The study of family history, or genealogy, is perhaps one of the most ancient of human interests. In one form or another it has found its way into countless varieties of oral and written records, some dating well before recorded history. In earliest times, ancestors-and accounts of their exploits, characters, and general lives-were the subjects of epic poems, songs, and tales, probably beyond number. Myths, those timeless tales of ancient gods and heroes, abound with what we today could only call genealogy. As mankind progressed and developed the art of making symbols and figures, the tales and traditions of earlier times were rendered into various forms of written records. Genealogy, too, followed in this pattern and, in fact, constitutes a great part of some of the earliest records of which we have knowledge. The descendants of Adam, for example, described in the Fifth Book of Genesis, date from the second millennium before Christ. And the genealogies of the ancient Romans, which are surprisingly detailed, date from the first and second centuries A.D. Genealogy, being as it is the study of individual people and their relationships within the social unit of the family, parallels and in some degree reflects the history of mankind. Practically every great civilization on earth has found root in the organization of the family, and, thus, each history is composed of many family histories. The royal pedigrees of the Roman emperors and of the European monarchs are but another form of the - vii - histories of those civilizations. And even today it may be seen that the history of America is not dissimilar to the history of any of our great colonial American families. This historical nature of genealogy is, however, but a small part of the complete explanation of its long development. In some cultures, genealogy has had importance to the religious customs and beliefs of the people. In ancient China ancestor worship was a means of developing and encouraging a morality which had its roots in the honorable character of the forefathers. Genealogy is likewise an important adjunct to the study and practice of law. Legal developments in the areas of inheritance and estates are principally founded on family history as it is expressed in such documents as wills and land grants. But undoubtedly the greatest impetus to the development of genealogy and family history has been common curiosity. This innate characteristic of man probably accounts for more pedigrees and family histories than any other one tiling. People are, have been, and will always be inherently curious about those distant figures who bore their name. The history of those ancestors records the origins of their family names, the basis of their family traditions, indeed, in some cases, even the reasons for their very existence. And such curiosity is in fact a healthy and vital thing, for it identifies and perpetuates traditions and truths which make for a meaningful and moral existence. This volume is an outgrowth of this many-faceted, long-developed tradition of interest in genealogy. As America approaches the bicentennial of its founding, this civilization which has been two hundred years in the making looks in upon itself, trying as it were to discern the roots of its growth and prosperity. The answer, of course, lies in the character and lives of the individual citizens who contributed a share to that development. This book is a small, but important record of those members of the Coleman family who made a contribution. From seventeenth century England with its wars and economic privations, to the nascent colonies on the alien coast of North America, to the Revolutionary War for Independence, and beyond, the record contained herein is of the individuals of this family who by right may be termed our founding fathers. This book sets forth the origin of the family name, the armorial heritage, and the biographies of great men who have lived through history. But primarily, it brings focus to a unique heritage which by its very viii/Preface nature implies a concern for the present and a hope for the future. This family record is dedicated to those now living in expectation that they will profit from it and perpetuate it and in so doing keep alive the traditions it describes. - 1 - [Chapter 1] Family Name and Arms ge’ ne al’ o gy, n., pl -gies. 1. a record or account of the ancestry and descent of a person, family, group, etc. 2. the study of family ancestries and histories. 3. descent from an original form or progenitor; lineage; ancestry. -Random House Dictionary of the English Language At one time or another everyone has been curious to know how many princes or presidents there are hidden in his or her family past, Such curiosity, logically pursued, leads inevitably to the definition quoted above, at which point, understandably, one's interest begins to wane. Lineage, ancestry, progenitor: while these terms describe the principal elements to genealogical research, they hardly suggest where and how to look for one's family origins. Although diligent investigation is needed to produce a complete lineage, reveal in detail one's ancestry, and turn up a progenitor, the one step required to set this process in motion is quite simple: the identification of one's family group and the arrangement of individuals in the family by their last name, their surname. This solution is appropriate, particularly for American ancestry, because most surnames in this country have been fixed in meaning if not in spelling since the establishment of colonies here. However, if it is princes, not presidents, that one wants to find, then one's research will go beyond the period of America's colonial development, and one will inevitably become immersed in the unfamiliar dates and names of English and European history. - 2 - The Dark Ages, the Plague, the Renaissance, the Crusades, feudalism, the Norman Invasion: these historical terms describe conditions and events which are far removed from modern experience and our American heritage. Yet, despite this haze of ancient historiography, we are inexorably tied to and are even products of the culture of ancient Europe. Our names, the principal form of personal and family identification, unwind through recorded history like a coil of yarn. To untangle this skein, an understanding of the social and cultural developments of the last two thousand years is all-important. From earliest times, when man first used some specific vocative sound or call to identify and differentiate members of his community, namecalling has undergone many adaptations. This development has not, however, been steady, for it was most affected by the experiences of people who promoted or participated in progress. For example, as occupations were created by the growth of industry and commerce, new names denoting those engaged in the new professions were formed. Miller, Tucker, and Wright are but a few examples. At the same time, progress brought obsolescence. Thus, a name like Woodmonger, once very common in England, disappeared along with the very few people who continued to eke a livelihood selling firewood. We may properly credit the Romans with originating our modern system of names, but we may equally blame the demise of this intelligent practice on the barbarians who swept across western Europe between the third and fifth centuries A.D. During the Dark Ages (following the Fall of Rome) most Europeans were known first only by their given name, and later occasionally by their given name prefixed to their place of birth. The advent of the eleventh century, however, saw the cultural, social, and economic conditions in Europe grow more complex. Populations increased dramatically; the rise of feudalism and the early stirrings of mercantilism supplanted the simple communal life of the country village. All these developments forced people into ever-growing towns and cities. Communication, the handmaid of commerce, became more efficient. Under such conditions, the use of a single name caused increasing confusion, and soon, the hereditary surname (a last name, bequeathed to each generation of children in the same or similar form) found growing acceptance. Perhaps the most notable instance of this development was the introduction of feudalism into England with the Norman Invasion of 1066. Within the space of three generations, the French worked an almost - 3-
Traditional British Home Counties of the Coleman Family
- 4 - total transformation of English culture. In particular, the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic language was merged with and in some cases was replaced by the native tongue of the new Norman rulers. In the course of time other modifications followed and hereditary surnames achieved a clearly defined order previously unknown. Beginning in the seventeenth century this system was transferred virtually intact to the American colonies. The surname Coleman is a good example of this evolutionary nature of names. The given name Cole is a form of Nicholas ("people victory"). Old King Cole, for example, was a well-known name from early English folklore. The name came to England through the Saxons and their barbarian German heritage: St. Columba was a German saint, as was St. Coleman whose holy day is celebrated every year on November first. The surnames Cole and Coleman are thought by most authorities to be derived from such German influences. Cole was often a nickname during the eleventh century either for a man whose trade was the making or selling of charcoal (hard coal was not readily available until a much later date) or for a dark-haired man of dark-complected appearance. Most often these nicknames gave rise to such names as Collier and Collins. A Coleson would have been the son of the man named Cole. But a Coleman or Colman would probably have been a servant or dependent of a man named Cole. The Colman spelling is rare except in the English counties of Essex and Norfolk, while the Coleman spelling has existed unchanged from at least the year 1273 and may be considerably older. The surname Cole is primarily common to southern England. Coleman is concentrated also in the south, mainly in the counties of Kent, Northampton, Sussex and Essex. In English history the Coleman family has been primarily noted among such common people as yeomen, tradesmen, and farmers. Only a handful entered the higher class of the gentry. Representatives of both classes came to settle in America. The reason why there were so many Coleman immigrants is that most of them left England poor, in search of prospects in America. Noble titles in the family do not occur at any time in English history. Coleman was not one of the more numerically prominent names in the early American colonies, but it was a rapidly growing name nevertheless. When President George Washington authorized the first official national census in 1790, the Cole family was the forty-first most numerous name on the list. The 307 Coleman families averaged 5.9 members and were not - 5 - even included among the top fifty names. These 307 Coleman families were primarily concentrated in Massachusetts (57), Virginia (55), North Carolina (45), Pennsylvania (38), New York (36), and South Carolina (25). The remaining fifty-one families were distributed in five other new states. There were also an additional 1,489 single and independent Coleman adults not counted in the above-mentioned households. Many of these were young men who sought their future on the forested frontier. A more modern census taken in 1964 from the Social Security files reveals Coleman to be the ninety-first most numerous name in the country today. Cole is slightly behind at ninty-sixth, having six thousand fewer members. There are approximately 179,900 adult Colemans in the United States. Heraldry, or the study of armorial bearings, is an adjunct to the study of family history. Coat armor, it is important to note, was completely unknown in Europe before the twelfth century, and did not appear in England until about 1250. Its sudden rise has been ascribed to several varied events, including the First Crusade (1097), the advent of body armor, and the growing use of seals on personal documents. In any case, the early development of the use of heraldic devices followed closely upon the need for better identification, and the trend became widespread. First embellished on shields and other pieces of armor, the imaginative, elaborate heraldic designs soon were transferred to surcoats, horse trappings, and even private possessions. These early insignia, including bends (diagonal stripes), fesses (horizontal stripes), chevrons, and crosses, were chosen because they were conspicuous, even in the chaos of bloody battle. For the same reason bright colors were used. Charges, or representations of animals and natural objects, did not become popular until the second half of the twelfth century, when, as stated above, the use of surnames was revived. With the advent of gunpowder in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and the concomitant decline of armor as an essential in warfare, the need for armorial bearings also waned. By then, though, coats of arms were cherished for their decorative effect, and family crests were handed down from proud sire to aspiring son. The ancient art was debased by the frenzied efforts of many people to coin their own armorial bearings and - 6 - adorn them with embellishments and devices of doubtful historical significance. Central authorities were established to inquire into the validity of the new creations. Their work was generally ineffectual in maintaining the simplicity and purity of the earlier designs, but their thorough records have subsequently proved very useful to the genealogical researcher. These records, showing hereditary usage of certain symbols and devices, represent in many cases the only means for unraveling the complex familial relationships of medieval Europe. In the United States, where the democratic tradition has mitigated interest in holding and preserving official armorial bearings, there is nonetheless a great informal interest in the science of heraldry. The question of rightful ownership of coat armor does not pertain in this country, for the very nature of the settlement and development of America makes it unlikely that any more than a few families have legitimate claim to specific insignia. Heraldry is instead highly regarded for its aesthetic and historical qualities-for the symbols, devices, and colors generally associated with any particular surname tell a story of our ancestors. ARMS: Azure, on a pale radiant rayonny or, a lion rampant gules. Crest: A demi-lion. (Arms: On a blue field, a wide golden vertical bar whose edges are formed into rays, upon which is a red rearing lion. Crest: A silver lion cut neatly at the waist. See emblazon A.) The arms of emblazon A are those of the house of Coleman and Colman in county Essex, England. The various branches of the Colman family have approximately seventeen coats of arms while the Coleman families have a total of six. Virtually all the Coleman and Colman arms are identical except for minor differencing and some crest variations. There are two coats of arms legitimate to the American branches of the Coleman family. Emblazon A is the most common of the two and was copied from the interior of a silver wine-cooling basin which dated back before the American Revolution. The second Coleman coat of arms is identical to emblazon A except for its crest. The second crest features a caltrap (a four-pronged pyramid-shaped spike used to injure the hooves of charging cavalry horses) between silver wings. The caltrap was the nearest thing peasants had to a land mine to stop knightly cavalry. - 7 -
Heraldry of the Coleman Family- 8 -
Arms of the Rev. Benjamin Colman of Boston, Massachusetts (1728).
The Arms of the Rev. Benjamin Colman of Boston Massachusetts dated 1728
- 9 - References The following are the reference materials found most useful in composing a history of the origin of your family name and coats of arms. They represent the most thorough texts of armorial bearings in the English language. Other books in the list are distinguished for their content on aspects of heraldry and on the evolution of name forms and medieval history in general. Several devote themselves exclusively to American names in particular. Most of the texts can be found in a public library reference section. The annotation in the following list may guide you in your further pursuit of the subject. Appleton, William S. "The Gore Roll of Arms and Positive Pedigrees and Authorized Arms." Baltimore: Heraldic Book Co., 1964. -- A small volume of American coats of arms. Bardsley, Charles Wareing. "A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames with Special American Instances." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968. -- This very large volume was compiled by one of the world's foremost authorities on the origins of English and Welsh surnames. The text is so complete that if Bardsley does not mention a name then it probably cannot be found. Bolton, Charles Knowles. "Bolton's American Armory." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969. -- Similar in content to Crozier's General Armory. Lists coats of arms of American families. Burke, Sir Bernard. "The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales." London: 1884. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969. -- The main reference source for English coats of arms. "Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry Including American Families with British Ancestry." London: Burke's Peerage, 1939. -- The authority in its field. A 3,021-page compendium which is a basic reference source for anyone engaged in British or American genealogical research. Child, Heather. "Heraldric Design: A Handbook for Students." London: G. Bell and Sons, 1965. -- A concise, well-designed book with many illustrations. Colket, Meredith B., Jr., and Bridgers, Frank E. "Guide to Genealogical Records in the National Archives." National Archives Publication No. 64-8. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1964. - 10 - Colonial Dames of America, Chapter I. "Ancestral Records and Portraits." 2 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969. -- Silhouettes and portraits and much valuable genealogical material. Committee on Heraldry. "Roll of Arms." Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1936. Crozier, William Armstrong, ed. "Crozier's General Armory, a Register of American Families Entitled to Coat Armor." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1966. -- An alphabetical list of American family coats of arms. Not complete, but very useful. Crozier, William Armstrong, ed. "Virginia County Records, a Key to Southern Pedigrees." Vol. 8. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1971. d'Angerville, Count, ed. "Living Descendants of Blood Royal (in America)." Vols. 3 and 4. London: World Nobility and Peerage, 1964. Elvin, C.N. "A Handbook of Mottoes." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1971. -- Armorial mottoes in translation and indexed to family name. Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles, ed. "Armorial Families: a Dictionary of Gentlemen of Coat-Armour." 2 vols. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1970. -- Much like Burke's General Armory. Guppy, Henry Brougham. "Homes of Family Names in Great Britain." