USA @ 250 AND NEW YORK: DISCOVERING LOCAL STORIES

1. Recommended: make an inventory spreadsheet of the historical markers related to the Revolution in your town, if you do not have one. 

Places to look: The Historical Markers Database is a great help & may include most or all of them.

• Create a spreadsheet that includes:
  • A column that is the markers' text
  • A column that is year/date that is represented by the marker (or approximation) in this format:  yyyy.mm.dd.  
  • A column that shows the gps or street location of the marker
  • A column that identifies the primary source or 'traditionary' story that resulted in the marker.
  • A column for research notes.
  • A  column to check when (if) supporting primary sources are identified.
    • Example:

      Year.mm.dd	Marker Text	Location	Source	Notes	Verified? Y/N/O (oral tradition only)
      1773.10.01	HATHORN HOUSE. BUILT 1773 BY GENERAL JOHN HATHORN, COMMANDER, WARWICK MILITIA DURING THE REVOLUTION. State Education Department, 1932.	Intersection of Hathorn Rd. and Rt. 1A. 41° 15.077′ N, 74° 21.005′	Gable of house	Date approximate	Y

2.  Look for the documents used in the creation of the historical markers:

Places to Look:

• Sometimes the proving documents are referenced in local newspaper accounts when the marker was erected.
• Your local historical society may have an archive about the local historical markers.
• If you cannot find a primary source document, "flag" this marker to return to later: in notes indicate "unverified", or "undocumented."  It doesn't mean it isn't true, just that further work needs to be done.   As you develop a timeline using primary sources, you will sometimes find that proof.

3. DISCUSSION OPPORTUNITY: Examine the content of the markers.  What did their creators include? What do they exclude?  Why?  Does the text contain wording indicating bias?  Are there different ways we would say this today?  Should there be study or action taken, or a community discussion? 

1. Published local community histories.

• Extract known events from published books, articles, and pamphlets, noting  all citation information including source and page.  Is it under copyright? Proper attribution to the researcher/author (and permission, for creative content) is important, as well as contacting any living authors as a courtesy.  Note: FACTS cannot be copyrighted, regardless of who found them.
• Is there a citation to primary sources?  If not, follow through with the author or flag for further research.

2. Published county-level histories.

3.  Check with local historical societies. Do they have published or manuscript material you were not aware of?

4. State-wide publications.

• Check digital repositories and the catalogs of libraries such as The New York State Library, New York State Archives, New York Historical Society.  You'll sometimes be surprised that a story of your community has been researched/known, and no one thought to send a copy to the local historians/historical society.

RESEARCH TIP:  Even if a book is still under copyright, you can do a "search inside" in Google Books, to identify pages where a term is located in a book.  Try it:  In books.google.com, search Encyclopedia of New York State.  See the "search inside" box right underneath?  You can often see enough of the  surrounding text to determine if it's relevant, and go to the hardcopy.

• Basic digital books (out of copyright, secondary sources):
  • New York in the Revolution as Colony and State, and its Supplement (Vol. II). [Containing secondary and transcribed primary source data; many of the manuscripts it transcribes perished or were very damaged during the New York State Archives fire in 1911.]
  • History of New York during the Revolutionary War :and of the leading events in the other colonies at that period /by Thomas Jones, Vol. 1  [A British history, written by a contemporary British official]; and Volume 2
• Guides to manuscripts and primary sources:
  • A Guide to the Revolutionary War Manuscripts in the New York State Library
  • New York in the American Revolution : a source guide for genealogists and historians (printed resource, 2012).