Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Introduction: Revolutionary War Gravesites in McLean County

McLean County War Monument, Miller Park
At least 25 gravesites have been claimed to be the final resting spots of Revolutionary War veterans in McLean County. Not every claim has been accurate, and a few are based on dubious or almost no evidence at all.

~Revolutionary War Gravesites in McLean County~
Introduction - Ebenezer Barnes - Joseph Bartholomew - Samuel Beeler - David Haggard - Frances Hodge - Moses Hougham - John Karr - William Lee - John Maxwell - Thomas McClure - William McGhee or Gee - William McCullough - John Toliday - Jacob Williamson - Gravesites Not in McLean County
*Blog article that will be published January through February 2018

The Sources
How do we know that American Revolution veterans are buried in McLean County? To answer that question, historians rely on three types of sources:
  1. Primary sources document actual evidence of service. These can be pension, service, or census records. 
  2. Secondary sources. Sometimes primary sources were examined by contemporary researchers or legal officials, and referenced in later books and articles. These can be seen as valid evidence of military service. 
  3. Other sources rely on anecdotal information. For example, a person might have claimed to have served in the military, and this claim was documented in contemporary accounts, but there is no actual documented evidence of that service.
Overview 
Over the last 120 years, researchers have referenced the gravesites of 25 Revolutionary War veterans buried in McLean County. These can be classified in three categories:

 11 confirmed gravesites in McLean County:
  • Ebenezer Barnes
  • Josephy Bartholomew
  • Samuel Beeler
  • David Haggard
  • Frances Hodge
  • Moses Hougham
  • John Karr
  • John Maxwell
  • William McGhee or Gee
  • William McCullough 
  • John Toliday
Veterans who are possibly buried in McLean County:
  • William Lee
  • Thomas McClure
  • Jacob Williamson
Veterans who at one time or another were thought to be buried in McLean County, but are not:

Nathaniel Bell, Philip Crose, Edgar or Edward Day, John Ellsworth, Frederick Eveland, Edward Fitzpatrick or Patrick, George Ross Kibbey, Charles Moore, John Scott, Thomas Sloan & William Vincent or Vinson.

 An analysis of secondary sources is in this Google Spreadsheet.

Map 
Click on this link to view in a new window.


References
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