Project: 1776

Categories: 1776 Project | American Revolution | Military and War Project | Pre-1700 Projects

1776 Project | Teams | Resources | Categories

Welcome to the 1776 Project

Part of the Military and War Project


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Contents

Membership Requirements

To be a member of the American Revolutionary War (1776) Project, you must:

To join:

Upon joining the project, you must:

  • add 1776 to the tags you follow
  • join at least one Project Team
  • request to join the WikiTree's 1776 Project Account Google Group, our primary communication channel (please include your WikiTree ID in the request)
  • make at least one contribution towards the project's goals every six months
  • respond to the annual check-in and to your team leader / coordinator

Project Mission

The American Revolutionary War (1776) Project honors those who were involved in the American Revolutionary War from 16 December 1773 (Boston Tea Party) to 21 June 1789 (ratification of The Constitution of the United States).

The Project honors those who were involved in any capacity (project scope):

Project Goals

  • Honor those who were involved in the American Revolutionary War by creating and improving person profiles through research, reliable sourcing, and well-written, accurate biographies (free of GEDCOM import artifacts).
  • Ensure reasonable proof of involvement, especially military service, is reliably sourced and documented.
  • Highlight their involvement in the American Revolutionary War with the 1776 Sticker.
  • Collaborate with profile managers and team members using G2G (1776 tag) and the Project's discussion group (Google Groups).
  • Manage and protect controversial profiles, profiles of notable persons, and profiles that represent extensive work that should be preserved.

Highlight Your Membership

Project Members may highlight their membership in the Project by adding the 1776 Project Member category and/or Sticker to their own profile:

[[Category: 1776 Project Members]] ←category
{{Military and War Project Member|1776}} ←Sticker

Managed Profiles and the Project Box

If you want the Managed Profiles Team to review a person profile for possible project management, or for possible removal from project management, please fill out the Managed Profile Requests form.

Here is a timeline of person profiles under project management.

Project-managed profiles are indicated by the 1776 Project Box:

{{1776 Project}} ←Project Box

Note: The 1776 Project Box should only be added to or removed from a person profile by the Project's Managed Profiles Team. This is a multi-step process that also involves reviewing the person profile against project criteria and maintaining a database of project-managed profiles.

The 1776 Project Box accepts up to three (3) needs parameters to add the person profile to 1776 Project Maintenance Categories.

{{1776 Project|needs=Biography}} ←Project Box example
{{1776 Project|needs=Additional Sources|needs1=Biography|needs2=Category}} ←Project Box example

Alternatively, these maintenance categories may be added directly. For example:

[[Category: 1776 Project Needs Biography]] ←maintenance category example

Note: The 1776 Project Box previously accepted a category parameter. It no longer accepts this parameter and will generate an Unknown Parameter error if used. For example:

{{1776 Project|category=American Founding Father}} ←Project Box error example [generates Unknown Parameter error]

Project Sticker

This section provides an overview of this topic. For more detail, see also:

The 1776 Sticker can be added to the person profile of any person involved in the American Revolutionary War.

Note: These Stickers should always be below the == Biography == heading and above the == Sources == heading.

Note: There should be no more than five Profile Stickers on one profile. Three is better. There should be no more than one 1776 Sticker.

The 1776 Sticker takes three (3) parameters:

  • image [OPTIONAL] - the name of a WikiTree image file to replace the default 1776 Liberty Bell image
  • unit [REQUIRED] - a text string containing either:
    • the category name of the primary unit served with, or
    • one of the following specified values: Founding Father, Patriotic Service, Civil Service, Loyalist, United Empire
  • rank [OPTIONAL] - the rank of the soldier (do not abbreviate the rank, e.g. use Sergeant instead of Sgt.)

If the unit parameter is the name of an existing category or one of the specified values listed above, the person profile will be added to that category.

See examples of the use of these parameters and the resulting Sticker below:

Template code: Category added: Displays as:
{{1776 Sticker|image=Thornton-1863-4.jpg|unit=Founding Father}} Category: American Founding Fathers
1776 Project
... ... ... ... was a Founding Father in the American Revolution.
{{1776 Sticker|unit=Patriotic Service, Massachusetts, American Revolution}} Category: Patriotic Service, Massachusetts, American Revolution
1776 Project
... ... ... ... performed Patriotic Service in Massachusetts in the American Revolution.
{{1776 Sticker|unit=Civil Service}} Category: Civil Service, American Revolution
1776 Project
... ... ... ... was a Civil Servant in the American Revolution.
{{1776 Sticker|unit=Pittsylvania County Militia, Virginia Militia, American Revolution|rank=Sergeant}} Category: Pittsylvania County Militia, Virginia Militia, American Revolution
1776 Project
Sergeant ... ... ... served with Pittsylvania County Militia, Virginia Militia during the American Revolution.
{{1776 Sticker|image=Flags-3.jpg|unit=Major William Cunningham's Troop of Mounted Militia, Ninety-Six Brigade, American Revolution}} Category: Major William Cunningham's Troop of Mounted Militia, Ninety-Six Brigade, American Revolution
1776 Project
... ... ... ... served with Major William Cunningham's Troop of Mounted Militia, Ninety-Six Brigade during the American Revolution.
{{1776 Sticker|image=Flags-3.jpg|unit=Loyalist}} Category: Loyalists, American Revolution
1776 Project
... ... ... ... was a Loyalist in the American Revolution.
{{1776 Sticker|image=Flags-3.jpg|unit=United Empire}} Category: United_Empire_Loyalists
1776 Project
... ... ... ... was a United Empire Loyalist in the American Revolution.

