American’s Second War for Independence? Didn’t we only have one? Yes… and no.
While there was only one war where America formally declared its independence from Britain, it took the War of 1812 to cement America’s position as an independent nation. Though this war is largely (and regrettably) overlooked in many history classes, it was a pivotal time in American history.
Almost Lost to Time
The pension files of the War of 1812 veterans total nearly 7.2 million pages. These are pages filled with information about these men and their families. It isn’t unusual to find pages from family Bibles, marriage records, and affidavits about family relationships.
These pension records have never been microfilmed and are among the most heavily used records at the National Archives. All of that handling takes a toll on the paper. And once it’s gone, it’s gone.
Preserve the Pensions Project
The Preserve the Pensions project is a joint project of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the National Archives, Ancestry, and Fold3. The goal is to digitize those 7.2 million pages of War of 1812 pension files and make them available to everyone for FREE. (Yes, free!)
They’re making great progress. They’re already posted pensions files for veterans A through L and are starting in the M surnames. See the pensions that are already available!
Think of the Possibilities
Think what research possibilities will be opened when 7.2 million pages of these files are available. Yes, they will be a boon to genealogists. (They already are!) But they’ll also be a great resource for history students. With dwindling education dollars, teachers are looking for free resources. Not only is this free, but it’s the actual primary document, not just an index.
Making Donations Count
It costs 45 cents to digitize and add metadata to each image. (If you know anything about large-scale digitization projects, you know what a low price that is!) So normally, a $45 donation would digitize 100 pages. However, Ancestry is matching all donations dollar for dollar — making your donation go twice as far.
I’ve Helped — and So Can You!
I’ve set up a recurring donation for $18.12/month. My total donation of $217.44 will digitize 483 pages. Plus, Ancestry’s match will digitize another 483 pages. So for less than the cost of a pizza per month, I’m helping to digitize 966 pages of War of 1812 pension files!
Donating to Preserve the Pensions is easy. You can do it online or mail in a donation to Preserve the Pensions, P.O. Box 200940, Austin, TX 78720-0940. Do it today!
