Frost And Snow

This has to be my favorite Patriot of late. I came across this man while researching a line I thought I had figured out... until I realized I had some misinformation. Wasn't it lucky though that I did! Otherwise, I probably never would have even known this man existed.

Believe me when I tell you: you did not read the name in the title of this post incorrectly. This Patriot's name is "Frost," middle name "And," and surname "Snow." Let me share his story with you!

Clipping of Pension Envelope

Frost And Snow served several times during the Revolutionary War. He first served under the command of Captain James Head. Under Captain Head, he marched from the Orange County, Virginia through Culpeper and Farquier Counties. During this time, he also guarded some British prisoners. He eventually ended up in Albemarle (I'm wondering if he was referring to the Albemarle Barracks where my ancestor also served), where he remained until he was later discharged. This service period lasted about two months.

Clipping from Pension Record describing his service under Captain James Head

During his second enlistment with the Army, Frost And Snow served under Captain Isaac Davis, who was a member of Colonel Lindsey's Regiment. Frost mentions in his pension application that he served as a substitute soldier for a man named John Burrows who was supposed to march from the Albemarle Courthouse to Culpeper County during a time "where it being understood that General [George] Washington and Gen. Wa(?) were coming on with reinforcements Lord Cornwallis and Col. Tarlton retreated." Frost mentions that they marched until they arrived at a place a I can't quite make out in his pension record. It looks something like Alubbins or Mubbins Hill, but that doesn't ring any bells for me. During this period, Frost ended up serving another two months before being discharged again.

Clipping from Pension Record showing the place I can't make out

During Frost's final tour with the Army, he served under Captain Coger or Coker and Lieutenant Robinson "in the year Cornwallis was captured at Yorktown." He states he entered service in Augusta County, VA as a substitute for John Smith. While serving under Captain Coger/Coker, he marched from Augusta to Yorktown and remained there until Cornwallis surrendered. After the surrender, he recalls that he marched from Yorktown to Winchester and was in charge of the prisoners taken by General Washington. This final stretch of service also lasted about two months.

Frost And Snow is assumed to be a "junior." His assumed parents are Frost And Snow, Sr. and Elizabeth Ballard. I have not found any proof of this myself yet. The only mention the Patriot Frost makes of his father in his pension record is when he states that his father never kept records of his birth. He, therefore, "believes himself to be 78 years of age" at the time of his pension application hearing in 1837. This would make Frost And Snow to have been born about 1759.

Clipping from Pension Record showing Frost's guesstimation of his age

This family is a bit of a tangled mess for me. I found this family while researching my husband's Southard family, which I posted about in my blog for his family a little while ago. While I know this family is connected to my husband's family, I have yet to figure out how.

As I uncover more information about this Frost And Snow, however, I am led to believe that the information about him in the DAR Genealogical Research System (GRS) is incorrect. It seems Frost And Snow's father may have also been named Frost And Snow, and that the Elizabeth Ballard that is listed as Patriot Frost's wife in the GRS Database may actually be his mother. I hope to get this family sorted out soon. Hopefully a closer look at the sources and information provided by the five Daughters who have used Frost as their Patriot to join the Daughters of the American Revolution will help.

Sources:

• Frost And Snow's Pension Application (accessed on Fold3)

A Revolutionary War Story: Upshaws, Gatewoods, Thorntons, and a Dozier

I had originally planned to highlight Colonel William Woodford, under whom my ancestor John Threadgill served, in an effort to begin a series on men who aren't relatives but are instead men mine and my husband's ancestors knew. I did not, however, anticipate that Colonel William Woodford would eventually be promoted to Brigadier General Woodford!

This one promotion in rank drastically increased the number of documents I had to sift through. (I mean, he was reporting directly to His Excellency George Washington, himself!) Needless to say, I am still sifting through them. I will finish sorting through all of it soon, but, until then, I thought I would share the post I made to my personal family's blog, Widespread Roots, for the Fourth of July.

With today being a day of respect and remembrance of our nation's beginnings, and also being a day most people enjoy with their families, I thought I would highlight an extended family's experience in the American Revolutionary War. 

I wrote about John Upshaw's experience in the Revolution in a previous post, and I mentioned how his father-in-law, Larkin Gatewood, was a Sergeant under Captain William Tucker, who was also John's Captain during his first draft. 

