Unlocking Revolutionary War Ancestors: Answers to Your Genealogy Questions and Strategies for Tracing Lineage Prior to the 1790 Census
How Can I Locate my Revolutionary War Ancestor Before 1790 Census (Q)
mes Q: Am I the Only One Struggling to Get Past 1790 Federal Census (Routinely?) I’ve reached an impasse with finding Walter P Graham Family members living near North Adams Mass (area code 01812).
Walter Graham lived at just the right time to serve in the Revolutionary War, as evidenced by his inclusion in Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War (Wright & Potter Printing Co). This 17-volume book can be searched with a subscription to Ancestry or for free via MyHeritage, Internet Archive or FamilySearch. Graham first joined Lt. Jeremiah Brown’s detachment (part of Col. Asa Barns’ regiment) but only served for 10 days before joining Gen. Stark at Saratoga New York.
Search the Daughters of the American Revolution’s free Genealogical Research System to see if one of his descendants have applied to join DAR on his account.
Since Graham resided in Adams, Berkshire County, Mass. for both his enlistment and 1790 census records, we can assume he lived there during that decade. Search the FamilySearch online catalog for resources pertaining to that time and place; specifically Place searches in Adams and Berkshire as these will yield church, land, town and other records in Adams; while probate records and Revolutionary War pension papers could be found under Berkshire sources.
FamilySearch will link catalog listings of films digitized on its website directly to an online collection.
Keep an eye out for Grahams who might be related to Walter. Investigating their background could provide more details on him.
Search the FamilySearch catalog using Graham as the surname to discover family histories that may mention Walter Graham. Thankfully, this name wasn’t too prevalent in Colonial Massachusetts: New England Marriages Prior to 1700 by Clarence Almon Torrey only lists three Graham marriages; all occurred in Connecticut and may well represent Walter. Don’t discount these lines either if they appear; Walter may belong there too!
FamilySearch Historical Books collection. Look for links in the catalog listing to access it.
As well, take advantage of the resources offered by the New England Historic Genealogical Society’s AmericanAncestors.org website. Here, you will have access to many colonial-era records and projects designed to trace early New England families.
This article first appeared in Family Tree Magazine’s August 2005 edition.
