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Isaac Carter: Distinguishing the Identity of Same Name Rev War Soldiers, Part 5

The first two things I did with my research questions were re-checking all pertinent sources and gathering additional evidence based on the sources' citations.

Today we'll be looking at the documents I found on Fold3 and Ancestry, and once they are considered, I'll continue with published transcriptions.

Question No. 1: Did the Isaac Carter of Craven County who lived along the South Side of Neuse River on the West Side of Clubfoot Creek enlist in the 10th North Carolina Regiment under Captain Silas Ayers (Sears) Stevenson, commanded by Colonel Abraham Sheppard for three years or the duration of the war?

Fold3: US, Revolutionary War Service Records, 1775-1783

Two Patriots' service records appeared here. The first Isaac Carter enlisted on 1 September 1777 for 3 years in Captain Robert Fenner's Company, 2nd North Carolina Battalion commanded by Colonel John Patten. On September 9, 1778 the battalion was camped at White Plains, and a note was made that he was sick at Springfield.

The second Isaac Carter enlisted was also at White Plains on September 9, 1778, but he was in Captain Clement Hall's Company, 2nd North Carolina Battalion. His enlistment date was not recorded, but he was in for three years as well.

Fold3: US, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783

I then found two muster rolls. The first was for Captain Clement Hall's Company, 2nd North Carolina Batallion, Commanded by Colonel John Patten, White Plains, September 9, 1778.

NARA M246 Roll 0079. Fold3.com. Folder 3, Page 21 of 46.

Below is a list I made of the familiar names and their enlistment information.

NAME

ENLISTED

REGIMENT

COMPANY

LOCATION

DATE

Isaac Perkins

16 May 1777, 3 yrs

2nd NC Battalion

Capt. Clement Hall

White Plains, NY

9 Sep 1778

Martin Black

16 May 1777, 3 yrs

2nd NC Battalion

Capt. Clement Hall

White Plains, NY

9 Sept 1778

Isaac Carter

(blank), 3 yrs

2nd NC Battalion

Capt. Clement Hall

White Plains, NY

9 Sept 1778

John Carter

(blank), duration of the war

2nd NC Battalion

Capt. Clement Hall

White Plains, NY

9 Sept 1778

The second muster roll was for Captain Robert Fenner's Company. 
NARA M246 Roll 0079. Fold3.com. Folder 3, Page 15 of 46.

The interesting thing here is that Isaac Carter is the only familiar name.

Isaac Carter

1 Sep 1777, 3 yrs

2nd NC Battalion

Capt. Robert Fenner

White Plains, NY

9 Sep 1778 (Sick Springfield)

So, we have both service records and the corresponding muster rolls that the record was based on. Now let's look at what's on Ancestry. 

Ancestry: US, Revolutionary War Soldiers, 1776-1783

Looking at search results from an Ancestry military records search can be confusing, overwhelming, and downright frustrating! While it seems like so much information is popping up for Isaac Carter, the results are less than helpful if you don't start digging, trying to find where the information comes from.

For example, a recent search gave the following results:
  • Name and Rank: Carter, Isaac, Pt. Company: Stephenson's Dates of Enlistment and Commission: 1 Sep. '77 Period of Service: 3 yrs. W Occurrences: Destd 13 June '83
  • Reference: North Carolina State Records, Clark, Vol. XVI, 1782-1783 page 113
  • Reference: North Carolina State Records, Clark, Vol. XVI, 1782-1783 page 116
  • Name and Rank: Carter, Isaac, Pt. Company: Evans' Dates of Enlistment and Commission: '82 Period of Service: 18 mo. Occurrences: Destd 11 June '83
  • Name and Rank: Carter, Isaac, Pt. Company: Bailey's Dates of Enlistment and Commission: 25 May '81 Period of Service: 12 mo. Occurrences: Left service 25 May '82
  • Reference: North Carolina State Records, Clark, Vol. XVI, 1782-1783 page 118
  • No.: 1112. To whom granted and rank: Isaac Carter, Privt No. acres: 274 Service in months: 36 : Jno. Allen
  • Name and Rank: 47. Isaac Carter 3
  • APPENDIX page 607
  • 50. Isaac Carter
  • 90009. Carter, Isaac
Each entry was exactly as shown here. No images. No references, with the exception of those entries for the North Carolina State Records. The only way to make sense of the above is to start by looking at the description of the database:
"From the years 1776 to 1783, approximately 36,000 men from North Carolina served in the American Revolution. This database is a roster of these individuals, which has been compiled by various sources, such as: the North Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution, U.S. War Department Report of Pensions, Pierce's Register, records of the 10 regiments, company rosters, Army Accounts, and State Records."

So, now comes the task of determining the origin of each scrap of information. Going to Ancestry's Card Catalog, in the text box I entered "Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution."  This book is a published compilation of various sources transcribed by the DAR. 

When I entered Isaac Carter's information into the search box I got six results. The important thing here is that you must go back to however many pages to find the source of these records. 
  1. Isaac Carter, p. 93. Revolutionary Army Accounts, Volume AA--Pages 1-44 Inclusive [Page 43, folio page 2]: North Carolina.  
  2. Isaac Carter, p. 607, table: 47. State Records of North Carolina, Clark, Vol. XIII, Pages 506-507.  Isaac Carter, Time Enlisted (blank), 3 years: Roll of Capt. Clement Hall's Company, in the 2nd Battalion, Commanded by Col. John Patten, White Plains, September 9, 1778.
  3. Isaac Carter, p. 609. State Records of North Carolina, Clark, Vol. XIII. 50. Isaac Carter [Pages 212-214] Roll of Capt. Fenner's Company--2nd Battalion, Commanded by Col. John Patton, Camp White Plains, September 9, 1778. 
  4. Isaac Carter, p. 6. Pierce's Register. 90009. Carter, Isaac; 90996. Carter, Isaac; 91489. Carter, John. 91489. (For an explanation of this source, see: Pierce's Register. Certificates 89501-91855 were from the Regiment commanded by Colonel Thomas Clarke, paid to November 15, 1783; R. Fenner, agent).
  5. Isaac Carter, p. 97. Carter, Isaac, pt., Walsh's Company, Enlisted 1 September 1777, Prisoner 1 June 1779, Discharged 20 February 1780, 8th Regiment, Col. James Armstrong. North Carolina State Records, Clark, Vol. XVI, 1782-1783.
  6. Isaac Carter, p. 113. Carter, Isaac, pt., Stephenson's Company, Enlisted 1 September 1777, 3 years or the War, Deserted 13 June 1783. 10th Regiment, Col. Abraham Sheppard.
Looking back to the research question, I'll consider all the sources, but first, we'll focus on this last entry of  Isaac Carter in Capt. Stevenson's (Stephenson) company. This part of the record is formatted the same as the muster rolls in numbers 2 and 3, but is an alphabetical listing of soldiers' names in the first column, followed by their respective captain's name, the date of enlistment, the period of service, and occurrences. 

I'm beginning to see some answers to my questions about Moss & Scoggins' entry for Isaac Carter in their book, African-American Patriots in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution. Now I need to sort this out and begin some analysis. But that's for tomorrow.
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