Supported by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution
Fort Ticonderoga celebrates Family History Month this October with a new genealogy initiative Ticonderoga Soldiers Project. The project was launched because of a dramatic increase in genealogical interest and inquiries related to soldiers who served at Ticonderoga during the 18th century.
The Ticonderoga Soldiers Project is a multi-phase initiative aimed at making it easier for people around the world to connect with their family’s history at Ticonderoga. To achieve this goal, Fort Ticonderoga museum staff are scouring recently digitized archival documents including military orders, returns, court documents, letters, and diaries to identify and document the thousands of individuals who were stationed at Fort Ticonderoga from 1755 to 1783. This project has been made possible in part by the generous support of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
“Interest in one’s ancestry has been a key aspect of Fort Ticonderoga’s existence for generations,” said Dr. Matthew Keagle, Fort Ticonderoga Museum Curator. “Today, with new and easier ways to access genealogical material, we are seeing a renaissance in genealogical research and interest in connections to Fort Ticonderoga. Although our efforts have begun by surveying Fort Ticonderoga’s own archival collections, in the future, we will expand to other sources to document the estimated 45,000 soldiers and civilians from across North America, Africa, and Europe whose lives intersected with this iconic place.”
“The DAR continues to be delighted with our collaboration with Fort Ticonderoga on this exciting genealogical project,” said Pamela Wright, President General, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. “We look forward to welcoming new members who have researched their family history through the collections!”
As individuals are identified in Ticonderoga’s archival collections and basic biographical information is gathered, archival staff add this content to museum records. Now you can search for your ancestors who were present at Fort Ticonderoga during the 18th century in the museum’s free publicly accessible online collections database. There are over 3,850 people currently listed in the database. This number will continue to grow as additional archival documents are processed and more individuals are identified in Fort Ticonderoga’s collections.
For more information about how to search in the database and additional information about conducting genealogy research at Fort Ticonderoga, visit the newly launched Genealogy page on our website.
About Fort Ticonderoga
Welcoming visitors since 1909, Fort Ticonderoga is a historic site, museum, center of learning and major cultural destination. Fort Ticonderoga engages more than 70,000 visitors each year on site with an economic impact of more than $12 million annually and offers programs, historic interpretation, boat cruises, tours, demonstrations, and exhibits throughout the year, and is open for daily visitation May through October. Fort Ticonderoga is owned and operated by The Fort Ticonderoga Association, a non-profit educational organization which serves its mission to preserve, educate and provoke an active discussion about the past and its importance to present and future generations. Fort Ticonderoga reaches more than 30 million people through its digital outreach each year through its Center for Digital History and is supported in part through generous donations and with some general operating support made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts. To view Fort Ticonderoga’s electronic press kit, click here. © The Fort Ticonderoga Association. 2023 All Rights Reserved.