Do you have an ancestor who served in the 1777 Battles of Saratoga? Saratoga National Historical Park, in partnership with Heritage Hunters of Saratoga County, announces that starting on Thursday, October 14th, a free, computer-based, accessible research tool, ‘-Participants at the Battles of Saratoga’, will be available in the park’s visitor center, open daily from 9am to 5pm.
The easy-to-use, touch screen database program was created by members of Heritage Hunters of Saratoga County, New York, a society dedicated to the study of historical and genealogical records in the area. The information is also on their website, but now will be readily available for any of the 150,000 visitors who annually visit Saratoga National Historical Park and wish to investigate their ancestor’s service here.
Park Superintendent Joe Finan said, “Imagine finding your ancestor’s information recorded from sources over 230 years old and then going out on the battlefield and standing where they did. It will be a deeply moving experience for thousands of park visitors. We greatly appreciate the work of Heritage Hunters.”
Frank Goodway, project coordinator for Heritage Hunters, noted that there are currently over 15,000 participants listed with about 2,500 more available that he and Fletcher Blanchard are currently adding. Pat Peck has recently taken on the task of editing these records. Additionally, some records include family information as well as military records, and more family data is planned to be added in the future.
For over a decade, members of Heritage Hunters have been diligently collecting data from over one hundred reference sources, including pension records, pay-lists, and muster rolls, to obtain names and information about American soldiers who participated at the 1777 Battles of Saratoga. The list is continually updated by Heritage Hunters.
In the next few years, Saratoga NHP staff will enhance the database to include GPS coordinates so that visitors can go to the exact area where their ancestor’s units fought. In addition, the park will also add a database of British soldiers and their allies who fought here. For now, records about British forces are available by making an appointment with Park Ranger and Historian Eric Schnitzer.
Saratoga National Historical Park is located on Route 4 and 32 in Stillwater. For more information about the park and programs call 518.664.9821 ext. 224 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/sara.