>The certificate was for 10 + years after Lafayette's return to Chester, But it was also two years after his death, which was probably as notable an event there as it was in other places like Lancaster. >It just seem more military than celebratory. Perhaps it was a militia, but as you suggested before it doesn't seem like an era when there was a particular need for one. The again, on October 2, 1835, the Texas Revolution broke out as the Mexican state of Texas declared independence from the Mexican government. But the only references to the Rangers I can find seem to be references to parades. Which probably makes sense, as I would expect a militia wouldn't have done more than marching drills and readiness exercises if there was no need for combat. I was quite curious about the Gen. Simon Cameron reference as he was too young to have served in 1812 and it seems odd he would have been a general at that time and that's one reason I assumed it was more a club than an active military group. I believe Cameron was a General at the start of the Civil war. In the 1830's I think he worked at the bank of Middletown. The other thing that seemed curious was whether the certificate is saying he'd served 7 years by 1836, or if that's the date the battalion was attached to Chester. The other article cited the Rangers as starting in 1834 and I do think that the name was probably attached at that point in honor of Lafayette's death. There may have been more than one group of rangers. There appears to have been a Florida Lafayette Rangers in the Civil War, and it looked like there may have been a baseball team at some point too. But I would think there would be more references online if it was a particularly active group. > There is a huge amount of data on Lafayette's return to Chester, in THE >HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, by Futhey and Cope....many, many pages worth. If >there is anything or anyone specific you'd like me to look for, just let me >know. I think most of my ancestors were gone from Chester County by then. I am specifically interested in activities such as dinners with Masons, notable public figures he was associated with and where he stayed, and when. The Lancaster and Harrisburg visits seem to have been close to each other but I gather that Lafayette spent a lengthy visit in the US circa 1825.