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968. -- Discusses name origins and distribution in England and Scotland. Hardy, Stella Pickett. "Colonial Families of the Southern States of America." 2nd ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968. -- Contains genealogies with coats of arms from English origin to beginning of century. Hassall, W.O. "History Through Surnames." Oxford, England: Pergamon Press, 1967. -- A highly useful book indexed and cross-referenced by name origin and evolution from medieval times to the present. Hotten, John Camden, ed. "Original Lists of Persons of Quality, 1600-1700." Baltimore.- Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968. -- Contains the names of emigrants with ages, trades, ship taken, place of origin, and many other pertinent facts to aid in the identification and verification of origin and family branch relative to coats of arms. - 11 - Mackenzie, George Norbury, ed. "Colonial Families of the United States of America." 7 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1966. -- Contains an indexed listing of New England and Virginia with American genealogies and an insert of coats of arms. Matthews, Constance M. "English Surnames." New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1967. -- An informational book giving a wide view of surname origin and development with profuse examples. Matthews, John. "Complete American Armory and Blue Book." New York: Heraldic Publishing Co., 1965. -- American coats of arms, illustrated and indexed. Pittman, Hannah D., ed. "Americans of Gentle Birth and Their Ancestors." 2 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970. Savage, J. "Genealogical Dictionary of New England." 5th ed. 4 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969. -- This extremely hard-to-read set is arranged alphabetically, and despite its many disadvantages in composition and style, it is one of the best books on the subject of first New England immigrants. Smith, Elsdon C. "Dictionary of American Family Names." New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Stephenson, Jean. "Heraldry For the American Genealogist." Special publication no. 25. Washington, D.C.: National Genealogical Society, 1959. -- An essay showing how heraldry is essential to a complete exploration of American genealogy. Vikus, Frederick A., ed. "The Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy; First Families of America." 7 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968. -- Contains a great many genealogies, photographs, portraits and coats of arms. Whitmore, W.H., ed. "The Heraldic Journal: Recording the Armorial Bearings and Genealogies of American Fainilies." 4 vols. 1865/68. Reprint (4 vols. in 1). Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1972. -- All notations related to armorial bearings in a great many early American sources. - 12 - [Chapter 2] Ancestral Emigrants Will Rogers, in poking gentle fun at those who take perhaps an inordinate amount of pride in their ancestry, used to remark that his ancestors (he was part Cherokee) were at the dock to meet the Mayflower. Figuratively, of course, he was right, and this served to underscore the fact that every American either is an immigrant or has descended from immigrants, with the possible exception of the American Indians (possible exception because many anthropologists believe that the Indians themselves were immigrants). The story of American immigration is the story of a fabulous odyssey of an estimated seventy million people of many different backgrounds and nationalities. It is the story of their hopes, their fears, their aspirations: it is the story of America itself. Oscar Handlin, the noted historian, best expressed it when he said, "Once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered that the immigrants were American history." No single volume could possibly relate their magnificent story in all its breadth and scope, and the volume you now hold in your hands is no exception. However, there is much to be gained from a broad overview. The first immigrants were the English, who were to lead all other nationalities in immigration until the first half of the nineteenth century, when Irish and German immigrants began to arrive in large numbers. Early English immigrants consisted, basically, of two different groups who settled in two different places: the Puritans in Massachusetts and the Cavaliers in Virginia. - 13 - Tradition holds that the early colonists were religious refugees from a dictatorial and unyielding monarchy which refused to acknowledge their basic religious rights. This tradition is right and wrong at the same time, for though most colonists were Protestants fleeing the conformity of England's state church, their flight arose from a multiplicity of issues touching on several important matters besides religion. Beginning with Martin Luther in 1517, the Protestant Reformation experienced a rapid development and wide appeal throughout much of Europe and England. Preaching a doctrine of salvation through individual conscience rather than sacerdotalism, various Protestant sects had great political as well as religious significance. In England, the Reformation was an important aspect of the politics of the monarchy. In this case, Henry VII appeared to embrace it in his attempts to divorce his wife and take a new queen: he instituted a new church which, though seemingly opposed to Catholicism, was really only slightly different, mostly in its organization. Throughout the mid-sixteenth century, the English religion swayed back and forth, tending in some aspects toward Catholicism and in others toward Protestantism. By the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the religion of England had become quite moderate. This moderation was very political in nature, for it attempted to put an end to the agitation of the Puritans, or English Protestants, who sought to "purify" the English Anglican Church of its Catholic tendencies. Elizabeth's efforts succeeded for a time, but by the early 1600s, Puritanism was definitely in ascendancy in England. At the same time the economy of Europe and England was experiencing a similar kind of disruptive development. New wealth, mostly silver and gold from Spanish colonies in the New World, was causing tremendous inflation. Prices on all goods were rising very fast, and the poor, laboring classes were suffering most from this condition. In England, with its population of seven million people divided into groups of nobles, gentry, yeomen, and laboring poor, the economic problems of the age touched most heavily on the king. His income was fixed by Parliamentary law, and as he was expected to finance his office and authority wholly from his own pocket, he soon felt the squeeze. This situation focused attention on the House of Commons which was composed of the gentry, or large landowners and merchants, who were prospering from the inflation. In the House of Commons, these Englishmen could exert considerable influence over the king by their power of the - 14 - (Figure 3) - 15 - purse. Most galling, perhaps, was their refusal to give the king the power to tax individuals. His royal finances thus remained dependent on his own ingenuity and ability to devise various levies and duties to meet his needs. Such levies ultimately reached deep into the pockets of the laboring class. Concurrent to the rise of Puritanism in England and inflation in the world economy, the Industrial Revolution led directly to great unemployment, particularly among the rural laborers. These people were forced into idleness by government policies which had enclosed the previously open fields of England in order to create land suitable, not for farming, but for raising the great flocks of sheep necessary to support the English woolen industry. Pressed by rising inflation, without work, and often in opposition to the state religion, the laboring poor of England were, by the early 1600 s, easily inclined to consider emigration; it was the only solution to an intolerable situation. Almost simultaneously, there developed the government policy of mer- cantilism, which encouraged colonization as a means of developing and extending the economic base of the country. Mercantilism was carried on by the joint-stock venture company, a group of merchants who received authority from the king to organize, finance, and conduct various colonizing expeditions. It drew on the large group of dissatisfied English workers for the supply of colonists necessary to effect the policy of mercantilism. Thus, a combination of political, economic, and religious factors influenced greatly the developments which gave rise to the English colonies in North America. The Puritans saw the New World as an ideal location for their "experiment in constructive Protestantism." They settled in Massachusetts, and the history of their colony actually begins with Captain John Smith. In 1614, two London merchants hired him to conduct a whaling expedition off the American coast, and although unsuccessful in that, he did bring back a shipload of fish that paid for the voyage. More importantly, he brought back a tremendous enthusiasm that translated itself into a best- selling pamphlet entitled "A Description of New England." John Smith's bright, optimistic reports on "the Paradise" of New England greatly interested the Puritans. So it was that when they chose a place of refuge from the increasing religious intolerance in England, that place was the northern coast of North America. And when James I greeted their petition with the question, "What profits may arise in the parts to which they intend to go?" the Puritans replied, "Fishing." "So God have my soul," James exclaimed, "tis an honest trade! 'Twas the Apostles' own calling." He - 16 - granted royal sanction, and so began the voyage of the Mayflower and the subsequent colonization of New England. In America, they were able to dedicate themselves fully to practicing their beliefs, rather than criticizing and trying to reform the English church. Most influential in this development was John Winthrop, the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Company, who actually established a virtually autonomous colonial government in Massachusetts in 1629. His community, centered around Boston, was, however, a bit too strict for some of his followers, most of whom were simple laborers and merchants rather than Puritans. The rigid, unyielding autocracy imposed by the Puritan minority in Massachusetts soon gave rise to a new migration, this one heading out of Massachusetts and into the Connecticut River Valley. The Connecticut Colony was located at Hartford and later became loosely tied with the New Haven Colony on the coast. Governed by a Puritan elite which put more emphasis on the commercial aspects of Puritanism (the emphasis has subsequently been described as the Protestant work ethic), the colony encouraged rapid growth and generated a growing number of other settlements, mostly populated by non-Puritan English yeomen and merchants. Later, a flood of immigrants to Virginia was a direct result of the English civil war. Like all wars, the underlying causes were complex, and had been woven into the fabric of the whole society many years before. As discussed previously, Parliament and the king had come to an impasse over the issue of taxation and royal finances, and seeing the opportunity, English Puritans joined the antimonarchial forces. King Charles I attempted to force loans from the recalcitrant gentry and commercial class. The gentry refused, and Charles became desperate for money. The war was finally precipitated when the famous Long Parliament, which convened on 3 November 1640, repudiated the King's concepts of absolutism and rule by Divine Right. The members of Parliament demanded greater freedom and religious tolerance. When hostilities broke out, the battle lines were drawn between the Royalists, who supported the king, and the Puritans, who supported Parliament. The Royalists were recruited from the Cavaliers, who were, for the most part, wealthy landowners and Roman Catholics; the bulk of the Puritan forces were drawn mostly from the common people. While the war, or actually, series of wars, raged from 1642 to 1649, many people, Puritan and Royalist alike, left the country for the New World, but Cromwell's final victory over Charles I prompted a huge migration of - 17 - (Figure 4) - 18 - Cavaliers to Virginia. After Charles was beheaded in 1649, and the Puritans were in Firm control of Parliament, it was declared to be an act of high treason to recognize Charles II or to attempt to "restore" him to the throne. Virginia appeared to be the only refuge for supporters of the monarchy; they were certainly not welcome in Puritan New England. Also, in Virginia, the Cavaliers found a social and economic system which was already similar to that of the English gentry. Large tobacco plantations were the outgrowth of the earliest settlements, and, as time passed, these plantations took on the aura of the English estate. From its beginning, the Virginia Colony had a significant population of gentry. In most cases the colonial gentry was made up of the younger sons of the English landed families. Because of primogeniture, the legal doctrine of inheritance of the estate by the eldest son, these younger sons often found themselves without any financial support once they reached their majority. Thus, emigration to Virginia offered a ready opportunity for employment and the important chance for achieving high social standing. However, in some circles, Virginia gained an early and completely undeserved reputation as a "land of death." So much so, that some prisoners in English jails, when given the choice of emigration to Virginia or death by hanging, chose the latter. In fact, many people came because they were forced to - vagrants, paupers, thieves, even prisoners of war were deported to America, where they would be out of the way of decent folk and could do no harm except to each other. So it may be seen that great numbers of immigrants were actually driven to the New World, driven because of political, economic, or religious reasons, or sometimes more directly, driven out by the law because they were considered to be undesirables. The profit motive brought others. In any great migration (just as, for example, in our own westward expansion), there are always those who see the tremendous economic potential in a new land. Although visions of easy riches in gold or silver most often quickly evaporated, there were still the cod-rich waters of Massachusetts Bay, tobacco in the southern colonies, furs, and new ports for trade up and down the virgin coastline. These riches of the New World accrued mostly to the mercantilists, but there were riches of a different sort for the common man. Some wanted nothing more than their own land and a fresh start. This opportunity was open to virtually every man. Even if he had to become an indentured servant for a while, this was not such a bad bargain as it may seem. The indentured servant received free transportation to America, and at the end of his contract, which was typically for four years, he received his "freedom - 19 - dues." This payment was usually clothing, a gun, tools, some money, and sometimes as much as fifty acres of land. The indentured servant had often learned a useful trade as well. In addition to the three main reasons for emigration (religious persecution, political oppression, and economic considerations), other less obvious, more personal, and historically unimportant motives have caused people to pack up and come to America: the end of a love affair, escape from altercations, the desire to be with friends who were going, or perhaps just an adventuresome spirit. These were some of the reasons. However, human motivations are nothing if not complex, and undoubtedly many came for reasons unknown even to themselves. Perhaps all they felt was a strange beckoning from a New Land which could not be denied. In spite of all the dissimilarities in their backgrounds and reasons for coming, all early immigrants had one experience in common: a long, dangerous, and extremely unpleasant voyage across the Atlantic. In 1902, Henry F. Thompson read a paper before the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore. Entitled "An Atlantic Voyage in the Seventeenth Century," it gives an absorbing account of exactly what such a journey entailed. The vessels which were in use in the seventeenth century were small, when judged by the ideas of sea-going ships of the present day, for there were few over two hundred tons, as an inspection of the few returns (which are extant) of the naval officers of the Patuxent and Potomac Rivers will show. Although a few ships were from three hundred to five hundred tons, the greater number of them were from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty, and more were under than over two hundred. They were broad in the bow, the forecastle and the poop were raised high above the main deck, the mainmast was placed in the middle of the ship, the foremast as near the bow as possible and the mizzen where the builder thought fit. The books on navigation and shipbuilding, all speak of top gallant masts and sails but in no one of the log-books is there any mention of a sail above the topsail, although, of course, they speak of making and taking in the sails as well of sending down topmasts and yards. They were but slow sailers and although instances occur of as much as eight miles an hour being made, it was when there was a fair wind and plenty of it, and with a smooth sea, but at no time was that rate kept up for twentyfour hours. When the wind was ahead, but slow progress was made, for no ship could sail "close to the wind," and often four or five miles was all there was to show for a whole day, and - 20 - there were even times when they were further from their destination at the end of twenty-four hours than they were at the beginning. Rather than keep on against a head wind they would "heave to" or "try" as they said in those days. The Bristow arrived in York River on 8th March, 1701, having left London on the 22nd October, and her Master writes "a more terrible passage has hardly been known by man. I have been on this coast near twelve weeks within forty or fifty leagues by all estimation." He had become separated from the fleet, for although the Gloster did not arrive until the day after the Bristow, the latter found on her arrival several vessels which left London with her, but which had been in port eight or nine weeks. Indeed, there is nothing in which a voyage, two hundred years ago, differed more from one today, than in the great uncertainty as to the time which was to be spent in going from one port to the other. When a passenger started from London, he could not say within many weeks, how long he was to be on board the ship which was to take him to Maryland or Virginia, for, of the eleven voyages of which we have the records, they were from forty-seven days to one hundred and thirty-eight days from London to the Capes, and from thirty-two to one hundred and thirteen on their way home. The same vessel varied from forty-seven days to one hundred and two days, in coming from London, and from thirty two to fifty-two in returning home. A ship would often be three or four weeks from London before she took her departure from the Lizard detained in the Downs or some port by head winds or storms, and it must have