Massachusetts Revolutionary War Index Cards to Muster Rolls - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
Index card abstracts of accounts, muster and pay rolls, descriptive lists and accounts, etc. of soldiers who served in Massachusetts companies and regiments during the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783. The records were acquired from the Massachusetts State Archives in Boston. During the Revolutionary War Maine was a part of Massachusetts and was known as the Province of Maine. It consisted of Cumberland, Lincoln and York Counties. In 1780 the province became the District of Maine.

The collection consists of card abstracts from original records of muster and pay rolls, accounts, warrants, descriptive lists, Continental Army Pay Accounts, Lexington Alarm Rolls, etc. with volume number and page references to the collections that were abstracted.

Examples of Card Abstract Types • 3

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records

Muster and Pay Roll
 * Name
 * Rank
 * Company Commander
 * Regimental Commander
 * Length of Service
 * Residence
 * Remarks

Descriptive List
 * Name
 * Age
 * Stature
 * Complexion

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Your Ancestor’s Name
 * Your Ancestor's Residence
 * Your Ancestor's Military Unit
 * Your Ancestor's Age

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times
 * Continue to search the index and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have served in the same unit or a nearby unit
 * If your ancestor used multiple names throughout their life, look for all their names
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names
 * An ancestor could also have enlisted multiple times serving in more than one military unit
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Massachusetts.
 * Massachusetts Guided Research
 * Massachusetts Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research
 * Beginning Research in United States Military Records
 * US Military Basic Search Strategies

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * edited by Rhonda R. McClure, Genealogist's handbook for New England research 6th ed. Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society®, 2022 FHL 974 D27mr
 * Massachusetts. State Archives. Card index to the Massachusetts Archives
 * Massachusetts State Archives collection, colonial and post colonial period 1626-1806
 * Massachusetts State Archives collection, colonial period, 1622-1788
 * French and Indian War muster roll index cards, 1603-1779
 * Muster rolls (index file cards) of the Revolutionary War, 1767-1833.
 * Personal returns of the 6th, 8th and 9th Massachusetts Regiments, 1779- 1782
 * Muster/payrolls, and various papers (1763-1808) of the Revolutionary War Massachusetts and Rhode Island
 * Draper, Bell (Merrill). Honor roll of Massachusetts patriots heretofore unknown : being a list of men and women who loaned money to the federal government during the year 1777-1779. Boston : Privately issued for the Massachusetts Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1899.
 * Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe and Donna D. Smerlas, ed. Massachusetts militia companies and officers in the Lexington Alarm. Society of Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, c1976. FHL 974.4 M2h
 * compiled by the Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution, Grave locations of Revolutionary soldiers and sailors of Maine and Massachusetts
 * edited by K. David Goss, Davis Zarowin, ed. Massachusetts officers and soldiers in the French and Indian Wars, 1755-1756 Boston, Massachusetts : Society of Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1985 FHL 974.4 M2mo

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * United States Revolutionary War Compiled Service Records, 1775-1783
 * United States Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Applications, 1800-1900
 * United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783
 * United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * James C. Neagles and Lila L. Neagles, Locating your Revolutionary War ancestor : a guide to the military records Logan, Utah : Everton Publishers, c1983
 * Robert K. Wright, Jr. The Continental Army Washington, D.C. : Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1983
 * Benson John Lossing,Field-book of the American Revolution : published under the patronage of the National Society, Sons of the American Revolution ... 2 volumes. Reprint of the 1850-1852 ed. published in New York, Harper and Brothers. Cottonport, Louisiana : Polyanthos, 1972
 * Massachusetts. Secretary of the Commonwealth. Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War. 17 volumes. Boston, Massachusetts : Wright & Potter, 1896-1908.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.