Events

What do a teenaged boy from Virginia in 1776, a South Carolina farmer in 1781, and a North Carolina merchant who emigrated from Scotland in 1772 have in common? These three men and dozens of others who served the patriot cause in the American Revolution were all early settlers in the Cape Girardeau District, Missouri. Indeed, the Revolution set off a chain of events that led to the founding of Cape Girardeau and a number of other eastern Missouri communities. The increasing availability of a variety of records has made research on Revolutionary ancestors easier than ever. In this presentation Bill Eddleman—coordinator of the Cape Girardeau Research Center of the State Historical Society of Missouri—focuses on case studies of 12 men who emigrated to the Cape Girardeau District from 1797 to 1830 and contributed to the new settlement. Use of traditional and newly-available records and their value in similar research will be emphasized.