been an inspiriting sight, after a storm, to see the numerous vessels getting under way from the Downs; for there would be hundreds of vessels starting out for all parts of the world, the vessels bound for the Chesapeake Bay often numbering forty or fifty, as the captain of one of them says, "We Virginians keeping together," the name Virginian being often applied to all vessels bound in the Capes. When the fleet was clear of the land, they steered for the Azores, and one or more ships generally sighted Flores and Corves, the most westerly of the islands. Then they steered for Cape Henry, and deviated as little as possible from a straight course, for their latitude they could find every day at noon, by means of their quadrants, but their longitude they could only estimate by calculating the distance run and the course steered, making allowances for currents, leeway or a heavy sea knocking them off their course. Notwithstanding this rather uncertain calculation they were not far out of the way when they began sounding to find out if they were near land. - 21 - Although a large fleet of fifty or sixty vessels might leave England, they soon became more or less scattered, although there were some vessels always in sight of each other, frequently in and calm weather there were visits between the officers and passengers of the different vessels, who dined or spent whole days, of which custom the following extract from the log-book of the Johanna gives an example: "Mr. Baker hoysted out his boat and came on board of us. We spared them some tobacco to pipe, for it was very scarce with them. About 5 oclocke they went aboard again: the master of her was sufficiently in drink before he went." It may be supposed that the great uncertainty as to the duration of the voyage would have caused some trouble in providing sufficient food and water for so many persons, but the food was composed principally of bread or ship- biscuit, salt meat, peas and cheese, all which would keep well for many months, and therefore it was only the space required for enough food and water that gave any trouble, and when it is recollected that it would be necessary to carry food and water for one hundred persons (including passengers and crew) for a voyage lasting perhaps five months it is evident that the provisions which were necessary would occupy a great deal of space. In a contract made with the owners of the ship Nassau, of five hundred tons, to carry one hundred and fifty or more passengers to Virginia, the following stipulations were made in regard to food. The passengers to have the same allowance of food as the sailors, that is to say: "they were to have their allowance of bread, butter and cheese weekly, and the rest of the provisions were to be distributed daily: each passenger, over six years of age, was to have seven pounds of bread every week, each mess of eight to have two pieces of pork (each piece to be two pounds) with pease five days in the week, and on the other two days four pounds of beef with pease each day, or four pounds of beef with a pudding, with pease for the two days, and in case the kettle could not be boiled each passenger was to have one pound of cheese every day. Children under six years of age to have such allowance in flour, oatmeal, fruit, Sugar and butter as the overseers of them shall judge fit." There were in this ship one hundred and ninety-one passengers, of whom twenty-five were under twelve years of age, and although there were some of all ranks in life there seems to have been no difference made between them as to diet and lodging. The ordinary price of a passage to Maryland or Virginia was six pounds, but for this large party the price was five pounds, for each person over twelve years of age, and half price for children under that age. - 22 - The ship Johanna was on her way from London to Virginia in March, 1674, when the following incident occurred, viz.: "About 12 o'clock last night some of our people saw something walke in the shape of a dog and after that it was heard betwixt dex cry like a child and sometimes knocking without bord and the dog that belonged to the ship run whineing up and down and crept in among the passengers I pray God dyliver us from all evil." Nothing happened to them on the voyage, and they arrived in Virginia after a quick passage, and without any accident, but two years later on the same ship something happened which caused the death of two men, but what it was, is not very clear. "One of our servants was missing, judged he fell overboard and drowned: and another had his other leg cut ofe, his other being cut of sometime before - they were boath Cap. Beales servants," If the vessels were long in crossing the ocean, they were also sometime in port, before they were ready to return home. The "Constant Friendship" arrived in the Saint Mary's river on the 20th December 1671, and the next day, the Master went ashore and entered the ship at the Custom House. They lay there 10 day, landing passengers and goods, and then sailed for the Patuxent "to do some business there," and while there they buried a passenger, the 2nd mate, and one of the seamen. At the end of the week they sailed for the "Seavorne" which they reached at 2 a.m., sailing in boldly, "there being moonlight and fair weather." For two months and a half, they were delivering goods and taking in tobacco. Some of the English goods were consigned to different persons, and some were sold from the ship, payment being made in tobacco. The ship lay at anchor in the river, and the tobacco was brought off in shallops from the landings to which it had been rolled from the plantations. By the 25th March, they had on board about five hundred and fifty hogsheads, and they sailed for the Patuxent, where they took in more tobacco, and then went to St. Mary's where by the end of April they finished their loading, having seven hundred and eight hogsheads on board, and cleared the ship, when they were ready to sail. The ships generally spent three or four months in the rivers, delivering their goods and taking in tobacco, which was taken on freight, or obtained by "trucking" as it was called, that is to say, bartering the English goods for the tobacco, or sometimes the skins of wild animals, of which a goodly number were exported in the early days of the Colony. When the loading was finished, and the ship was cleared and ready for sea, they went to Lynnhaven Bay, where the fleet for England was made up, and received their sailing orders. One of the fleet was named as the - 23 - Flag ship, and her commander was appointed Admiral with a certain authority over the Masters of the other ships, subject of course to the orders of the Commander of the Men of War who conveyed the fleet off the coast or at times all the way to England. A Man of War lay in the Chesapeake, whose duty among other things was to convoy the ships 25 or 30 leagues off the coast, for there was great danger of an attack by Pirates who hovered about the coast, and sometimes ran into the bays and harbours to make a capture, but seldom, if ever, roamed over the ocean in search of their prey. The Governor of Virginia, at times, went out in the Man of War to see the fleet safely on their way, and when he arrived on board, most of the ships fired a salute, for they all had guns and a gunner was a member of every ship's company as surely as a carpenter or sailmaker. A "fleet" frequently numbered fifty vessels, or more and on the 31st July 1702 one hundred and forty vessels sailed out of the Capes convoyed by four Men of War. Even when there was war between Great Britain and some other country, there was not much danger of capture on the high seas, but when they got near the land the Privateers, Or "Capers," as Dutch privateers were called, were cruising about, watching for the incoming ships, and sometimes capturing and carrying them off. One such incident is told in the log-book of the Johanna, under the date of July, 1676 - "When Twart of Beachy Head saw severall shallops French Privateers come up with us and commanded our boat out and us by the lee but I would not being able to Deale with them: we saw them clap several Vessels aboard and plunder them and caryed two away at 10 O'clock in the night two came up with us together which command us to strick and by the lee which I would not they fired 3 gunnes at us but hitt us not the shot fell by the ships side, then they came close up and said they would clap us abord both together I bid them keep ofe or else we would fire att them we gott two of or guns upon the forecassell and Poynted them aft at them for they intended to come abord upon the quarter we could not bring a gun to beare upon them with (until?] we had done so: the french seeing us in preparation to defend ourselves bid us good night and left us after many bad words which passed between us. We fired not at them-" The encounter with the privateers ended happily enough, nothing worse than an exchange of "bad words" having happened, but owing to the preparations for defence, one of the men on the Johanna lost his life, as the log-book tells in the following words: "Att 3 of Clock this morning the Carpenters mate being laid down to sleep upon the forehatch by the windlass and one of the guns upon the forecassel standing upon a pease and my mate goeing up on the for Cassel tooke holde of the mussell of the gun which oversett it it not being lashed Dumbled doune upon the deck - 24 - (Figure 5) - 25 - and bruised the head of the Carpenters mate and broke his scull very much he dyed Presently which was a very sad accident. We keept him until he was could and stiff and buryd him in the sea of the South forland which I pray God have mercy upon his soule for he was suddenly taken out of this world. There were other dangers that menaced the ships, even when they were thought to be past all the perils of the sea; and there is one more extract which tells of the end of the Baltimore, which had made many voyages to Maryland, and was considered a strong, well built ship. In 1673 she had made the passage home in very good time, and with the rest of the London Fleet had gone into Plymouth harbour - on the 18th September, all thinking, no doubt, that they would soon land their tobacco in London. They lay there for three days, and then started to go on to London but as all the ships could not get out in time a signal was made, for those that were outside to return. When the Baltimore got back the log-book says: "it was darke we run in behind the Island and ankored in 6 fad the wind abt S S E and blowed hard and rained we struck our topmasts and yards and rod about 2 hours fast but the wind blowing harder and harder we let go the sheet ankor and in vering away upon the best bower started the best vower ankor and nether that not the sheet ankor wold take hold againe but we drove ashore upon the rockes about 3 ships lengths to the westward of milebay and being a high water and falling we presently sued and struck fast and bilged upon the rocks the next tide the water ranne over part of the gun deck: we saved about 60 hhds dry and all the ships materialls as guns cables ankors and rigging and sayies: and could not save the shipp although it wass indevoured by the plymouth men: but she stove all to peeses . . . I pray God send me better fortune the next voyage." English immigration to America continues even to the present day. Only a few short years ago, the "Brain Drain," or immigration of British scientists and technicians, was the subject of much reportage. But, by the first half of the nineteenth century England had ceased to be the predominant supplier of new settlers. At this point in history, Irish and German immigrants began to pour in. As with the English before them, their motivations were diverse and complex, but there were also general reasons. As for the Irish, it is estimated that nearly one million came in a five year period as a direct result or the potato famine (1845). Many Germans came because of the heavy suppression of liberal thought which came about as a national reaction against the reform ideas of the French Revolution. This suppression manifested itself in strict censorship of the press, of public - 26 - meetings, and of schools and universities. The friction between the liberals and conservatives finally resulted in open hostilities in 1830, and again in 1848, with two unsuccessful revolutions. As is illustrated by the English civil wars prior to this, and the Russian Revolution nearly a century later, any internal upheaval in a nation produces its refugees, and these refugees in turn become immigrants, many of them, over the years, American immigrants. In general, immigrants followed certain distinctive migration patterns once they landed, and the Germans and Irish are two good examples. The Irish, since they generally arrived dirt poor, in fact, had come precisely because they were poor, had no real option but to stay where they had landed - in cities on the eastern seaboard, particularly in New York and Boston. The first and most essential order of business for an Irish immigrant was to get a job. This usually presented no problem, indeed, contractors actually waited at the docks to sign up Irish laborers as soon as they set foot on shore. But while the Irish could survive and did get an economic foothold, they had virtually no mobility. The Germans, however, could afford to go about the business of settling at a more sedate pace. Unlike the Irish, the Germans left home not because of economic disaster, but for political or intellectual reasons, or simply because they wanted to better their lot. Consequently, they usually arrived with some savings, and a clear-cut destination: the rich farmlands of the Midwest. After the early German immigrants had staked out farms in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, the later German immigrants sought their homesteads in Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Minnesota. In passing, the desire for a homestead as a motive for both immigration and migration cannot be underestimated. A great impetus was given to both movements on 20 May 1862 when the Homestead Act was signed into law by Abraham Lincoln. The law gave to "any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the United States, or who shall have filed his declaration of intention to become such," the right to 160 acres of land for only a filing fee and the stipulation that he live on it for five years and make certain improvements. The immigrants wrote letters (mostly enthusiastic) home, and these letters prompted still others to make the long, one-way journey across the Atlantic. Marcus Lee Hansen, in his comprehensive study, "The Atlantic Migration, 1607-1860," reveals an interesting sidelight about the letters home. - 27 - A persistent belief existed that letters were tampered with; that no communication derogatory to the country was allowed to leave; that to encourage immigration false letters of praise were concocted and signatures forged - a simple enough matter at a time when many of the senders, being illiterate, had to depend upon another's pen. To guard against interference and to prevent fraud, ingenious devices were adopted. Before departure it would be agreed that the emigrant's letters should be written upon a certain variety of stationery, or bear a device pricked by pins in the corner, or have the sealing wax applied in a place agreed upon, or a bent pin or small coin hidden in the wax. Occasionally a code would be adopted in which words did not mean exactly what they said. Thus a departing Irishman arranged that, if he advised his brother not to follow him without their dear grandmother, then, in view of the fact that the venerable dame had been dead thirty years, the advice should be interpreted as an adverse report. The latter half of the nineteenth century saw the Italians and those from the various eastern European countries supplant the Germans and the Irish as the numerical leaders of American immigration. Immigrants from Scandinavia as well began to arrive as the twentieth century approached. Their reasons were essentially identical to those of all the immigrant groups who preceded them. Whole books could be written on each immigrant group, from the first English settlers to those who followed nearly three hundred years later: the 5 million Italians, the half million Greeks, the one and a quarter million Swedes, and all the others who had the courage to start a new life. But each group has its own story, its own heroes and villians, its own peculiar problems of adjustment. They are all different, yet finally, not so different. All of these immigrant groups have had to overcome prejudice and hardship. They have all made vast and important contributions to American culture and progress. In the agonizing and often heartbreaking business of building a new nation, they have all faced obstacles and triumphed - triumphed with quiet pride and dignity; they have all become Americans. All Americans are descended from immigrants, whether from the very first or the two millionth, and having the blood of these courageous men and women flow in their veins is something from which they can derive a just pride. But it is only natural and fitting that one should seek to know more about his immigrant ancestors. How should the problem be approached? For a start, if your ancestors immigrated in or prior to 1800, the chances are good that you need look no further. The listing which follows - 28 - contains all known recorded immigrants of the Coleman family for that time frame. A complete listing of all Coleman immigrants who arrived after this time would be impractical in this book. For that matter, an absolutely complete listing is not to be had anywhere. However, the National Archives (see last chapter for further information on the collections in the National Archives) has in its possession passenger arrival lists which record the names of those who arrived from abroad at ports on the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico and a few inland ports. Some of the lists go back as far as 1798, but the bulk of them cover the years 1820 through 1945. There are gaps, but nowhere else are there to be found lists as extensive as these. The lists fall into three categories: customs lists of aliens, customs passenger lists, and immigration passenger lists. Customs lists of aliens are available for only the ports of Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts. The customs passenger lists normally contain the following information for each passenger: name, age, sex, and occupation; the country of embarkation; the country of destination; and, on occasion, the date and circumstances of a death occurring in transit. Only those immigration passenger lists that are more than fifty years old are available for research purposes. They vary in content but usually give the same information found in the customs passenger fists as well as the place of birth and last place of residence. In addition, they sometimes give the name and address of a relative in the country from which the immigrant came. The National Archives will conduct a search of the customs passenger lists if an inquirer can supply: (a) name of the passenger, (b) port of entry, (c) name of the ship, and approximate date of arrival or port of embarkation and exact date of arrival. The National Archives will also search the immigration passenger lists over fifty years old if supplied: (a) name of