Hidden Treasures: Jane Tripp’s Pension

Most of what I know about Jane Tripp comes from the documents she submitted to access her husband’s US Revolutionary War pension. If she hadn’t outlived him, none of the information would have been found. She would have been one of the countless women for which there is no record at all. No trace of her has been found on the Canadian or US censuses, as her life in Canada was lived prior to 1851 when the first census happened in Canada West. There were US censuses before that time but they named only the head of household and a likely Charles Tripp doesn’t show up in 1790 or 1800, the time before the move north. 

What about a marriage record for Charles and Jane? Well, we know that there wasn’t one to be found and the only reason we know this is that Jane couldn’t access one for her pension application. Hard luck for Jane as it took her years to prove her claim, good luck for me because of all the records that this created. Her witnesses provided statements in both 1846 and 1849 to confirm Jane and Charles’ marriage. It was these statements also, that gave the story of Jane’s father’s death in battle and the affect on her family.  

I am sure that I will be analyzing the documents for years to come. The story of Jane’s father, Solomon Woodworth, will, no doubt, figure in my Revolutionary War research. Most of the witnesses who provided statements were cousins to either Jane or Charles. Figuring out where they fit in the family tree will be interesting.  Maybe, if I dig far enough, I might find out the name of Charles Tripp’s father. 

Another intriguing document in the pension file was the copy of the New Testament. Someone wrote down the names and birth dates of the Tripp children. As both Jane and Charles signed their applications with an X, I can’t tell who wrote the names of the 13 children. But what is really intriguing is that Jane was at pains to prove her marriage took place on July 20, 1792 when their first child, Solomon, was born on June 6, 1792. 

Hidden Treasures: Searching for the Female Side of the Family

Finding out information about female forbears can be difficult. We know they existed or else we wouldn’t be here but often details about them are scarce. How they lived, where they came from and even the name they were born with are often missing from the record, especially in the days before civil registration. I have many questions about the women in my lineage. 

In the early days of my research, when I tried to take my genealogical links back through the generations with records of births and marriages, it was often the attempt to get the maternal line back further that ended in a brick wall. Now when I am at the stage of filling out the stories in my initial genealogical outline, it is often the records left by my female ancestors that provide the most compelling stories. Compelling because, if I am able to find written documents, they not only fill in details about my female forbear, but usually provide information about her family and details about their lives. 

My research has unearthed a number of interesting documents from and about my female ancestors. In the next series of posts, I will explore what those records can tell me about my ancestors and their lives.