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During my Southern California "roots quest trip" I visited the National Archives branch near Perris California. Kerry Bartels, who spoke at the Jamboree in Burbank was, indeed, at the Archives ready to greet all visitors. I went there to see what they had to offer, and do a little more poking around in the American war records. I visited there twice, once on the way to Palm Desert from La Mirada, a few days ago, then again when I had stopped at Lake Elsinore for a few days. The Archives is 15 miles from where I'm staying at my cousin Joyce Movius' place. She is an "Akins Cousin" and a bright 95 years old.
The Archives moved a couple years ago from Laguna Niguel, California, to a large, new building off the Cajacol Parkway, outside of Perris. At the end of a cul-de-sac you drive to a locked gate, then you have to press a button to talk to the staff. Just say you're going to do family history and they lift the gate and you can park right by the front door. There were only a couple people there each time I visited, and no problem getting a nice flat screen / computer to work at. The printer was in the same room.
Although this Archives has original records relating to the area, such as California Indian records and Pacific Immigration, I was interested in the Revolutionary War records. They have the same microfilm, evidently, that Washington DC has for that, plus the free access to those records on Ancestry.com and Footnote.com. Plus you can print any of the images of these records for free. Since I have an Ancestry.com subscription, I decided to look up my six Revolutionary war veterans on http://www.footnote.com/ . I wasn't disappointed!
For each veteran, I searched three databases: the Revolutionary Pension Records, the Muster Rolls, and the Service Records. I found hefty pension applications for two of my "guys" - Daniel Squier of CT and Amasa Grout of NH. And I found various muster rolls, and/or pay records, for all of them.. The other veterans were Moses Comstock Eells of CT; Elisha Cheney of Newton MA; and Benjamin Eddy of the 5th MA Regiment. I didn't find anything on Ebenezer Blanding of the MA Militia, but I didn't have long to search. They close at 4:30 pm and I used every minute of the few hours I was there.
The few hours I carved into my "visit of relatives" time frame to get to the Archives were very rewarding!
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| National Archives Center -Perris, Riverside County, California |
Although this Archives has original records relating to the area, such as California Indian records and Pacific Immigration, I was interested in the Revolutionary War records. They have the same microfilm, evidently, that Washington DC has for that, plus the free access to those records on Ancestry.com and Footnote.com. Plus you can print any of the images of these records for free. Since I have an Ancestry.com subscription, I decided to look up my six Revolutionary war veterans on http://www.footnote.com/ . I wasn't disappointed!
For each veteran, I searched three databases: the Revolutionary Pension Records, the Muster Rolls, and the Service Records. I found hefty pension applications for two of my "guys" - Daniel Squier of CT and Amasa Grout of NH. And I found various muster rolls, and/or pay records, for all of them.. The other veterans were Moses Comstock Eells of CT; Elisha Cheney of Newton MA; and Benjamin Eddy of the 5th MA Regiment. I didn't find anything on Ebenezer Blanding of the MA Militia, but I didn't have long to search. They close at 4:30 pm and I used every minute of the few hours I was there.
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| Muster Roll of Capt Phineas Stearns Company in the Detacment Commanded by Maj. Procter This shows Elisha Cheney on the right column (top) as a Drummer . He was from Newton MA, and in later life lived in Royalston, MA |
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