for the period covered. Printed guide is available in our Research Room.  You can search series L10125 online via the Online Records Index at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

South Carolina State Plats, Charleston Series, 1784-1860; Columbia Series, 1796-1868. (30 rolls)

These plats are an essential source for genealogy and local history as well as a good mine of primary documentation for social, cultural, and economic historical studies. Printed guide is available in our Research Room. Indexed online via the Online Records Index at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

Memorials of the 17th and 18th Century South Carolina Land Titles. (7 rolls)

We have 1 printed volume of memorials to quitrents. This series is far more extensive than the printed volumes available. In certain cases, this is the only surviving record of a particular transaction, containing Proprietary land grants, certificates of admeasurements, wills, leases, and releases. Printed guide is available in our Research Room. Partially indexed online via the Online Records Index at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

Using the guides to collections held at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History can be a bit daunting. Be sure to read the "Searching the SCDAH Summary Guide and Online Catalog" by Katharine Slover on the Silver Crescent Standard: The Blog of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History (8 August 2019) for guidance. 

The information on the SCDAH's page about its Digital Collections and downloading the list of digitized genealogical related materials at the SCDAH may prove very helpful. 

If you'd like to set up an appointment to sit down with one of our staff for one-on-one assistance with our materials or to use the microfilm we have, please e-mail bdc@bcgov.net or call 843-255-6468. We'll do our best to work out a date and time that is mutually agreeable. 

Source of Images: 
Attack on Savannah, Oct. 8,1779. Illustration by A.I. Keller. 148-GW-1120. National Archives 

Lincoln, Benjamin. Painting (3/4 length) by Henry Sargent. 111-SC-92618 National Archives