This sixth issue of 2024 features two articles on Massachusetts, and the remainder focusing on the Revolutionary War:

● Nantucket: The Storied History of a Sandy Wind-Swept Island and its People. Fifty years ago the island of Nantucket, along with its nearest neighbor, Martha’s Vineyard, was debating the idea of seceding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Was history (sort of) repeating itself? In the seventeenth century it was Massachusetts colonists who came to the island to get away from the onerous, overbearing Puritan-run government.

● Mining Genealogical Gold: Finding Historical Massachusetts Records (and the stories behind them) - Part 2. As noted in the last issue, I purposely excluded a look at what Ancestry has available in the way of Massachusetts records. Rather, I decided to devote Part 2 to a concentrated focus on this vital genealogical resource. I was astounded at the volume and types of records available.

● The Other Side of the American Revolution: Finding Your Loyalist Ancestors. One of the first things which compels many of us to begin our quest to learn more about our genealogical roots is the desire to find ancestors who had “fire in their bellies” during the volatile American era known as The Revolutionary War – the rebels and patriots. To be sure, it’s a matter of great pride and joy to find such an ancestor – or many ancestors if you are so fortunate – who either served on the front lines or provided aid and comfort to their fellow patriots. But, what about those ancestors who didn’t necessarily see eye-to-eye with their rabble-rousing friends and family, desiring instead to remain loyal to the British Crown?

● Drawing the Line: Quakers in Conscientious Crisis. Genealogists researching family history who discover Quaker ancestry may assume they will find no Revolutionary War patriot service. That would be an incorrect assumption, however. For Quakers, members of the Religious Society of Friends, the volatile era leading up to and including the Revolutionary War presented unique challenges in regards to their tenets of faith.

● The First and Last Men of the Revolution. This extended article honors the memory of the first men of the Revolutionary War who died on April 29, 1775 in Lexington. It also includes biographies of the “last men of Revolution”, all of whom lived to be over 100 years old.

● Feisty Females: Women of the Revolution. History is filled with stories of “feisty females”. Many lived their lives skirting societal norms to carve out their own piece of history. Much has been written about the brave men who served during the Revolutionary War, yet women served in various (and important) capacities as well, even on the battlefield.

● The Dash: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego Pierson. The story of three brothers – triplets, two of which served as Patriots during the Revolutionary War and the third, who along with his father remained Loyalists.