John Upshaw's daughter, and my sixth great-grandmother, Sarah Upshaw married Benjamin Thornton on 12 January 1796. Benjamin was the son of Dozier Thornton and Lucinda Elizabeth Hill.

This portrait of Dozier hangs in Van's Creek Baptist Church in Elbert County, GA

Portrait copy found on various websites and forums related to Dozier and Van's Creek.

Dozier Thornton also served in the American Revolutionary War. Even Dozier's father, Mark Thomas Thornton, is thought to have aided in the War. 

Dozier and Mark are no longer accepted Patriots in the Daughters of the American Revolution. Dozier's grave has been marked twice (once by the DAR and once by the SAR) as being in the North Carolina Militia during the Revolution, though I haven't found any proof of his actual service. But I refuse to give up hope of finding it! I still have a few leads to follow, but they will require actual trips to repositories that aren't yet available online.

Application for Military Headstone for Dozier Thornton, dated 8 November 1927

There seems to be some confusion about Dozier's service online with people thinking he fought in Captain Dunston Blackwell's Division and Major David Dobbs' Battalion. This misinformation comes from a land lottery in Georgia drawn in 1825 (and awarded in 1827) where Dozier is shown as receiving lottery entries. This land lottery was not related to the War in any way. Soldiers did, however, get two drawings in the lottery. That may have sparked some of the confusion. 

The fifth person in the family to have aided in the War was (possibly) Mark's father-in-law, Leonard Dozier. (Leonard's relationship to Mark is often debated. While it is clear these two families are related, they may not be father/son-in-law.) Leonard is listed in Abercrombie and Slatten as furnishing beef for the War. 

Even despite Dozier and Mark's disputed service, this particular branch of the family tree leaves me feeling very grateful and very patriotic, especially on holidays like today. I hope everyone enjoys a safe and pleasant Fourth of July, and I hope everyone appreciates the actions of the men and women who attributed to the founding of this nation we call The Land of the Free and The Home of the Brave.

Sources:

• Application for Military Headstone, Dozier Thornton (accessed on Ancestry)
• Knight, Lucian Lamar "Georgia's roster of the revolution, containing a list of the states defenders; officers and men; soldiers and sailors; partisans and regulars; whether enlisted from Georgia or settled in Georgia after the close of hostilities"
• SAR Application for Membership, applicant: Isham Stanton Hudmon (accessed on Ancestry)
• SAR Application for Membership, applicant: Walter Wiley Thornton (accessed on Ancestry)

Types of Military Service Accepted by the DAR

This is the final installment of my series on the types of acceptable service for Patriots in the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Military service accepted by the DAR, in general, began with the Battle of Lexington on 19 April 1775 and ended with the date the British evacuated New York on 26 November 1783. The DAR approves military service which may include the following:

• Participation in the Army, Marines, or Navy of the Continental Establishment
• Participation in the State Navy
• Participation in the State and Local Militia
• Privateers
• Military or Naval Service performed by French nationals in the American theater of War

There are many ways to prove military service. Often the easiest way is to find federal records that mention your ancestor. These types of records have often been digitized and are often available on websites or through microfilm at your local Family History Center. They may include:

• Military service records (available on Fold3)
• Pension records (available on Fold3)
• Survivor's Pensions
• Widow's Pensions
• Bounty Land Grants (available on Ancestry)

Beware of pension records that are classified as "R(number)." These denote "rejected" pensions. Pension applications had to be very specific. If a soldier did not remember the dates he served or the names of his officers (perhaps he only had vague recollections of them), the pension request was often rejected. It may be a good clue as to where to look for further proof, or it may even give you clues as to where he was living or who his children are, but a rejected pension can not be used as proof of service. You would need to prove his service some other way. *CORRECTION: You CAN use rejected pensions as a source of service IF it describes a valid service. For a pension, the soldier had to serve at least a six month term, so if the service was valid but was not for a six-month term, the application for the pension may have been rejected. These types of rejections are still valid sources of military service for the Revolutionary War.*

There are also a bunch of various records that are state or region specific. They range from books to articles to state-archived records and many, many more.  See Debbie Duay's website for a full list of current Revolutionary War Service Sources.