EasyGenie fan shares a fascinating #America250 connection to George Washington

This month, we have an interesting story to share from a reader. Rita C. is a long-time fan of EasyGenie, and has been using our fillable genealogy PDFs to track her sister-in-law’s genealogy.

She and her brother, a trained historian, made a major family history discovery almost by accident that ties her sister-in-law’s family to the founding of the United States … and George Washington himself! Buckle up, we’re in for a fun ride.

Rita writes:

“The main part of the family I have been researching is her Rose lineage. The family is documented in the general area of West Point New York since around 1730.

Two letters written in 1779 concerning the fortifications in the area came to my attention.

The first was dictated by George Washington (!) to Alexander Hamilton (!) for Richard Butler, a temporary commander of troops in the area. It refers to Rowe’s (Rose) house as an outpost with good view over the ruins of Fort Montgomery which had been taken by the British not long before.

The second was from Anthony (Mad Anthony) Wayne to George Washington. Wayne was tasked with routing the British from the area. Wayne refers to the Rose Farm as being a place where troops are stationed.”

Rita and her brother went further with their research. Not only did they find the letters, they also found the property on a famous map made by Washington’s cartographer:

This is a major discovery for any family historian, that links an ancestral family to the history of the Revolutionary War.

I was curious: What was her brother’s initial research question that led to the finding?

“He is involved in a project to definitely pinpoint where ‘Mad’ Anthony Wayne had his encampment in the area prior to expelling the British,” Rita wrote. “He is working with the Fort Montgomery state historic site director as well as the historian for the town of Highland Falls to be able to identify the side prior to the 250 anniversary.”

As most of you know, this year is the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding on July 4, 1776. There are all kinds of events and memorial exhibits planned around the July 4th anniversary. The #America250 activities have already brought historians and genealogists together for many research projects, with Rita’s being but one example.

Indeed, Rita noted that the family had also benefited from research conducted around the 1976 Bicentennial, 50 years previously. “I had [already] done my sister in law’s family tree and had previously looked at town records, tax records, and a newspaper supplement from the 200th anniversary that gave history of the area, death certificates, wills, etc.” she said.

What an inspiring story! Not only does it point to the importance of happenstance discoveries, it also illustrates how cooperation with other family members can yield real results.

We would like to thank Rita for sharing her story.