First I need to correct a typo in my original post " They are both buried in Grandview Cemetery, Carrollton, Carroll Co., OH. Documentation supports Jacob as soldier who served in the Revolutionary War. I find nothing more than a gravestone supporting that Samuel served. So, my conclusion from the available data is that Jacob is probably not Samuel. Perhaps he did, but I would need more proof to substantiate the claim. And because they are not the same person that does not mean that they did not both serve the county. And I'd like to respond to Gloria's reply to it. She writes: "I just got off of the telephone with a professional genealogist named Alvie Davidson a few minutes ago who is well known in his field nationally and an expert in Revolutionary War Records. [snip]" "He said: You have to remember that Washington was burned to the ground during the Revolution" {closer to the War of 1812} "and not all of the records survived. That and the fact that the Archives had a fire many years later and there was a lot of water damage in the basement with the old records." {destroying the 1890 Census}. "He said: As far as Samuel Bushong not showing up in the Revolutionary War Pensions there were many who served in the war that never asked for a pension. Mainly because they had money and didn't need it." "I say: Very few of the Bushongs who served asked for a pension. Jacob evidently was without income at the time he applied for a pension and needed the money so please don't use that fact of pension application or receiving a pension as a criteria for determining that a Samuel Bushong did not serve." With regard to pensions, much of what you say is correct. Pensions usually went to soldiers with injuries, or to soldiers widows. Many never applied, or those who did needed an attorney to represent their case to the government. Jacob owned land and had a large family. It was as much a case that they met the conditions of the pension (bodily injury or death), applied for the pension and were granted it. Often they felt they were "due it." In fact, Jacob was "Dropped from roll May1, 1820." No reason is given. But lack of a pension is not the only source I cited. Samuel is not listed in The Official Roster of the Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in the State of Ohio. by Daughters of the American Revolution. (Volume 1 in 1929 or Volume 2 in 1938). Notice it says Roster; this is not a pension document. Samuel also did not have a Bounty-Land Warrant Application. Again, like the lack of a pension, not exclusionary. None of the Ohio county histories mention Samuel, with does not negate the claim but doesn't substantiate it either. "He said: Tombstones back in those days were chisled out right in front of the relatives while they watched and then erected. If the name had been incorrect, a family member would have spoken up with the first incorrect S instead of J and had it corrected right then." "I say: His tombstone was erected at the time of his death when he was buried in 1829. Since Jacob Bushong didn't die until 1830, don't you think that with the large family that Jacob had, that if the tombstone did indeed belong to your Jacob and was incorrect as to the name, that someone would have had it corrected or taken down? And why would they make two mistakes on a tombstone, the name and the date.....really. It was re-done by a relative in 1930 when it was beginning to wear down but as the newspaper article stated, it was still readable." Gloria are you unaware that there are two separate gravestones, one for Samuel and one for Jacob. I have transcribed four sizable cemeteries (in Pennsylvania and Kansas) and have found many inconsistencies in both names and dates when compared to obituaries and family histories. I agree sources including published county histories are not always correct, but just because "it's carved in stone," you can't assume that it is correct either. "I say: Samuel Bushong was on the DAR Ohio Roster until Carol W. Bell had it removed!!!!! Samuel Bushong also is noted in some very old newspapers articles which named him as Samuel Bushong. If it had been incorrect at that time of printing, they would have had a corrected printed in the next edition. That's what they did back then.........." Do you really believe what you are saying. Again the Roster was published in 1929 and 1938. Carol wasn't even born until 1939. If Samuel's stone was placed before that time don't you think the DAR would have included it in the Roster. And to assert that Carol Bell had it changed is absurd. I wish Carol were alive to refute your proposal. And I truly hope no one ever tries to defame Russell's good name. I was taught not to speak disrespectfully of those who have left these worldly bonds, even those with whom I might not agree. Carol did so very much to serve the Bushong name, all of the Bushongs, not just her line. If Samuel were a Revolutionary Soldier, she would have celebrated the fact, not had it removed. If you have newspaper articles relating to this Samuel (d. 1829), would you be willing to share. The earliest Samuel I have in my database (of >10,000) was born in 1794, obviously to late to be a Revolutionary War soldier. I've not worked on this line in sometime and I know I don't have all of the Bushongs. All of the documentation I provided is available on Ancestry.com if you'd care to check. "I say: There were too many Bushongs named Samuel in the early ancestors for there not to be a Samuel Bushong before Jacob and if you would just think about it, didn't Jacob Bushong name a son Samuel? Where did that name come from if not from an older relative named Samuel." And what relevance do naming conventions have in this discussion. It neither proves or disproves the point, you are attempting to make "Don't let the lack of paperwork blind you to the simple facts." I am not blinded by simple facts. Early family history is exceeding difficult often due to lack of hard evidence. But "Genealogy without documentation is mythology." And again, I ask my question. Is Samuel possibly the same person as Joseph, for whom there is evidence of burial at Grandview, but no stone. Glenn