passenger, (b) age of passenger, '(c) names and ages of accompanying passengers, (d) port of entry, (e) name of ship, and (f) exact date of arrival. It will also consult its indexes as to the names on the customs and immigration passenger lists provided an inquirer can supply the port of entry and supposed year of arrival. The immigrant is a pivotal and crucial point in any fanifly tree, and too much care cannot be taken to insure that one has exhausted every possible source and amassed all available data on him. He is an important man in many ways. - 29 - --- Coleman; emigrated from England to the Vicinity Of Marion, South Carolina, around 1750; had a son John. Edward Coleman; immigrated to Virginia in 1637. Edward Coleman; emigrated from Thorrington, Essex, to Boston in or pnor to 1650. Francis Coleman; emigrated from England to Pennsylvania on board the ship "Golden Hinde" in 1682. George Coleman; transported* from Newgate Prison to Virginia on board the ship "Forward Galley" on 27 October 1729; indentured servant. Henry Coleman; born 1594; emigrated from England to Elizabeth City County, Virginia, in 1632; received a land grant of 1000 acres; married to Catherine John Coleman; immigrated to Virginia in 1649. John Coleman; immigrated to Virginia in 1654. John Coleman; emigrated from Stepney, Middlesex, to Maryland in January 1729, aged 20; weaver; indentured ser-vant. John Coleman; transported from Surrey to either Maryland or Virginia on board the ship Forward Galley on 8 May 1737; indentured servant. Jonathan Coleman; immigrated to Virginia in 1643. Joseph Coleman; emigrated from Sandwich, Kent, to Charlestown, Massachusetts, in or prior to 1 650. *There were no less than 150 capital crimes in England for which a man might be transported. Of course, there were the expected ones of murder, arson, and treason, but there were also lesser ones such as maiming, stealing a cow, cutting down trees along an avenue, sending threatening letters, and standing mute when addressed by a legal official. Some convicts were even people of quality. One gentleman of high birth, for instance, was transported for stealing books out of a library. As a child, George Washington was taught to read and write by a transported convict who had been a schoolmaster. Especially in the countryside, the crimes which resulted in transportation were often very petty. One man was transported for stealing a silver shoebuckle. Another was sent to America and indentured for seven years for the theft of a chicken. - 30 - Morris Coleman; immigrated to Virginia in 1638. Richard Coleman., immigrated to Virginia in 1654. Robert Coleman; immigrated to Virginia in 1638. Robert Coleman; immigrated to Virginia in 1643. Samuel Coleman; immigrated to Virginia in 1654. Samuel Coleman; transported from Buckinghamshire to America on board the ship "Susannah" on 1 October 1744; indentured servant. Thomas Coleman; born 1602, died 1685; emigrated from Marlborough, Wiltshire, to Boston on board the ship "James" in 1635; moved to Hampton, New Hampshire, and then to Nantucket, Massachusetts; married (1st) to Susanna ---, (2nd) to Mary Johnson on 11 July 1651, and (3rd) to Margery Asbourne Fowler; children were Tobias, Benjamin, Joseph, John, Isaac, Joanna, and Susanna. Thomas Coleman; born 1598, died 1674; emigrated from Evesham, Worcestershire, to Wethersfield, Connecticut, in or prior to 1639; moved to Hadley, Massachusetts, around 1661; married (1st) to (wife's name unknown) and (2nd) to Frances Wells; children were Sarah, Deborah, Thomas, John, and Mary. Thomas Coleman; emigrated from Cotterstock, Northamptonshire, to Newbury, Massachusetts, in or prior to 1650. William Coleman; emigrated from England to Virginia on board the ship "Assurance" on 24 July 1635, aged 16. William Coleman; immigrated to Virginia in 1656. References The following books pertain to the information discussed in the preceding chapter- Nearly all of them are available in any good genealogical collection and are highly recommended for those who wish to pursue the subject further. - 31 - Adams, Arthur, and Weis, Frederick Lewis- "The Magna Carta Sureties, 1215, the Barons Named in the Magna Carta, 1215, and Some of Their Descendants Who Settled in America, 1607-1650." 2nd ed. Revised by Walter Lee Shepard, Jr. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968. Contains lineages dating from 1215. Indexed. Bailey, Thomas A. "The American Spirit: United States History as Seen by Contemporaries." Vol. 1. Boston: D.C. Heath & Co., 1963. Bailey has extracted rich material from old diaries, letters, autobiographies, editorials, and other sources. Through the use of this material, we are able to see events in American history, from colonial days up through the Reconstruction, as described by people who were actually there. Banks, Charles Edward. The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers Who Came to Plymouth on the "Mayflower" in 1620, the "Fortune" in 1621, and the "Anne" and the "Little James" in 1623. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1971. Useful biographical material. Banks, Charles Edward. "Topographical Dictionary of 2885 English Settlers to New England, 1620 -1650." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969. Gives home parish of the emigrant and his destination in the New World. Often lists ship's name as well. Barck, Oscar Theodore, Jr., and Lefler, Hugh Talmage. "Colonial America." New York: The Macmillan Co., 1958. A complete colonial American history with emphasis on the establishment of each of the original colonies. Blum, John M., et al. "The National Experience: A History of the United States." 2nd ed. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968, An excellent brief history of the nation. It enjoys wide use as a college textbook. "Bristol and America, A Record of the First Settlers in the Colonies of North America, 1654-1685." Preface by N. Dermott Harding. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970. Compiled from ships' passenger lists. "Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry Including American Families with British Ancestry." London: Burke's Peerage, 1939. The authority in its field. A 3,021-page compendium which is a basic reference source for anyone engaged in British or American genealogical research. - 32 - Cameron, Viola Root. "Emigrants from Scotland to America, 1774-1775." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965. Consists of ninety-seven pages of passenger lists. Indexed. Colket, Meredith B., Jr., and Bridgers, Frank E. "Guide to Genealogical Records in the National Archives." Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1964. A general description of all records in the National Archives which are useful to those engaged in genealogical research. Colonial Dames of America, Chapter 1. "Ancestral Records and Portraits." 2 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969. Two volumes of lineages and biographical material. Illustrated with Portraits and armorial bearings. Coulter, E. Merton, and Saye, Albert B., eds. "A List of the Early Settlers of Georgia." Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1949. Lists 1,355 early immigrants to Georgia in addition to the passenger list of the Anne, the first ship to Georgia ( 1732). d'Angerville, Count, ed. "Living Descendants of Blood Royal (in America)." 4 vols. London: World Nobility and Peerage, 1964. Lineages of those American families which have ties to English nobility. Daniel, J.R.V. "A Hornbook of Virginia History." Richmond: The Virginia Department of Conservation and Development, 1949. A small book which gives an outline of Virginia history, with a rather complete listing of localities, names, and events. Drake, Samuel Gardner. "The Founders of New England." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969. Difficult to use due to Old English, abbreviations, etc., but has quite a bit of ship list information. Fothergill, Gerald. "A List of Emigrant Ministers to America, 1690-1811." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965. Compiled from British records, this is a list of ministers and schoolmasters of the Church of England who went to America during a 121-year period. Fothergill, Gerald, ed. "Emigrants from England, 1773-1776." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1964. Listing of 6,000 names from old documents in the Public Record Office in London. French, Elizabeth. "List of Emigrants to America from Liverpool, 1697-1707." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969. Contains more than 1,500 names. Indexed and footnoted. - 33 - "Gazetteer of the British Isles." Edinburgh: John Bartholomew & Son, 1943. Ghirelli, Michael. "A List of Emigrants from England to America, 1682-1692." Baltimore: Magna Carta Book Co., 1968. In alphabetical order with indexes of place and agent names. Greer, George Cabell. "Early Virginia Immigrants, 1623-1666." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1960. Nearly 25,000 names arranged in alphabetical order. Hansen, Marcus Lee. "The Atlantic Migration, 1607-1860." Cambridge: Harvard University Press, I 9 5 1. A comprehensive study of the history and causes of American immigration between the Years 1607 and 1860. Hardy, Stella Pickett. "Colonial Families of the Southern States of America." 2nd ed., rev. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing co., 1968. This book deals with the genealogical history of Southern families whose Colonial forefathers were established in the Colonies before the formation of the thirteen original states." There are sixty-six family headings, arranged alphabetically. Hake, David. "The Colonial Experience." New York: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1966. Hawke covers the period from the discovery of the North American continent to the year 1788. In short, the complete colonial era. It is extremely thorough, and highly recommended for the more serious student of colonial history. Hotten, John Camden, ed. "Lists of Emigrants to America, 1600-1700." 3rd ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968. This compilation Of lists is drawn from ships' Passenger records. The compiler emphasizes that the lists are by no means complete. It cannot be doubted but that other lists were made, but they are either lost, or are among the mass of papers still uncatalogued at the Record Office." Also, these are only the names of those who left England legally; many people, those who left to avoid paying a subsidy to the crown, or to avoid taking the oath of allegiance, did so secretly. Parish records, patents, deeds, and land grant records supplement the ships’ lists. Jacobus, Donald Lines. "Index to Genealogical Periodicals." 3 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1963. This is a first-rate genealogical aid. It is divided into two sections: first, surnames, and second, Places and subjects. Jester, Annie Lash, and Hilden, Martha Woodroof, comps. "Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1625." 2nd ed. 1964. - 34 - Genealogical, biographical, and historical material. Contains lineages. Jones, Maldwyn Allen. "American Immigration." Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967. An extremely thorough treatment of all phases of American immigration from 1607 to 1959. Kaminkow, Jack, and Kaminkow, Marion, eds. "A List of Emigrants from England to America, 1718-1759. Baltimore: Magna Carta Book Co., 1964. Listing of indentured servants. Gives name, age, sex, place of origin, date, of indenture, length of indenture, and destination. Kaminkow,. Jack, and Kaminkow, Marion, eds. "Original Lists of Emigrants in Bondage from London to the American Colonies, 1719-1744." Baltimore: Magna Carta Book Co., 1967. A listing of those who were transported (see footnote in preceding pages). Kennedy, John F. "A Nation of Immigrants." New York: Harper & Row, 1964. A highly readable short history and discussion of American immigration. Photographs. Lancour, Harold. A Bibliography of Ship Passenger Lists, 1538-1825. 3rd ed. Revised by Richard J. Wolfe, New York: New York Public Library, 1938. Invaluable aid in ancestor-hunting. Mackenzie, George Norbury, ed. "Colonial Families of the United States of America. 7 vots. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1966 This work is devoted exclusively to families who trace their ancestry back to the colonial period-from the time of the settlement of Jamestown, 13 May 1607, to the Battle of Lexington, 19 April 1775. It gives the history, genealogy, and armorial bearings of colonial families in the American colonies, and is a standard work of genealogical reference for persons interested in their family histories and for logical genealogical researchers. McCracken, George E. "The Welcome claimants: Proved, Disproved, and Doubtful." Penn's Colony: Genealogical and Historical Materials Relating to the Settlement of Pennsylvania, vol. 2. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970. Companion volume to the work by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., listed below. Nicholson, Cregoe, D. P. "Some Early Emigrants to America; also Early - 35 - Emigrants to America from Liverpool." Abstracted by R. Sharpe France. Reprinted from "Genealogists' Magazine" 12 and 13 (1955-1958). Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965. Covers more than 1,000 emigrants who came between the years 1683 and 1686. Indexed. Nugent, Nell Marion. "Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1622-1666." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969. Gives full names of the grantees and patentees, the number of acres, locations and dates of settlement, names of relatives and relationships, and also includes the names of those transported or brought over by the early settlers. Peirce, Ebenezer W. "Civil, Military, and Professional Lists of Plymouth and Rhode Island Colonies, 1621-1700." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968. A ready reference book in which the names of colonial county and town officers and professional men are presented concisely and in a convenient form. Pittman, Hannah D., ed. "Americans of Gentle Birth and Their Ancestors." 2 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970. Originally published in 1903, this two-volume set contains lineages for numerous families of the time, tracing them back to colonial days. Rupp, I. Daniel. "A Collection of Upwards of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and Other Immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776." 2nd ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1971. Lists names of ships, ports of embarkation, and dates of arrival in Philadelphia. Indexed. Savage, James. "Genealogical Dictionary of New England." 5th ed. 4 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969. This four-volume work was originally published in 1860, and attempts to give the lineages of all settlers in New England who arrived in or prior to 1692 "without regard to rank or wealth." The set is arranged alphabetically by family name. Schultz, Harold John. "History of England." New York: Barnes & Noble, 1968. An outline of English history, complete with many maps and useful bibliographies. Sheppard, Walter Lee, Jr. "Passengers and Ships Prior to 1684." Penn's Colony: Genealogical and Historical Materials Relating to the Settlement of Pennsylvania, vol. 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970. - 36 - Generously footnoted and indexed. An excellent reference. Thompson, Henry F. "An Atlantic Voyage in the Seventeenth Century." Maryland Historical Magazine 2(1907):319-326. The Maryland Historical Magazine is published quarterly, and contains a wealth of biographical, historical, and genealogical information. Tunis, Edwin. "Colonial Living." Cleveland: The World Publishing Co., 1957. This profusely illustrated volume deals with everyday Life in America during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. Virtually every aspect is covered, from weaving to house-building, and from education to hat-making. Virkus, Frederick A., ed. "The Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy." 2nd ed. 7 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968. The first volume alone of this seven-volume set lists more than 7,000 lineages of American families, the principal object being to compress into one source all available information on the ancestry of those who are able to trace themselves back to the earliest days of our country. Whittemore, Henry. "Genealogical Guide to the Early Settlers of America." Excerpted and reprinted from "The Spirit of '76" vols. 5-12 (September 1898 - June 1906):6. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967. Alphabetical listing up to and including the name Prior. - 37 - [Chapter 3] Early Marriage Records All genealogists will agree that one valuable, indeed one indispensable tool in constructing lineages, or "family trees," is something that is free of charge to everyone: marriage records. For the price of a stamp, one can obtain marriage information from any courthouse in the country, providing he furnishes enough particulars (such as the name of at least one of the couple and an approximate date) to enable the town or county clerk to locate the records; a list of sources of marriage records for every state maintaining such information is provided in Appendix 2. Oftentimes, though, we don't have even this bare minimum of information at our disposal. Other times, we may have a name and date, but no location-no idea of where the marriage took place, except that it was in a certain state. More often than not, early marriages, especially those dating back to colonial times, present particularly difficult problems. This is only inevitable, since, as the generations have rolled inexorably onward, countless family records, both oral and written have been lost to historical oblivion. This is due in large part to the numerous American migrations, but also due to the nature of time itself. An event becomes a memory, and a memory, after having been passed on for a time, all too often is eventually forgotten. The following listing of some Coleman marriages in America prior to 1700 will, it is hoped, prove to be a helpful aid to those members of the family who wish either to begin or to continue research of their own. - 38 - (Figure 5) A Colonial Wedding. This colonial marriage ceremony took place at Plymouth in 1695 and probably was very much like, if not identical to, the weddings of members of the Coleman family in the same period. - 39 - Hannah Coleman; married Thomas Nash in August 1685, in Hadley, Massachusetts. Hanry Coleman; married Mary Meade in December 1691 in New York City. Henry Coleman; married Elenor Hunt on 27 July 1698 in New York. John Coleman; married Hannah Wright on 24 April 1695 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Mary Coleman; married Peter Montague on 16 September 1680 in Hadley, Massachusetts. Noah Coleman; married Mary Crow on 27 December 1666 in Hadley, Massachusetts. William Coleman; married Bridget Roe (widow) on 14 November 1662 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. References The following two books may be helpful in beginning a search for marriage records; they are two of the most comprehensive sources available, and should be consulted before searching the various state records. Bolton, Charles K. "Marriage Notices, 1785-1794, for the Whole United States." Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965. Copied from the "Massachusetts" and the "Columbian Centinels", the book provides marriage records in the form common to newspaper announcements. Clernens, William Montgomery, ed. "American Marriage Records Before 1699." Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967. Covers marriages in the first colonies, arranged in an alphabetic listing giving name, date, and place of marriage. - 40 - [Chapter] 4 CENSUS OF 1790 On 1 March 1790, President George Washington signed into law the first Census Act of the United States of America. The responsibility for deter- mining the manner in which the first complete listing of the inhabitants of the country was to be compiled was placed upon the president himself. Although historians are still not certain exactly what method the president used, it is commonly assumed that he delegated the major responsibility for its enactment to the marshals of the several existing judicial districts. The instructions in the law were to ascertain the number of inhabitants of each county or district in the thirteen states that existed at the time; to indicate the sex and color of these persons; and to enumerate the free males sixteen years of age and over. Indians, not being taxed, were not included, and a careful distinction was made between free inhabitants and slaves (including indentured servants bound to service for only a short period of time). Although the Constitution called only for a simple enu- meration of the inhabitants of the land, the census of 1790 was undoubt- edly used to obtain knowledge of the military strength and industrial potential of the country. The actual compiling of the census was a very difficult and often dangerous task. Enormous areas of the eastern portion of the country were still wilderness and even in the most heavily populated areas, transportation was primitive and unreliable. As a result, the schedules obtained in this first census were not altogether consistent in their content and CENSUS OF 1790/41 form. They are, however, considered accurate and complete. Unfortunately, the Capitol was burned by the British forces during the War of 1812, and the schedules for the areas that constituted the present states of Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Virginia were destroyed. The records which escaped destruction have proven inestimably valuable, for they show a complete listing of the heads of all families living in the United States at the time of the adoption of the Constitution. These schedules contain over 400,000 names, and since each family averages six persons, historians have estimated the population of the country in 1790 to have been approximately 3,231,533. Below are listed the names of all the heads of families bearing the name Coleman in twelve of the thirteen original states (the schedules of Delaware having been destroyed in 1812 and those of Virginia having been reconstructed from state enumerations taken in the years 1782, 1783, and 1785). The list numbers over 350 family heads in the states of Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia. Following the name is the county or district (in the case of North and South Carolina) of domicile of the particular individual. Additional names from a reconstructed 1800 census schedule (compiled from lists of taxpayers) for the state of Kentucky are also included. Connecticut Coleman, Aaron Litchfield Coleman, Ambrus New London Coleman, Asa Tolland Coleman, Asaph Hartford Coleman, Daniel New London Coleman, Ebenezer New London Coleman, Ebenezer, Jr Tolland Coleman, Jason Windham Coleman, John New London Coleman, John Windham Coleman, John, Jr Windham Coleman, Josiah Middlesex Coleman, Levy Tolland Coleman, Nath Tolland Coleman, Noah Windham Coleman, Petig Hartford Coleman, Samuel Tolland Coleman, Thomas Hartford Coleman, Tim Tolland Coleman, --- Tolland Kentucky Coleman, Archibald Jessamine Coleman, Benjamin Harrison Coleman, Daniel Clark Coleman, Daniel Henry Coleman, Daniet Sr Clark Coleman, Edward Harrison Coleman, Frances Harrison Coleman, George Ohio Coleman, Henry Ohio Coleman, James Harrison Coleman, James Nelson Coleman, James Woodford Coleman, John Montgomery Coleman, Joseph Barren Coleman, Julius Pendleton Coleman, Madison Harrison Coleman, Martin Ohio Coleman, Martin, Sr Ohio Coleman, Nathan Nelson Coleman, Page Barren Coleman, Peter Jessamine Coleman, Robert Clark Coleman, Robert Fayette Coleman, Robert Jefferson Coleman, Robert Muhlenberg Coleman, Robert Warren Coleman, Thomas Fayette Coleman, Thomas Warren Coleman, Thomas Woodford Coleman, William Clark Coleman, William Harrison Maine Maryland Coleman, Charles H Cecil Coleman, Darius Kent Coleman, George Hartford Coleman, John Hartford Coleman, Nathan Kent Coleman, Nicholas Talbot Coleman, Richard Queen Arms Coleman, William Queen Arms Massachusetts Coleman, Alanson Bristol Coleman, Anne Essex Coleman, Barnabas Nantucket Coleman, Barzilia Nantucket Coleman, Benjamin Essex Coleman, Benjamin Essex Coleman, Betty Essex Coleman, Christ Nantucket Coleman, Daniel Nantucket Coleman, David Nantucket Coleman, Ebenezer Barnstable Coleman, Ebenezer Nantucket Coleman, Edward Barnstable Coleman, Enoch Nantucket Coleman, Francis Nantucket Coleman, George Nantucket Coleman, George Nantucket Coleman, Huldah Nantucket Coleman, Isaac Suffolk Coleman, James Barnstable Coleman, James Barnstable Coleman, James Bristol Coleman, Jeremiah Nantucket Coleman, Job Nantucket Coleman, Job Worcester Coleman, John Essex Coleman, John Nantucket Coleman, John Worcester Coleman, John, Jr Worcester Coleman, Jonathan Nantucket Coleman, Joseph Plymouth Coleman, Mathew Nantucket Coleman, Moses Essex Coleman, Nath Barnstable Coleman, Nathaniel Hampshire Coleman, Nath Nantucket Coleman, Obed Nantucket Coleman, Owen Nantucket Coleman, Peleg Nantucket Coleman, Prince Nantucket Coleman, Ruben Nantucket Coleman, Samuel Essex Coleman, Shubal Nantucket Coleman, Silvanus Nantucket Coleman, Silvanus Nantucket Coleman, Simeon Nantucket Coleman, Solomon Nantucket Coleman, Solomon, Jr. Nantucket Coleman, Stephen Nantucket Coleman, Thadeus Worcester Coleman, Thomas Barnstable Coleman, Thomas Plymouth Coleman, Thomas Plymouth Coleman, Timothy Middlesex Coleman, William Essex Coleman, William Nantucket Coleman, William Suffolk New Hampshire Coleman, Aaron Cheshire Coleman, John Rockingham Coleman, John Rockingham Coleman, Joseph Rockingham Coleman, Martha Rockingham Coleman, Phinehas Rockingham Coleman, Solomon Hillsborough New York Coleman, Abner Orange Coleman, Asael Orange Coleman, Benjamin Suffolk Coleman, Caleb Orange Coleman, Charles Dutchess Coleman, Christopher Orange Coleman, David Ulster Coleman, Duncan Ulster Coleman, Elihu Kings Coleman, George Orange Coleman, Gideon Orange Coleman, Gilbert W New York Coleman, Israel Ulster Coleman, Jethro Dutchess Coleman, Joab Orange Coleman, Joel Orange Coleman, John Clinton Coleman, John Dutchess Coleman, John Orange Coleman, John Orange Coleman, John Ulster Coleman, Jonathan Ulster Coleman, Kezia Ulster Coleman, Micah Orange Coleman, Nathan Orange Coleman, Oziar Washington Coleman, Oziar, Jr Washington Coleman, Richard Orange Coleman, Samuel Orange Coleman, Samuel Ulster Coleman, Silas Orange Coleman, Thomas Orange Coleman, Thomas, Jr Orange Coleman, William Orange Coleman, William Ulster North Carolina Coleman, Aaron Halifax Coleman, Aaron Halifax Coleman, Benjamin Newbern Coleman, Charles Halifax Coleman, Charles Salisbury Coleman, Daniel Hillsborough Coleman, Dolly Fayette Coleman, Edward Halifax Coleman, Elias Newbern Coleman, Elijah Newbern Coleman, Hardy Halifax Coleman, Isaac Newbern Coleman, James Fayette Coleman, James Newbem Coleman, Jesse Fayette Coleman, John Coleman, John Halifax Coleman, John Hillsborough Coleman, Josiah Halifax Coleman, Mark Salisbury Coleman, Moses Halifax Coleman, Peter Salisbury Coleman, Phillip Salisbury Coleman, Richard Hillsborough Coleman, Robert Halifax Coleman, Robert Halifax Coleman, Robert Halifax Coleman, Robert Salisbury Coleman, Samuel Salisbury Coleman, Samuel Newbern Coleman, Sarah Halifax Coleman, Spillsby Hillsborough Coleman, Stephen Halifax Coleman, Stephen Halifax Coleman, Theophilus Halifax Coleman, Thomas Newbern Coleman, William Newbem Coleman, William Salisbury Pennsylvania Coleman, Adam Philadelphia Coleman, Benjamin Northampton Coleman, Burkhart Berks Coleman, Catherine Montgomery Coleman, Charles Bucks Coleman, Charles Dauphin Coleman, Charles Dauphin Coleman, Charles Dauphin Coleman, Daniel Philadelphia Coleman, Isaac Chester Coleman, Jacob Berks Coleman, Jacob Dauphin Coleman, Jacob Northampton Coleman, James Bucks Coleman, James Bucks Coleman, Jeremiah Luzerne Coleman, Joel Luzerne Coleman, John Dauphin Coleman, John Delaware Coleman, John Northumberland Coleman, Jonathan Northampton Coleman, Kitty Philadelphia Coleman, Leanard Washington Coleman, Nath Washington Coleman, Philip Allegheny Coleman, Philip Philadelphia Coleman, Philip Philadelphia Coleman, Robert Lancaster Coleman, Samuel Luzerne Coleman, Samuel Northampton Coleman, Thomas Luzeme Coleman, Thomas Philadelphia Coleman, Timothy Luzerne Coleman, William Berks Coleman, William Philadelphia Rhode Island Coleman, Ebor Providence Coleman, John Providence Coleman, --- Providence South Carolina Coleman, Aber Ninety-six Coleman, David Camden Coleman, Francis Ninety-six Coleman, George Ninety-six Coleman, Hezekiah Ninety-six Coleman, Jacob Georgetown Coleman, James Charleston Coleman, James Cheraw Coleman, John Ninety-six Coleman, Joseph Ninety-six Coleman, Michael Ninety-six Coleman, Robert Camden Coleman, Robert Georgetown Coleman, Robert Ninety-six Coleman, Robert, Sr Camden Coleman, Richard Camden Coleman, Richard Ninety-six Coleman, Sampson Georgetown Coleman, Samuel Georgetown Coleman, Thomas Camden Coleman, William Camden Coleman, William Ninety-six Coleman, William Ninety-six Vermont Coleman, Antony Rutland Coleman, John Rutland Coleman, Joshua Windham Virginia Coleman, Abraham Amelia Coleman, Benjamin Amherst Coleman, Benjamin Amherst Coleman, Burwell Amelia Coleman, Cluverius Mecklenburg Coleman, Cluverius Mecklenburg Coleman, Daniel Charlotte Coleman, Daniel, Jr. Amelia Coleman, Elizabeth Charlotte Coleman, Elizabeth Amherst Coleman, Elizabeth Amherst Coleman, Elliot Gloucester Coleman, Francis Amelia Coleman, George Amherst Coleman, George Amherst Coleman, Gulleelmeis Gloucester Coleman, Isaac Amelia Coleman, Jacob Shenandoah Coleman, James Mecklenburg Coleman, James Northumberland Coleman, James Orange Coleman, James Pittsylvania Coleman, James Albemarle Coleman, James Harrison Coleman, James Orange Coleman, James Orange Coleman, James Orange Coleman, Jesse Amelia Coleman, John Charlotte Coleman, John Halifax Coleman, John Amherst Coleman, John Daniel Amherst Coleman, John Halifax Coleman, Joseph Charlotte Coleman, Joseph Northumberland Coleman, Joseph Northumberland Coleman, Joseph Amelia Coleman, Lindsey Chesterfield Coleman, Milley Amherst Coleman, Parmenus Gloucester Coleman, Patience Charlotte Coleman, Patience Gloucester Coleman, Peter Amelia Coleman, Richard Mecklenburg Coleman, Richard Nansemond Coleman, Stephen Pittsylvania Coleman, Stephen Pittsylvania Coleman, Sutten Amelia Coleman, Thomas Cumberland Coleman, Thomas Northumberland Coleman, Thomas Richmond Coleman, Thomas Gloucester Coleman, Thomas Orange Coleman, William Cumberland Coleman, William Gloucester Coleman, William Albemarle Coleman, William Orange References The following is a list of books of the first census in most of the original colonies. These sources are essential in establishing the early residence of any head of family in colonial America. Clift, Glenn C. "Second Census" of Kentucky 1800. A Privately Compiled and Published Enumeration of Taxpayers Appearing in the 79 manuscript Columns Extant of Tax Lists of the 42 Counties of Kentucky in Existence in 1800. 1954. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970. Surname listing of inhabitants with county of residence and tax date list. Heads of families only. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790. Connecticut. 1908. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1966. Facsimile reprint of the first Connecticut census, divided by county with surname index. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Heads Of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790. Maine. 1908. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1966. Facsimile reprint of the first Maine census, divided by county with surname index. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Heads Of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790. Maryland. 1907. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1972. Facsimile reprint of the first Maryland census, divided by county with surname index. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Heads Of Families at the First Census of the 46/COLEMANFAMILY United States Taken in the Year 1790. Massachusetts. 1908. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1966. Facsimile reprint of the first Massachusetts census, divided by county with surname index. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790. New Hampshire. 1907. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1966. Facsimile reprint of the first New Hampshire census, divided by county with surname index. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790. New York. 1908. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1 97 1. Facsimile reprint of the first New York census, divided by county with surname index. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1 790. North Carolina. 1908. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1966. Facsimile reprint of the first North Carolina census, divided by county with surname index. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Heads of Families at the First Census of the United Siates Taken in the Year 1790. Pennsylvania. 1908. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970. Facsimile reprint of the first Pennsylvania census, divided by county with surname index. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1 790. Rhode Island. 1908. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1966. Facsimile reprint of the first Rhode Island census, divided by county with surname index. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790. South Carolina. 1908. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1972. Facsimile reprint of the first South Carolina census, divided by county with surname index. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790. Vermont. 1907. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1966. Facsimile reprint of the first Vermont census, divided by county with surname index. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Heads of Families at the First Census of the CENSUS OF 1790/47 United States Taken in the Year 1790. Records of the State Enumerations: 1782 to 1785. Virginia. 1908. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970. Facsimile reprint of the first Virginia census, divided by county with surname index. 48/COLEMAN FAMILY [Chapter] 5 Patriots and their Ancestors An interest in one's ancestry is in essence an inquiry into history. The vast collections of military records located in the National Archives and the Library of Congress are a primary source for gaining a clear understanding of many men's roles in making history. These documents are a crucial instrument in laying the foundation for a genealogical study of the Coleman family. Furthermore, because these records are both reliable and thorough, they are used to accredit membership in such patriotic societies as the Daughters of the American Revolution. Entries in military records range from a simple listing of a soldier's first and last names to such information as the dates and places of his birth and death, his wife's and children's names, the date of his enlistment or commission, his rank and promotions, the unit in which he served, and in some cases, his pension award. For an accurate reading of the information provided in the military archives, an understanding of the organization of these files is necessary: military records are divided into two categories, service records and veterans' benefits records. While the benefits records as a rule provide the most data, both categories are at times incomplete because some records were destroyed in the burning of Washington, D.C., on 8 November 1800 and on 24 August 1814. Despite this loss, military records in the National Archives date as far back as 1775. As an aid in penetrating the volumes of available data, a discussion of their systematization is necessary. PATRIOTS AND VETERANS/49 The following military organizations all have service records: the Regular Army, the United States Navy, the Marine Corps, volunteer organizations, and the armed forces of the Confederate States of America. Records of military service are taken from muster rolls, registers of commissions and enlistments, hospital rolls, burial records, and in the case of the Civil War, from prison, parole, and amnesty records. Service records of the Regular Army cover the years 1800-1912 (some as early as 1784 relating to the army of the Congress of the Confederation) and pertain to commissioned officers, United States Military Academy cadets, and enlisted men. Those records relating to commissioned officers are in three forms: personal papers', registers of commissions, and military histories. The personal papers include commission acceptances, oaths of office, and transfer requests, and are arranged according to the year in which the papers were received by the Adjutant General's Office. Registers of commissions are contained in twenty-four volumes and registers of brevet commissions in six volumes. A name index is in each volume and the registers include such data as the officer's name, commission date, tank, and if applicable, brevet citation. The third documentation of commissioned officers, the military histories, contains citations to the files on which the histories are based and is prepared in two indexed volumes. The second category included in the service records of the Regular Army refers to cadets of the United States Military Academy. These records consist of application papers, recommendations, and parental consents. These papers provide such genealogical information as the cadet's name, age, place of residence, parents' names, and family back- ground. The final category of the Regular Army service records relates to enlisted men and is taken from muster rolls, enlistment papers, and registers of enlistments. Muster rolls are lists of troops present on the dates of muster, thus constituting the basic evidence of military service. Enlistment papers are arranged alphabetically within a given time period (1792-1820, 1821-1894, and 1894-1912) and give a soldier's name, place and date of birth, occupation and personal description, place and date of enlistment, and military organization. Registers of enlistments vary in detail but in general include such information as place and period of enlistment, nature of service termination, place of birth, and occupation. The records are contained in 140 volumes and on microfilm. They are arranged chronologically by date of enlistment and each chronological grouping is then arranged alphabetically. Because the muster rolls are not _50/COLEMAN FAMILY indexed and often contain less information than enlistment records, using these enlistment