That Extra Information

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How do you view the history you have learned while researching your families?  I recently read a great line, "History should feel like walking into someone's living room, not like sitting in a classroom."[1]  I hope the history I am about to share is comfortable.  

Throughout my middle and high school years I always flunked the chapters of history that covered wars.  Thanks to my ancestors, I was able to learn a lot about the Revolutionary War period.  For several of my Stowe ancestors I found muster roll cards and pay cards; these had enough information for me to search places and dates so I could picture how my ancestor was involved.

I learned that, April 26, 1775, one week after Lexington and Concord, Jonah Stowe returned from Alstead, New Hampshire Colony to enlist in the Massachusetts Militia.  He fought in what came to be known as the Battle of Bunker Hill.  In May, 1776, he was involved in the invasion of Canada and was taken prisoner at the Battle of the Cedars.  





Because of my spotty knowledge of Revolutionary War history, I had to look up some individual battles.  I had never heard of the Battle of the Cedars; it was the first man-for-man prisoner exchange in the war.


Seth Stowe, one of my ancestor's cousins, was a very busy boy. Thanks to his involvement in the Continental Army and learned the location of several battles in the New England and New York Colonies.  His 12 year old son was a fifer in the same regiment with Seth.

I found several muster rolls and pay references from 1775 into the 1780s when he was paid by the Vermont Militia.  When I started following Seth's battle history, I learned about many more aspects of the war.  That is until I found one card from  1779 that said Seth had deserted.



Wait!. . . What?. . .Seth?

Deserted?  But, I saw pay slips for the Vermont Militia as late as 1782.  What's going on?

Well, this was the impetus to delve into the history of Vermont.  I learned about Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys.  Yup, Seth was one of them.

When we invaded Canada in 1775, Ethan Allen was taken prisoner and, because of his history of being a leader, he was imprisoned in London, England.

Ethan was released in May 1778 and returned to Vermont, where he was active in the Vermont Militia.  Many of the Green Mountain Boys left the Continental Army and returned to Vermont to serve in the militia with Ethan Allen.

I find it interesting that the slip says, "went to the enemy."  Vermont was not one of the original colonies, but it was not the enemy!  The militia offered services to the Continental Congress who, unfortunately, didn't have to funds to employ Vermont.  So, for the remainder of the war, Vermont served as a buffer zone, deterring the British forces in Canada from moving south.  I realize the situation was much more complex than this but that's for another day.

Having learned so much about the Revolutionary period through the eyes of ancestors made it more inviting than just a textbook in a classroom.  It feels more like a photo album on the coffee table.

Make your histories warm, personal and inviting, even the tragedies that may have befallen your family.  These are the moments that will be remembered and passed on.


MaryLynn Strickland

[1] Family Lies, Beth Farrar, 2026


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Send your stories to m.strickland@skcgs.org





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