Table Notes:

  1. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th examples all use the default image. The 1st, 5th, 6th, and 7th examples all change the image.
  2. The 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 7th examples all use one of the specified values for the unit parameter.
  3. The 4th example is for a soldier and uses both the unit parameter and the rank parameter.
  4. Pay close attention to the 2nd example. It uses an existing category (Patriotic Service, Massachusetts, American Revolution) for the unit parameter; this text string is NOT the same as using the specified value Patriotic Service.

Specifying the Unit

For military units, category guidelines include:

  • Do not use abbreviations.
  • Do not use units smaller than a Regiment (American) / Brigade (British), the building blocks of a Division.
  • If the Regiment / Brigade is not known, use the next higher unit known.

The easiest way to find the correct unit name is search for it by clicking on the Categories button in the editor.

Alternatively, find the correct unit name manually. Start at the American Revolution category (top of the unit category hierarchy) and drill down until you find the unit. Then copy the unit name from the category name.

For example, if the unit is the 12th Regiment, Connecticut Militia:

If you are unsure of the unit name and you have time, you can ask for help in G2G by posting a question and adding the tag 1776.

If you do not have time to wait for a reply, enter the unit name as best as you can. If the unit name does not exist, the person profile will be added to a maintenance category, and project volunteers will assist in creating the new unit category or correcting the unit name.

Adding Additional Units

The 1776 Sticker only takes a single unit parameter. If the person served in multiple units, additional unit categories are added manually as Categories above the == Biography == heading, preferably by selecting them from the Categories button in the editor to ensure they already exist.

DAR and SAR Stickers & Citation Template

This section provides an overview of this topic. For more detail, see also:

Lineage societies are excellent sources for existing research:

They maintain searchable databases:

You can highlight DAR- and NSSAR-recognized Patriots with Stickers. For example:

{{Society Ancestor|society=society short-code|ancestor=ancestor number}} ←Sticker format
{{Society Ancestor|society=DAR|ancestor=A047217}} ←Sticker example
{{NSSAR Patriot Ancestor|sar-number=record number|rank=rank text}} ←Sticker format
{{NSSAR Patriot Ancestor|sar-number=300490|rank=Private}} ←Sticker example

Note: These Stickers should always be below the == Biography == heading and above the == Sources == heading.

There is also a citation template for DAR-recognized ancestors. For example:

{{DAR-grs|ancestor number|ancestor name|access date}} ←citation format
{{DAR-grs|A105194|Elijah Smith|10 February 2024}} ←citation example

This citation template can be used in either an in-line citation (ref tag) or in the Sources list. For example:

<ref>{{DAR-grs|A105194|Elijah Smith|10 February 2024}}</ref> ←citation in ref tag example
== Sources ==
<references />
* {{DAR-grs|A105194|Elijah Smith|10 February 2024}} ←citation in Sources list example

Volunteer Task List

If you are looking for ways to help, here are a few ideas:

  • List what you are working on here.
  • Post and answer requests for genealogy help on G2G as needed. This is a great help to the project!
  • Add your favorite 1776 Resource here.
  • If you are a researcher willing to help others, add you name to 1776 Researchers Willing to Help below.
  • Let us know about your 1776 profiles you are particularly proud of. We are looking for more example profiles!

Thank you for all your help!

Resources

Service Documentation

Below are examples of acceptable and unacceptable documentation of service.

Note: In 1780, there were approximately 2.8 million persons in the Thirteen Colonies. We must consider the possibility there were multiple persons with the same name in a given place. Some service records only state a name with no other identifying information. Additional reliable sources may be needed to associate a record with a specific person.

Acceptable Documentation[1]

  • published military records
  • compiled military service records
  • papers of the Continental Congress
  • records of military and other service from state and county accounts
  • contemporary letters from the persons serving, or from someone receiving the information directly from the person who performed the service
  • some state and local histories when service is documented
  • some websites, such as Wikipedia
  • DAR Ancestor Search

Unacceptable Documentation[1]

  • Family genealogies stating that a person performed American Revolutionary War service are not acceptable as proof.
  • A grave marked as that of a American Revolutionary War soldier is not acceptable as proof of service.
  • Do not cite the old DAR Patriot Indexes or Magazines as Patriots may have been removed.
  • The NSSAR is NOT proof of service.

WikiTree Help Pages

Remember, a lot of questions can be answered by referring to the help pages.

1776 Project Resources

Profile Examples

Relevant Category Links

The Project's high-level category for those involved

Military

Civilians

Events

Places

Lineage Societies

Related Projects and Pages

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 These are guidelines only and good genealogical practice.


Last reviewed 12 Feb 2024.



This page was last modified 14:58, 20 February 2024. This page has been accessed 74,830 times.