registers is most often the best method of identifying an enlisted man's service in the Regular Army. Service records of the United States Navy cover the years 1798 to 1885 and are arranged in a manner similar to those of the Regular Army: records for commissioned officers, for cadets, for enlisted men, and for naval apprentices. Records for commissioned officers are divided into several categories by year. The two volumes of records for 1842-1843, for instance, are statements of service written by officers largely from memory and are in response to questionnaires. Records of officers in lettered volumes are abstracts of service records taken from appointment letters, orders, and resignations, and relate to most officers who served at any time during the period 1798 to 1893. Records of officers in numbered volumes concern the years 1896 to 1902. Both sets of volumes include such information as the officer's name, appointment date, promotion dates, stations where he was assigned, nature and date of service termination, and date and place of death. Records relating to cadets or midshipmen commence with the establishment of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis on 10 October 1845 and contain registers of admissions and records of appointees. They give such genealogical information as the candidate's name and signature, age or date of birth, residence and parents' occupation. The years 1798 to 1885 are those chiefly covered in the service records relating to naval enlisted men. These records include muster and pay rolls of vessels and of shore establishments, and registers of enlistment. Each volume of the muster and pay rolls of vessels relates to a single vessel and entries for each volume are arranged chronologically. The volumes relating to shore establishments are arranged alphabetically by name of the shore establishment. Registers of enlistments are indexed records chiefly for the years 1845 to 1854, giving the enlisted man's name, birth place and age, and date and place of enlistment. Naval apprentice records, the last division under service records of the United States Navy, are dated chiefly 1837 to 1839, and are based on an act of 2 March 1837 that permitted boys from age thirteen to eighteen to enlist and serve until they were twenty-one. The records include certificates of parental consent, apprenticeship papers, and a register of naval apprentices. Service records of the Marine Corps are primarily for the years 1798 to 1895 and relate to both officers and enlisted men. Those pertaining to _ PATRI0TS AND VETERANS 51 officers include letters of acceptance, age certificates, a register of living and retired officers, and card records of the names of officers who served during the years 1798 to 1941. The three volumes of acceptance letters also include many oaths of allegiance and some letters give the officer's residence. The indexed register of living and retired officers focuses on officers who served between 1899 and 1905. The alphabetized card records give the officer's name, rank, and date of appointment. The records relating to enlisted men include service records, card abstracts of service records, and card records. The card records serve as an index to the service records (enlistment papers, medical records, and documents of correspondence) and each card shows the enlisted man's name, date, and place of enlistment. The card abstracts pertain to World War I and include the man's birth date and place, his rank and promotions, and the date of service termination. Military service records of volunteer organizations relate to volunteer officers and men, and to drafted men who served in the post-Revolu- tionary War period, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War. They include compiled military service records and documents in correspondence files. These compiled records of volun- teer organizations are based on muster rolls, hospital rolls, and lists of deserters, and are arranged by war. Those for the post-Revolutionary War period show a man's name, rank, unit, dates of service, and occasionally, the name of the state from which he served. Records for the War of 1812 give the same data and are arranged by name of state, thereunder by military organization, and finally by the soldier's name. Records of Indian and related wars are dated 1817 to 1858 and include a name and state index. They take in service in the Florida War, the Seminole War, the Black Hawk War, the Creek War, the Cherokee War, and the Sac and Fox War. The records of the Mexican War are chiefly card abstracts which are arranged alphabetically by name of state, and some of these records include histories of the military organizations. Records of the Union forces of the Civil War include prisoner-of-war papers, hospital rolls, voluntary enlistment papers, and death reports. For some soldiers the file contains a voluntary enlistment paper that gives his age, place of birth, occupation, and personal description. These military service records usually do not indicate the battles in which a soldier fought. However, they do show what regiment he was in and for what time he served in this regiment. By using Frederick H. Dyer's A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, one can determine which regiments took part in a particular battle and, accord- ingly, whether a particular soldier was in that regiment at that time. _52/COLEMAN FAMILY The draft records of the Civil War can also be found in the National Archives. The draft for the Civil War was created by an act of Congress approved on 3 March 1863, and affected men residing in the states controlled by the United States. The records (consolidated lists and descriptive rolls) show a man's name, age, residence, occupation, marital status, and birth place. Compiled service records of the Spanish-American War are dated 1898-1899 and include such information as a soldier's name, rank, military organization, dates of service, birth place, place of residence, and occupation. The compiled military service records of the Confederate States of America are taken from Union prison and parole records and from such Confederate records as muster rolls, rosters, payrolls, and hospital registers. They refer to officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted men. Most of the records are arranged alphabetically by state and have been microfilmed. The records include such data as the soldier's name, regiment, rank and promotions, dates of service, occupation, and personal description. There are also compiled hospital and prison records relating to naval and marine personnel of the Confederate states which have been microfilmed. Military service records, obviously, are a reliable means of verifying patriotic service. With a preliminary knowledge of where these records are located and how they can best be used, one can accurately trace his family's role in serving his country. However, to the genealogists and even to the curious citizen, the scope of these records appears somewhat limited. Another possible research approach directs you to the veterans' benefits records, the second category of military records found in the National Archives. Pension records not only affirm service, but also present genealogical information that helps the researcher gain a broader understanding of the man in uniform. He is no longer simply a name and a rank-with the data provided in most veterans' benefits tiles, his own distinct identity emerges, for he can be seen not only in the national context, but also in his family's corn text. Records of veterans' benefits in the National Archives encompass army, navy, and marine service performed between 1775 and 1934, with the exception of Confederate and World War I service. The four types of veterans' benefits are pensions, bounty-land warrants, naval prizes, and domiciliary care. The first of these, pensions, are granted by Congress and are perhaps the greatest benefit a country can offer its dedicated citizens. To qualify _ PATRIOTS AND VETERANS/53 for a pension a soldier had to show proof of military service. In this sense it is easy to see the reciprocal relationship of service records and veterans' benefits records. The first pension acts, while discussed in the Continental Congress, were actually prepared individually by each state. Nonetheless, members of Congress initiated the program, and as early as 26 August 1776 established firm guidelines for their enactment. On that day Congress resolved: That every commissioned officer, non-commissioned officer, and private soldier, who shall lose a limb in any engagement, or be so disabled in the service of the United States of America as to render him incapable afterwards of getting a livelihood, shall receive, during his life, or the continuance of such disability, the one half of his monthly pay from and after the time that his pay as an officer or soldier ceases; to be paid by the committee as hereafter mentioned. That every commissioned officer, non-commissioned officer and private soldier, in the army, and every commander, commis- sioned officer, warrant officer, marine, or seaman of any of the ships of war, or armed vessels belonging to the United States of America, who shall be wounded in any engagement, so as to be rendered incapable of serving in the army or navy, though not totally disabled from getting a livelihood, shall receive such monthly sum towards his subsistence as shall be judged adequate by the assembly or other representative body of the state where he belongs or resides, upon application to them for that purpose, provided the same doth not exceed half his pay. No [one I ... shall be entitled to his half pay or other allowance, unless he produce to the committee or officer appointed to receive the same, in the state where he resides or belongs, or to the assembly or legislative body of such state, a certificate from the commanding officer, who was in the same engagement in which he was wounded, or, in case of death, from some other officer of the same corps, and the surgeon that attended him, or a certificate from the commander of the ship of war or armed vessel engaged in the action,. . of the name of the person so wounded, his office, rank, department, regiment, company, ship of war, or armed vessel, to which he belonged, his office or rank therein, the nature of his wound, and in what action or engagement he received it. That it be recommended to the several assemblies or legislative bodies of the United States of America, to appoint some person or persons in their respective states, who shall receive and examine all such certificates, as may be presented to them, and register the same in a book ... and shall make a fair and regular report of the same quarterly to the secretary of _54/COLEMAN FAMILY Congress or Board of War where a separate record shall be kept of the same. That it be recommended to the assemblies or legislative bodies of the several states, to cause payment to be made of all such half pay or other allowances as shall be adjudged due to the persons aforementioned, on account of the United States. These resolutions were again emphasized in the Continental Congress on 7 June 1785. Congress outlined in a number of steps the procedures to be taken by each state in granting pensions. Congress firmly suggested that each state make provisions for its disabled veterans: first, by making an inclusive list with the name, age, regiment, corps or ship of each invalid and transmitting this list to the Secretary of War; second, that in estab- lishing the claimant's validity no one be considered without a certificate from the commanding officer or surgeon; third, to establish the proper guidelines for making the pension payment commensurate with the degree of disability and with the rank of the disabled; and, finally, that each state appoint one or more persons for the sole purpose of examining the claims. Under a similar resolution of 29 September 1789, the federal government temporarily (and later permanently) assumed the responsibility for paying. these pensions for invalids. Later acts broadened the qualifications and extended the benefits to a far greater number of veterans. Pension documentation in the National Archives is divided into pension application records and pension payment records. The following list of people could by law apply for pensions: disabled veterans; veterans who served a minimum period of time, if they were living at an advanced! age; elderly widows and, in some cases, other heirs of such veterans; widows and orphans of men killed in service. Often more than one claim was made for the same service and these claims are consolidated in one file. (The letter W as the first part of the file number is used to indicate that a veteran's widow applied for the pension.) Each pension claim was usually based on a single act of Congress. Pensions granted on the basis of dis- ability or death incurred in service are called disability or death pensions; those granted on the basis of minimum period of service are called service pensions. A claims file includes the pension application, documents 9 proof of identity and service, and evidence of action taken on the claim. There are literally millions of pension applications, but all are indexed either alphabetically by name of veteran, alphabetically in the remarried widows index, or by application or certificate number (which also has the name index attached). The files are divided into the seven following series _ PATRIOTS AND VETERANS/55 Revolutionary War invalid series; Revolutionary War service series; Old Wars series; War of 1812 series; Mexican War series; Civil War and later series; and In than wars series. The two-part Revolutionary series will be discussed in detail later. The Old Wars series of pension applications includes claims for service in the Mexican War, the Indian wars, and in some cages, the Civil War. The first act of Congress under which these applications were made was passed on 30 April 1790. If the veteran made the claim, the file gives not only his rank, unit, and period of service, but also his age and place of residence. If the claimant was a widow, her age and residence is given as well as her maiden name, the date and place of her marriage to the veteran, and the date, place, and circumstances of the veteran's death. The War of 1812 series includes applications based on service between 1812 and 1815. These pensions were provided for by acts of Congress approved on 14 February 1871 and 9 March 1878. The first of these provided pensions to veterans who had served sixty days, provided they had not fought for the Confederacy, and the second provided pensions to veterans who had served fourteen days or in any engagement. Both acts provided pensions to widows of such veterans. Along with the afore- mentioned genealogical data, a widow's application also included the name of the official who performed the marriage ceremony. The Mexican War series includes applications based on service between 1846 and 1848. An act of Congress on 29 January 1887 provided pensions for veterans (and for their unremarried widows) who had served sixty days. In this instance, a widow's claim also included the names and birth dates of living children. The Civil War and later series concerns service between 1861 and 1934, excluding Indian wars service, World War I service, and records relating to pensions still on the rolls. Most of the records included in this series pertain to the Civil War; and the relevant acts of Congress upon which the items are based are dated 14 July 1862, 25 January 1879, 27 June 1890, and 6 February 1907. The first of these acts granted pensions to disabled veterans or to widows, mothers, orphan sisters under sixteen, or children under sixteen of veterans who died in patriotic service. The second act extended benefits in connection with disability or death and the third extended benefits to some veterans who had served ninety days or more. The last act extended benefits to veterans who had reached the age of sixty-two and had served at least ninety days. The documents in this series that are of the greatest genealogical interest include the veteran and the _56/COLEMAN FAMILY Battle of Lexington. This 1859 engraving by Josephy Smillie depicts the fighting between British regulars under Major Pitcairn and the Massachusetts Minutemen on Lexington Green, 19 April 1775. The "shot heard 'round the world" opened a long and bloody war which saw many Coleman men, musket in hand, rush to the colors of their new nation. _ PATRI0TS AND VETERANS/57 widow's declaration, a personal history and family questionnaire, and a statement of service from the War or Navy department. The information included in each file varies depending upon which act the claim was filed under, but in general these files include the same type and amount of information as is found in the previously mentioned series. The Indian War series includes applications based on service in the Indian campaigns between 1817 and 1899. The Congressional acts under which claims were filed provided service pensions for veterans and for unremarried widows. As in the other series, the data in these files varies correspondingly to the act under which the claim was made. Again, the records include a personal history and family questionnaire, and other documents of genealogical interest. Pension payment records are kept in a Pension Office record book of payments and in a Treasury Department record book of payments. Both books catalogue the payments by year. Information provided in the Pension Office record book includes name and rank of the pensioner; name of the state in which payment was made; amount and commence- ment date of pension payment; the name of the agency through which payment was made; the date of the act under which payment was made; and in some instances, the date and circumstance of the pensioner's death. The Treasury Department record book contains basically the same data. For the quickest search, all available information in the related pension application file should be noted before trying to locate a payment entry, since payment entries for the most part are not initially filed alphabeti- cally by name. Land grants are another form of veterans' benefits by which the government rewards its patriots. Bounty-land warrants, granted to veterans or their heirs on the basis of military service performed between the years 1775 and 1855, are a right to free land in the public domain. Land grants were originally extended to Canadian and Novia Scotian refugees as well as to Americans. Later land use was restricted and only Americans were eligible for land grants. As in the case of pensions, military records were valuable in establishing claims for bounty-land warrants. The inducement of land grants, which encouraged westward migration, coincided with the passage of early land ordinances. Americans have always placed a high value on land. During and after the American Revolution many large states were broken up and sold. Laws of inheritance were changed so that all the children of a family, rather than just the oldest son, could have a part of the land. The early land-bounty warrants and land ordinances _58/COLEMAN FAMILY marked the emergence of what is often referred to as the pioneering spirit of Americans. The opportunity to explore and settle on undeveloped land presented a challenge that many Americans could not resist. Thus land- bounty warrants