Delving into military ancestors

                                                                  American soldiers in 1781

My family history society, the British Columbia Genealogy Society (BCGS), is putting together a book of veterans this year. The deadline for members to submit the information about our military ancestors is September 30 but, of course, I left things to the last minute and, as I write this, I am working on my entries before getting ready to go on yet another trip.

My ancestors seem to have been drawn into a lot of conflicts. Particularly surprising to me, given my background as a displaced Brit brought up in Canada, is the strong showing men in my family tree made in the American Revolution, on the American side! I didn't see that one coming. When researching my 4 x great grandfather, Charles Tripp, who took up land in Percy, Northumberland County, Upper Canada in 1797, my first thought was that he was a late Loyalist. It wasn't until later that I discovered his pension records on Ancestry, clear evidence that he fought on the side of the patriots. I thought it was strange that he was given land in Upper Canada. That makes me wonder if there was festering animosity between the United Empire Loyalists of Upper Canada and the newcomers who had once fought for the enemy. I can't imagine how Charles' wife, Jane Tripp nee Woodworth, felt living among former foes as her father, Captain Solomon Woodworth, had lost his life in a skirmish while fighting on the American side. 

But lives are filled with conflict and sometimes it is hard to tell friend from foe. That's particularly true with internal conflicts within countries, like revolutions or civil wars. My research has uncovered more that one Union soldier on my wider family tree. What I would really like to find, though, is evidence that takes me back further, perhaps even as early as the civil war in England. According to my research, a wide swath of my ancestors called that country home at that time of that conflict and, given how many of them participated in later wars, they must surely have chosen a side in that long drawn out fight. Of course that's just the English side, we won't go into the warlike tendencies of the nationalities that make up a large portion of my ancestry. The Scots and the Irish are not known for their timidity either. Perhaps it's a good thing that earlier records are hard to find or the veteran project would take me even longer.

Images:

H. Charles McBarron, Jr., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons