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Finding Revolutionary War Ancestors

July 3, 2026

With the 4th of July just a few days away, now is a good time to think about Revolutionary War ancestors. If you’re not aware of any, it’s time to do some research. Learning about ancestors who participated in that war is a way to connect more deeply with the Revolution – now 250 years ago.

 

For most of my life, I assumed that I didn’t have any Revolutionary War ancestors. After all, seven of my eight great grandparents were not born in the United States. Five of them arrived as emigrants in the mid nineteenth century. Two more never came to America at all. Their daughter, my grandmother, arrived at Ellis Island in 1914.

 

However, one of my great grandfathers, a man named Durbin Terry, was born in the United States. As I researched his lineage, I learned that he came from a long line of Americans. His earliest immigrant ancestors arrived in Boston in 1635.

 

Further research informed me that Durbin’s ancestors were still in New England in the 1770s. Several of them served in the Revolutionary War. After still more research I was able to prove my Revolutionary War lineage well enough to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

 

Before I began doing genealogy, I had heard no stories of Revolutionary War ancestors. No one in my family had any artifacts or documents to prove this lineage. When I realized that I had ancestors who were in America during the Revolution, it seemed logical to assume that some of them might have served in the war.

 

My first step was to access the Daughters of the American Revolution Genealogical Research System (https://www.dar.org/research/genealogy-resources/using-genealogical-research-system-grs ). The GRS is a free site which allows you to search for an ancestor who may have served in the Revolution. The GRS is a quick way to find Revolutionary War ancestors.

 

If you find an ancestor’s name on the list, it means that someone applied for membership based on that Patriot’s service. Military service is not the only type of service documented in the GRS. Some Patriots provided supplies such as clothing, food, money and in other ways.

 

Not everyone who served in the Revolution is listed in the GRS. None of my husband’s Stetser ancestors are listed. However, I have found documentation showing that my husband’s fourth great grandfather served in the New Jersey militia, which fought against the British. He is not listed on the GRS because no one has ever applied for membership in the DAR using him as their Patriot ancestor.

 

If you believe an ancestor served, don’t give up just because you don’t find them in the GRS. You may have to dig into local histories, newspapers and other documents to find the proof you need.

 

Finding Revolutionary War ancestors is exciting and can help you feel more connected to the history of the United States. If your ancestors were in America by the time of the Revolution, they may have served. You may be surprised, like I was, to find you have deeper ties to the Revolution than you thought.

 

Carol Stetser

Researcher

Larimer County Genealogical Society

Take a Trip

June 26, 2026

 

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis’ sister recently died. Jamie posted a memorial about her sister which was full of fond memories of good times with her sister. As a genealogist, I especially appreciated Jamie’s anecdote about travelling to Hungary with her sister to explore their father’s roots.

 

Jamie described finding their family’s ancestral village and discovering information about their ancestors. According to Jamie, the search for her family’s roots meant more to her because she shared it with her sister.

 

The last line of the memorial struck a chord with me. Jamie recommended that anyone who has siblings should try to take a family history trip with them. She felt that it was a wonderful way to spend family time and brought her and her sister closer together.

 

As a genealogist, I agree with Jamie Lee Curtis. If you have siblings and are able, take at least one family history trip together. It doesn’t matter if your sibling is a genealogist or not. You’ll never regret it. I know because my sister Terry and I took several trips together to see the places where our ancestors lived.

 

When we began our sister trips, Terry was interested in our family’s roots, but she wasn’t really a genealogist. I had become obsessed with family history and was dying to travel to some ancestral areas.

 

Terry and I made our first family history trip together to Minnesota. Our paternal great grandparents lived there for several years before they moved to Utah. They lived about 50 miles west of Minneapolis in Meeker County. Meeker County is rural even today, so we based our trip in Minneapolis with a couple of long days spent in Meeker County.

 

We visited the local historical society museum, cemeteries where relatives are buried and drove out to the farm our great grandparents once owned. Since Terry was new to research, we only spent a few hours at the museum looking for news articles and other records about our family. I didn’t want Terry to feel overwhelmed with too much time in front of microfilm readers and digging through old newspapers.

 

After our visit to our ancestors, we spent a few days at the Mall of America and visiting some of the local points of interest in the twin cities. We had a wonderful time. Both of us felt closer to our ancestors than we had before. Plus, we had a lot of fun!

 

After that trip, Terry and I made an annual family history trip. We visited Boston and Vermont where our colonial ancestors lived. We made a trip to Hancock County, Illinois, where one of our Mormon ancestors spent some time. Another favorite trip was to Long Island, New York where our Terry family lived for over a hundred years. Since Terry was named for that family, it was especially meaningful to us. As Terry became more serious about genealogy, we ended up spending more time at research repositories where we searched for records about our families. However, we always found time to visit some tourist sites along the way.

 

Over the years, Terry and I took a dozen or more genealogy trips. We learned a lot about our family and had a wonderful time together. My only regret is that we didn’t take even more trips together.

 

Terry is gone now, and I miss her more than I can say. I’m so glad we spent time together discovering our shared history. Like Jamie Lee Curtis, I think travelling with a sibling is a great way to discover your family, both the living and those who came before.

 

If you can, do it now. You never know how long you’ll have the opportunity. I think you’ll be sorry if you don’t.

 

Carol Stetser

Researcher

Larimer County Genealogical Society

 

Editing Photos or Not

June 19, 202

Years ago, I attended a presentation on using photo editing software. The idea that amateurs could edit their own family photos was new then.

 

As the presenter showed slides of before and after pictures, I was excited to see amazing upgrades on old family pictures. Scratches and gouges become almost invisible. Torn corners were restored with just a few clicks of her mouse.

 

I was sold on the idea that I could fix my own heirloom family photos. That is, until she presented one of her last examples. The picture was of her grandfather. It was taken in the early 20th century. It was a photo of a young man leaning against a large boulder, apparently relaxing after a hike. The picture appeared in good condition. I wondered what the presenter had found to correct.

 

When she clicked to the next photo, I realized the young man had been holding a cigarette in his hand in the first picture. In the “after” photo, the cigarette was gone. The presenter explained that she’d known this grandfather in his old age, and he was a lifelong smoker. She hated the habit and decided to erase it from her photo. She wanted to use it in a book she was writing, and she didn’t want her grandfather to be a smoker.

 

I’ve never forgotten that presentation. It has reminded me that the goal of genealogy is to gather and disseminate the most accurate information about our ancestors possible. Just because we don’t like something about our ancestors doesn’t mean it’s okay to erase that fact. Whether our ancestors smoked or were slaveholders or were executed for murder, they were who they were. I don’t think it’s a genealogist’s job to try to improve an ancestor, even if it’s something as small as changing his smoking habits.

 

With AI and all the other technology now available, it’s easy to cover up the flaws of an ancestor – especially in photos. Most of us would never post an incorrect marriage date for a couple if we had a copy of their original marriage certificate. I doubt we’d do it even if the couple involved lied about their marriage date during their lives to protect the fact that they had a six-month baby. We ought to think just as seriously about posting a doctored photo.

 

I’ve seen many colorized and otherwise edited photos on various online family trees. I suspect the posters believed they were improving the pictures. It’s important to remember that once a picture is published, it’s there forever. Personally, I’d rather see a scratched, beat-up photo of my great grandfather than one that’s perfect but is edited to make him seem like someone he wasn’t.

 

Carol Stetser

Researcher

Larimer County Genealogical Society