were an inducement for many men to serve in the military, as well as a reward for that service. Their influence and effect in changing the physical boundaries of this nation are immeasurable. While Congress- had previously granted land to specific individuals, the first public grant is dated 16 September 1776, at which time it was resolved: That Congress make provision for granting lands in the following proportions: to the officers and soldiers who shall so engage in the service, and continue therein to the close of the war, or until discharged by Congress, and to the representatives of such officers and soldiers as shall be slain by the enemy: Such lands to be provided by the United States, and what- ever expense shall be necessary to procure such land, the said expense shall be paid and borne by the states in the same proportion as the other expenses of war, viz: To a colonel, 500 acres; to a lieutenant colonel, 450; to a major, 400; to a captain, 300; to a lieutenant, 200; to an ensign, 150; each non-commissioned officer and soldier, 100. In a later session of Congress, on 22 October 1787, a specific tract of, land* was set aside for the purpose of supplying these land grants and curtailing unplanned, piecemeal development. Congress resolved: That a million of acres of land to be bounded east by the 7th range of townships, south by the land contracted for by the Cutler and Sargent and to extend north as far as the ranges of the townships and westward so far as to include the above quantity, also a tract to be bounded as follows beginning at the mouth of the river Ohio thence up the Mississippi to the river AuVasse, thence up the same unit until it meets a west line from the mouth of the little Wabash thence easterly with the said West line to the Great Wabash, thence down the same to the Ohio and thence with the Ohio to the place of beginning, be reserved and set aside for the purpose of satisfying the military bounties due to the late Army and that no locations other than for the said bounties be permitted within the said tract until they shall be fully satisfied. The bounty and warrant application file comprises documents related to claims for bounty-land based on an individual's military service. *The territorial boundaries described here outline what was later to become the state of Ohio. _ PATRIOTS AND VETERANS/59 Included in these records is a warrant application, a veteran's discharge certificate to substantiate his claim, and a record of whether or not his claim was approved. It is interesting to note that some of the bounty-land warrant claimants sold their rights to the land rather than move from a state to the public domain. The application records are divided into two principal series: the Revolutionary War series and the post-Revolutionary War series. Those of the Revolutionary War will be discussed later. The post-Revolutionary War series relates chiefly to the War of 1812, the Indian wars, and the Mexican War. Bounty-land benefits for veterans and their heirs after the Revolutionary War are based on numerous Congres- sional acts. The last act approved on 3 March 1855 was by far the most liberal. If a veteran had served in a battle or for 14 days he was eligible to receive 160 acres of land. The bounty-land warrant application files give such information as the soldier's name, rank, unit, period of service, age, residence, and occasionally, personal description. If the claim was filed by an heir, it also includes the name of the heir and the degree of relationship, and the place and date of the veteran's death. If the claim was approved, the file shows the warrant number, the number of acres granted, and the year of the corresponding Congressional act. A third type of veterans' benefit relates specifically to naval service- men. These special naval awards were usually in the form of prize money, awarded on the basis of prizes captured at sea during time of war. This series of claims includes half-pay files of Virginia naval officers of the Revolutionary War and claims of heirs of men lost at sea. In both instances the files contain such information as the maiden name oil the wife of the Naval serviceman, the date and place of their marriage, the place of her residence, or the identification of orphans or other heirs. The final category of veterans' benefits relates to federal homes records which encompass the years 1851 to 1935. The records pertain to servicemen who in their old age spent time in federal homes. They include the files of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (and its successor agency, the Veterans Administration) and of the United States Soldiers Home. The former was created by @n act of Congress dated 21 March 1866 and in 1930 was consolidated with similar agencies to form the Veterans Administration. The Home, with branches in several states, provided for honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines who served in United States forces. Information compiled in its registers includes the veterans' name, place of birth, age, personal description, religion, occupation, date of admittance, former residence, marital status, next-of-kin, and if he died at a Home, death date. The United States _60/COLEMAN FAMILY Soldiers' Home was created under an act of Congress dated 3 March 1851 and was originally called the Military Asylum. Its records include registers of inmates, a register of deaths, and copies of death certificates. These files show approximately the same genealogical information as those of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Both military service records and veterans' benefits records are an invaluable source for the genealogist. A man's service for Ws country inevitably becomes a dramatic part of American history not soon to be forgotten. The National Archives and the Library of Congress have provided you with the tools to reconstruct that history. As a member of the Coleman family, you can use these resources to delve into your own family's proud American origins. An advisable preliminary step in this search is to consult the Guide to Genealogical Records in the National Archives, written by Meredith B. Colket, Jr. and Frank E. Bridgers, and published by the National-Archives and Records Service. Not only does this manual discuss the types of military records located in the Archives, but it also gives the names of useful reference sources for additional, more detailed information. Starting with only your family name, the military records of the National Archives and supplementary works in the Library of Congress open the doors to your past. To present a thorough and accurate listing of all the members of the Coleman family who served this country during times of military conflict would be a far too voluminous undertaking for the scope of this book. For this reason we have selected to research your family in one war, the American Revolution. Hopefully, this presentation of the Coleman family members who took part in the American Revolution will stimulate and direct your interests to discovering more about your ancestors who did patriotic service at other times in American history. The methods and results of our research on your family's role in the American Revolution can easily be duplicated for other wars. As in the instances mentioned above, the military records of the American Revolution can be divided into service records and veterans' benefits records. The service records, dated 1775 to 1783, pertain to troops of the Continental army, state troops, and state militias, and were kept by the Adjutant General's Office-pay records were filed by the Treasury Department. The Adjutant General's Office obtained records from the departments of War, State, Treasury, and Interior to replace the original records which were destroyed by fire. They also obtained records from such officials as President George Washington and Secretary of War _ PATRIOTS AND VETERANS/61 Timothy Pickering. The compiled service records are based primarily on muster rolls and payrolls and give such information as the soldier's name, rank, military organization, dates of service, and in some cases the state from which the soldier served. Other sources of military service records are based on orderly books, rosters of soldiers, oaths of allegiance taken by officers, enlistment papers, and correspondence. The files also include photostats of records of individuals and of public and private institutions. The pay records of the Treasury Department include the company books of the 1st Regiment of New Jersey and the 1st Pennsylvania Line; the company book of Captain Aaron Ogden; and John Pierce's register of indebtedness certificates. Service records relating to Revolutionary officers and men of the Navy include record books and unbound papers assembled by the Navy Depart- ment, and records assembled by the War Department. The record books of the Navy Department include payrolls and rosters of the Continental ships Confederacy, Ranger, Bonhomme Richard, Pallas, and Vengeance. Data from these records includes the man's name and the vessel on which he served. The records compiled by the War Department concern payments to Revolutionary War naval servicemen and in addition to the above infor- mation, show the man's rank, dates of service, and payment due for service. Veterans' benefits records for the Revolutionary War include pension application and payment records, bounty-land warrant applications, and naval awards. Invalid Revolutionary War veterans made pension claims on the basis of several resolutions passed by Congress, as mentioned earlier. The original applications sent to the War Department were destroyed by fire, but reports based on these applications were made for Congress by the War Department. These reports give such information as name of the invalid pensioner and nature of his disability, rank, regiment, residence, and frequently, evidence of action on the claim. Service pension claims were based on several acts of Congress. The earlier service pension laws required not only proof of service, but also of need. Widows of veterans with the stipulated minimum service were entitled to pensions by an act approved on 4 July 1836. A service pension application file includes the veteran's name, age, birth place, place of residence, rank, unit, and period of service. If a widow applied, her maiden name is given, along with the date and place of her marriage, and the date and place of her husband's death. Pension payment records are found in both the Pension Office and the Treasury Department. Entries show the name and rank of the pensioner, the agency by which he was paid, and the amount of the payment. _62/COLEMAN FAMLY As noted previously, the Revolutionary War series of bounty-land warrants were based on several acts of Congress. Many Revolutionary War warrants based on acts prior to 1855 were converted into tracts of land in Ohio (a United States military district) or exchanged for scrip. By five Congressional acts originated in 1830, Congress provided that holders of unused Virginia warrants (offered by the state to its veterans) and unused United States Revolutionary War warrants could exchange them for scrip certificates. Scrip certificates did not limit the claimant to a geographical area within the public domain. The original land-bounty warrant applica- tion files dated 1789 to 1800 were burned, but were replaced by record books. A file contains such information as the veteran's name, age, residence, unit and dates of service, along with the name, age, and residence of the widow. If approved, the file gives the warrant number, date issued, and amount of land granted. Claim files for special Naval awards consist of the half-pay files of the Virginia naval officers of the Revolutionary War. These claims were based on a Congressional act dated 5 July 1832, which awarded Virginia naval officers one-half their pay from the termination of their service until their deaths. These records give similar information as found in the pension application fife, but with more detail on identification of heirs. At first glance the volumes of military records perhaps appear to lack the emotional appeal and human interest of other genealogical resources Yet the names, numbers, and dates of Revolutionary soldiers begin to take on significant substance when viewed in the context of America's develop- ment at that time. As early as 1763 colonists were beginning to resent the economic, political, and social restrictions imposed by Britain. In that yen Parliament passed the Greenville Program which placed tariffs on sugar and other commodities and virtually closed the frontier to further settlement Colonial societies called Sons of Liberty were formed actively to oppose these restraints. Parliament again enacted more extensive tariffs with the passage of the Townshend Acts of 1767. Included in these acts was the right of British custom officers to enforce these tariffs (the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act) by searching homes and by trying violators without a jury. The colonial protests gained momentum-whether as a reaction to 6 new duties (taxation without representation), to the enforcement methods, or the use made by Britain of the money collected from the revenues and provoked a riot on 5 March 1770 known as the Massacre. When colonists of Massachusetts destroyed cargoes of Boston harbor, Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts (so named _ PATRIOTS AND VETERANS/63 colonists) as a form of punishment. Britain stipulated that its soldiers on the American continent should be housed by colonists; that town meetings be banned in Massachusetts-, and that the Boston port be closed until payment was made by the colonists for the destroyed tea. These restrictions were an immediate factor in spurring the colonists to send fifty-six delegates to the first Continental Congress on 5 September 1774. The delegates prepared a Declaration of Rights and Grievances and agreed that the colonies should act as a united America in dealing with Britain and that the delegates of Congress would act as spokesmen. Less than a year later, the two countries met in conflict at Lexington and Concord where eight colonists were killed and ten wounded. A. B. Muzzey in his book Reminiscences and Memorials of Men of the Revolution and 7heir Families, first published in 1833, gives some clear insights into the mood of the colonists prior to and during this first encounter. In view of the threatening condition of the country, Captain John Parker had formed a military company of 130 names on its roll in Lexington. It is from this organization that the Minutemen gained their notable reputation. A Minuteman was a militia soldier ready at a moment's notice to defend his town-the Minutemen of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, are famous for their spirited resistance to the British regulars at the beginning of the American Revolution. As the 800 British soldiers marched to Concord through Lexington, Parker ordered his soldiers not to shoot unless fired upon, adding "but if they want a war, let it begin here." The struggle at Lexington and Concord laid the foundations of civil and religious liberty in America. Soon after, the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed at the Second Continental Congress on 4 July 1776. Yet despite the Confederation, the states continued to encourage local distinctions that promoted disunion and greatly affected the status of the military. State rivalries arose from conflicts over such issues as land claims and representation in Congress. Almost every state had its own navy. Each remained financially autonomous by printing its own currency and failing to collect taxes for Congress. At the same time Congress was forced to pay increasingly larger sums of Continental dollars. Money depreciated in value and prices soared. As a result, the army was without money and had bad credit. While the troops of Pennsylvania, for example, were well supplied, they did not share this prosperity with other state troops. Most soldiers were underclothed and underfed and officers, who had to pay their own living expenses, frequently could not make ends meet and were _64/COLEMAN FAMILY forced to return home. At times during the war, particularly in the winter of 1777, even General Washington had to confront suspicion from Congress and from the country. While the common soldier suffered most from the states' unwillingness to collaborate, a faction of civilians, the Loyalists, also paid the price of war. Farmers and merchants were a part of this group, but the majority of Loyalists were of the upper-class. Most had benefited from the British connection. Over 100,000 Loyalists left this country for Canada, England, and other countries. While Britain did offer pensions to many colonists who returned to England, most Loyalists lost all their land in America and received little or no compensation for the millions of acres that were confiscated by the states. Fighting lasted for six years. Although the military operations began in New England, the British offensive headed south and the war was necessarily fought by a unification of soldiers from the southern and middle states as well. The war finally ended on 19 October 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia, where General Cornwallis surrendered his British army. In the Treaty of Paris, signed 3 September 1783, England acknowledged the thirteen states as free and independent. The outcome of the American Revolution not only affected the soldiers on the battlefields, but altered the mood and trend of the society as well. With the exodus of the Loyalists, the establishment of a hereditary aristocracy was virtually eliminated. Attitudes toward the slave trade changed notably after the war and Americans for the first time experienced feelings of guilt in regard to the institution of slavery. While the climate was in fact changing, in one sense the war was initiated not to revolutionize the future, but to conserve the past. The states had been fighting a war in the name of liberty. That they should now be regulated by a central government appeared to them to hinder the. resolution of this goal. The old colonial pattern of states' rights continued to flourish after the war, and even today, with its roots in the Declaration of Independence, this colonial heritage is a strong element in American society. The victory of the American Revolution was more than just a military victory. These dedicated soldiers helped conceive the birth of a national whose ideals were government by the consent of the governed an individual liberty. As a member of the Coleman family, your ancestor who took part in the American Revolution will always be an inspiration for generations to come. _ PATRIOTS AND VETERANS/65 Specific sources used in the following compilation of the Coleman family's military history in the American Revolution include the DAR Patriot index; Max Ellsworth Hoyt's Index to Revolutionary War Pension Applications,- and Francis B. Heitman's Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution. These books were selected to begin the research because they are thorough, reliable, and well-organized. Cross-references have been made whenever possible; pension and warrant numbers are presented whenever available. While this system of compilation helps to validate entries, it at times duplicates entries because not all names have complete identifying information. How- ever, you will find that most of the entries on this list provide you with the essential data necessary to locate extensive genealogical data in the records of the National Archives. There are several supplementary sources wwch are not represented in this fist but which can be consulted in your genealogical and historical research. Charles Paullin's The Navy of the American Revolution presents an interesting account of the growth of the American navy. Lorenzo Sabine's Loyalists in the American Revolution thoroughly deals with the attitudes of colonists sympathetic to the British cause. A. B. Muzzey's Reminiscences and Testimonials of Men of the Revolution and Their Families details the lives of several prominent revolutionists. These and other research aids provide a sound historical background necessary for a constructive appreciation and application of the facts presented in the following list. It is hoped that the data included will give you the interest and the tools to continue your own research into the Coleman family during the Revolutionary War, or during any American war. Abner Coleman (born 29 September 1759, died 17 June 1834): private in a New York unit; married to Ruth Tuthill. Abraham Coleman (born around 1745146, died before 21 January 1801)-. private in a Virginia unit; married to Elizabeth Asaph Coleman (born 27 September 1747, died 15 November 1920)-. doctor in a Connecticut unit; married to Eunice Hollister. Benjamin Coleman (baptized 26 February 1720, died January 1797): private in a Massachusetts unit; married to Anne Brown. Benjamin Coleman (baptized 3 August 1749, died 12 October 18'-@6): private in a Massachusetts unit; married to Susannah Martin. _66/COLEMAN FAMILY Benjamin Coleman, Jr. (born 1757, died June 1843): private in a New Jersey unit; married to Adaline Smith. Benjamin Coleman, Jr. (born 16 April 1755, died 5 August 1832): private in a New York unit-, married to Hannah Finch. Benjamin Coleman, Sr. (born around 1725, died I June 1802): private in a New York unit; married to Hannah Wood; pension application (16918) submitted by Ws widow. Benjamin Coleman (born around 1753, died 17 May 1813): captain in a North Carolina unit; married to Elizabeth Goodman; bounty-land warrant (appl. 479) for 300 acres issued to Isaac Cole, assignee. Caleb Coleman (born 22 April 1745, died after 1789): private; performed patriotic service in New York; married to Desire Clark. Charles Coleman (born 25 January 1763, died February 1827): private in a Maryland unit; married to Elizabeth Early. Charles Coleman (born between 1750, and 1755, died after 16 December 1823): quartermaster in a North Carolina unit; married to Mary Roundtree. Charles Coleman (born 1762, died April 1842): soldier in a South Carolina unit; married to Eliza Gibson; pension appl. (2155) submitted, but rejected. Charles P Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a North Carolina unit; married to Fanny ---; received bounty-land warrant (appl. 28536) for 160 acres; pension appl. (25435) submitted by his widow. Christopher Coleman (born 25 May 1758, died after 1819): private in a Pennsylvania unit; married to Ruth Simpson. Daniel Coleman (born 24 May 1731, died 7 May 1794): soldier in a Georgia unit; married to Susannah Harris. Daniel Coleman (born 21 January 1753, died 1817): colonel in a Virginia unit; married (1st) to Mary Childs and (2nd) to Martha Cocke. _ PATRIOTS AND VETERANS/67 Daniel Coleman (born 7 June 1768, died 8 April 1860): performed patri- otic service in Virginia; married to Anna Payne Harrison. Daniel Coleman, Jr. (born around 1746, died 1819): performed patriotic service in Virginia. Daniel Coleman (birth date unknown, died before 6 February 1789): performed patriotic service in Virginia. Daniel Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a New Jersey unit; married to Mary - - - ; received bounty-land warrant (appl. 3515) for 160 acres; pension appl. (1826) submitted by his widow. David Coleman (born 1762, died 1840): private in a New Jersey unit; married to Jane Hawkins; pension appl. (2157) submitted, but rejected. Dua7ey Coleman (born 24 August 1745, died 16 November 1797): lieu- tenant colonel in a Massachusetts unit; married to Mary Jones. Ebenezer Coleman, Jr. (born 20 October 1751, died 13 April 1827): corporal in a Connecticut unit; married to Phebe Carpenter. Ebenezer Coleman (birth date unknown, died after 1785): soldier in a Connecticut unit. Edmund Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): second lieutenant in Stanton's Regiment of the Rhode Island Militia. Edward S. Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): first lieutenant in the 4th Connecticut Infantry. Elijah Coleman (born 10 March 1745, died 19 January 1818): sergeant in a Massachusetts unit; married to Tabitha Meekins. Elliott Glenn Coleman (born around 1764, died before 24 March 1823): private in a Virginia unit; married to Elizabeth Daniel. Francis Coleman (born 16 August 1744, died 13 August 1823): soldier in a Georgia unit; married to Margaret _68/COLEMAN FAMILY George Coleman (birth date unknown, died December 183 1): private in a New York unit; married to Deborah Brown. Gideon Coleman (born 1753, died I I April 1813): private in a New York unit; married to Catherine Bull. Hardy Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a North Carolina unit; married to Avey ---; pension appl. (26) submitted by Ns widow. Hawes Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Virginia unit; pension appl. (16732) submitted by himself. Henry Coleman (birth date unknown, died 1807/08). performed patriotic service in Virginia; married to Mary Ann Hutchison. Isham Coleman (born 17 September 1758, died I November 1825): private in a Virginia unit; married to Ann Roper. Israel Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): private in a New York unit; bounty-land warrant (appl. 7003) issued 25 September 1790 to Ebenezer Clark, assignee. Jacob Coleman (born 1764, died before 20 June 1835): private in a New Jersey unit; married to Deborah - - - ; pension appl. (42140) submitted by himself. Jacob Coleman (born 1748, died 1828): lieutenant in a Virginia unit; married to Sarah McCulloch; pension appl. (35848) submitted by himself; received bounty-land warrant (appl. 1206) for 200 acres. James Coleman (born around 1745, died October 1814): soldier in a South Carolina unit; married to Rachel Kobb. James Coleman (born around 1740, died 2 March 1796): performed patriotic service in Virginia; married to Anna Cocke. James Coleman (born around 1739, died 1817): colonel in a Virginia unit; married to Jeane Critcher. _ PATRI0TS AND VETERANS/69 James Coleman (born around 1755, died 1825): private in a Virginia unit; married to Sarah Taylor; bounty-land warrant (appl. 12019) issued to James Reynolds, assignee. James Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a New Hamp- shire unit; married to Dorcas - - - ; pension appl. (2159) submitted, but rejected; Job Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Massachusetts unit; married to Nanny ---; pension appl. (14510) submitted by his widow. Job Coleman (born 25 October 1741, died 2 September 1805): soldier; performed patriotic service in Massachusetts; married to Elizabeth Martin. Joel Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Virginia unit; pension appl. (42139) submitted by himself. Joel Coleman (born 23 August 1758, died 20 October 1840): private in a New York unit; married to Mary Dunning; pension appl. (22680) submitted by himself. John Coleman (born 1735, died 7 May 181 1): private in a New York unit; married to Sarah ---. John Coleman (born I January 1747, died 19 February 1806): private; performed patriotic service in New York; married to Bathsheba Ryder. John Coleman (born 1760, died 1803): soldier in a New York unit; married to Martha Smith. John Coleman (born 21 April 1759, died 13 June 1829): private in a Pennsylvania unit; married to Margaret ---. John Coleman (born 1720, died after 1779): lieutenant in a Virginia unit; married to Sarah Embry. John Coleman (born before 1760, died after 1786): ensign in a Virginia unit; married to Mary Wells. _70/COLEMAN FAMILY John Coleman (born 1758, died 20 January 1816): sergeant major in a Virginia unit; married to Pleasance Goodwin. John Coleman (born 1748, died 16 August 1846): private in a New Jersey unit; married to Mary Mahon; pension appl. (2163) submitted, but rejected. John Coleman (born August 1761, died 12 March 1845): sergeant in a New York unit; married to Rachel Barden; pension appl. (1720) submitted by Ms widow. John Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Connecticut unit; pension appl. (17350) submitted by himself. John Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Pennsylvania regiment of the Continental Line*; pension appl. (40843) submitted by himself. John Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Georgia unit; pension appl. (39339) submitted by himself. John Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a New Jersey unit; pension appl. (34222) submitted by himself; received bounty- land warrant (appl. 1 24) for I 00 acres. John Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a New York unit; pension appl. (43347) submitted by himself. John Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Pennsylvania unit; pension appl. (42132) submitted by himself. Jonathan Coleman (born 9 October 1750, died 13 January 1825): soldier in a Georgia unit; married to Milly Pittman. Joseph Coleman (born 1750, died 1777): private in a New York unit; married to Elizabeth Denton. * Continental Line: the equivalent of a national army before the country was actually a nation. Continentals were the professional soldiers. They enlisted for longer than state militiamen (a year, minimum) and were better trained. _ PATRIOTS AND VETERANS/71 Joseph Coleman (born 1718, died 15 November 1800): performed patriotic service in New York; married (I st) to (wife's name unknown) and (2nd) to Mary Salmon. Joseph Coleman (born around 1757, died 1806): sergeant in a Virginia unit; married to Sithey Glenn; pension appl. (9738) submitted by his widow. Lemuel Coleman (born 1752, died I I February 1824): corporal in a Massachusetts unit; married to Catharine Edwards. Leonard Coleman (born 14 April 1745, died 28 March 1839): sergeant in a New Jersey unit; married to Eunice Pierson; pension appl. (9810) submitted by Ms widow. Moses Coleman (born 19 November 1755, died 1837): performed patriotic service in Massachusetts; married to Dorothy Pearson. Naiad Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Virginia unit; pension appl. (42657) submitted by himself. Nathan Coleman (born 27 December 1755, died 26 April 1929): private in a Connecticut unit; married to Deborah Turner; pension appl. (17652) submitted by his widow. Nathaniel Coleman (born around 1742, died 14 September 1816): private in a Massachusetts unit; married to Anna Dickinson. Nathaniel Coleman (born 1754, died 17 May 1837): soldier in a Massachu- setts unit; married (1st) to Rachel Damon and (2nd) to Rebecca Damon. Nathaniel Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Massa- chusetts unit; pension appl. (3195) submitted by himself. Nathaniel Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Massa- chusetts unit; married to Elethrar ---; pension appl. (15656) submitted by Ms widow. Nicholas Coleman (born 14 October 1748, died 16 August 1816): private _72/COLEMAN FAMILY in a Pennsylvania unit; married (I st) to Elizabeth Hicks and (2nd) to Fredreca ---. Nicholas Coleman (born 8 September 173 1, died after 1795): private in a Pennsylvania unit; married to Jane McClelland. Nicholas Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): lieutenant in a Penn- sylvania unit; received bounty-land warrant (appl. 436) for 200 acres. Niles Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Massachusetts unit; pension appl. (43377) submitted by himself. Noah Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): surgeon in the 2nd Connecticut Infantry; received bounty-land warrant (appl. 436) for 400 acres. Phineas Coleman (baptized 22 August 1719, died before 1784): performed patriotic service in New Hampshire; married to Abigail Huntress. Richard Coleman (born 18 January 1761, died after 1798): private in a Virginia unit; married (1st) to Lucy Sydnor and (2nd) to Nancy Ann Stubbs. Richard Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): lieutenant in a Virginia unit; bounty-land warrant (appl. 457) issued 17 January 1800 for 200 acres to James Taylor, assignee of Francis Coleman, heir. Robert Coleman (born 1748, died 9 January 1834): private in a Virginia unit; married to Catharine Robinson; pension appl. (8620) submitted by his widow. Robert Coleman (born 4 November 1748, died 14 August 1825): lieu- tenant in a Pennsylvania unit; married to Ann Old. Robert Coleman (birth date unknown, died 18 June 1823): private in a South Carolina unit; married to Thresa ---. Robert Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a South Carolina unit; married to Prudence - - - ; pension appl. (23858) submitted by his widow. _ PATRIOTS AND VETERANS/73 Robert Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Virginia unit; pension appl. (19255) submitted by himself. Samuel Coleman (born 1753, died 12 May 1837): performed service in North Carolina; married (1st) to Mary Dyar and (2nd) to Sarah Evans; pension appl. (2164) submitted, but rejected. Samuel Coleman (birth date unknown, died 1797): captain in a Virginia unit; married to Sarah ---. Samuel Coleman (born 21 July 1755, died 8 March 181 1): first lieutenant in a Virginia unit; married to Susanna Storrs; bounty-land warrant (appl. 469) issued for 200 acres to Robert Means, assignee. Samuel Coleman (born 1752, died 23 July 1824): private in a Virginia unit; married (1st) to Millie Coffee and (2nd) to Ann ---. Solomon Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Massa- chusetts unit; pension appl. (34254) submitted by himself. Spencer Coleman (born 15 February 1752, died after 1834): private in a Virginia unit; married to Lucy - - - ; pension appl. (3194) submitted by himself. Stephen Coleman (born 17 March 1739, died 1798): captain; performed civil and patriotic service in Virginia; married to Sarah Watson. Theophilus Coleman (born 1760, died after 1812): lieutenant in a North Carolina unit; married to Abigail Robertson. Theophilus Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a North Carolina unit; married to Keziah ---; pension appl. (2162) submitted, but rejected. Thomas Coleman (born 1748, died 2 February 1837): ensign in a Pennsyl- vania unit; married to Pheby Gray; pension appl. (23579) submitted by himself. Thomas Coleman (born around 1736, died after t825): soldier in a Virginia unit. _74/COLEMAN FAMILY Thomas Coleman (born 1738, died 29 March 1810): performed civil and patriotic service in Virginia; married to Elizabeth Thomas Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Virginia unit; pension appl. (16345) submitted by himself. Thomas Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Virginia unit; married to Lucy - - - ; received bounty-land warrant (appi. 6383) for 160 acres; pension appl. (3002) submitted by his widow. Thompson Coleman (born around 1760, died 1831): soldier in a Georgia unit; married (1st) to Elizabeth McFarlin and (2nd) to Mrs. Sarah West. Timothy Coleman (born 1752, died 18 August 1831): lieutenant in a New York unit; married to Elizabeth DeWitt; pension appl. (15763) submitted by his widow. Valentine Coleman (born around 1755, died 24 August 1845): private in a Pennsylvania unit; married (1st) to Magdalena --- and (2nd) to Anna Maria Shull; pension appl. (2166) submitted, but rejected. Whitehead Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): lieutenant in the 1st Continental Artillery; received bounty4and warrant (appl. 467) for 300 acres. William Coleman, Sr. (born 1724, died 1785): private in a South Carolina unit; married to Ann Hester. William Coleman, Jr. (born 1754, died 1820): private in a South Carolina unit; married to Mary Gray. William Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a Georgia regiment of the Continental Line; pension appl. (39337) submitted by himself. William Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): soldier in a North Carolina unit; pension appl. (3196) submitted by himself. Wyatt Coleman (birth and death dates unknown): first lieutenant in the 1st Virginia State Regiment. _ PATRI0TS AND VETERANS/75 References The following is a list of source books referred to in the preceding chapter. Many of these books will be available in any historical collection and should be of interest to anyone tracing American military war records. Colket, Meredith B., Jr., and Bridgers, Frank E., eds. Guide to Genea- logical Records in the National Archives. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1964. A guide to records of the Federal Government that can be used in the National Archives (pp. 44-102 relate solely to military records). Ford, Worthington Chauncey, ed. Journal of the Continental Congress. From the original records in the Library of Congress, 34 vols. Washington, D.C.: GPO, t936. A daily record of resolutions passed while the Continental Congress was in session. Hawke, David. 77ze Colonial Experience. New York. Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1966. A narrative history of America from its discovery in 1492 to the ratification of the Constitution in 1788 (pp. 557-598 relate specifically to the American Revolution). Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution, 1775-1783. 1914. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967. Listing of over 14,000 names compiled from service records; includes dates of service, unit, rank, and death date where known. Also includes other lists such as Washington's aides-de-camp, officers of all Continental Line units, etc. One of the most definitive of all available sources on the Revolution. Hoyt, Max Ellsworth, ed. Index of Revolutionary War Pension Applica- tions. Special publication no. 32. Washington, D.C.: National Genea- logical Society, 1966. Alphabetical listing by surname, including state of service, rank, and pension and bounty-land warrant application numbers. Miller, Florence Hazen, comp. Memorial Album of Revolutionary Soldiers, 1776, Crete, Nebraska: 1958. Alphabetically arranged sketches of Revolutionary War veterans (with photos) including ranks, company, dates of service as well as each man's role in the war, particular distinctions, and awards. Includes some biographical information such as home, wife, date of birth, etc. Muzzey, Artemas B. Reminiscences and Memorials of Men of the Revolution _76/COLEMAN FAMILY and Their Families. Michigan: Plutarch Press, 197 1. A historical narrative which includes accounts of battles, stories of heroism, and biographical information. National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. DAR Patriot Index and Supplement. 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: 1966. Listing by surname including birth and death date's where known, wife's name, rank and unit in the Revolutionary War; one of the most comprehensive sources of Revolutionary military records, including over 105,000 names. Peterson, Clarence S. Known Military Dead During the American Revolu- tionary War, 1775-1783. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967. Alphabetical listing by surname including rank and regiment, date of death.