There have been a number of our genealogy pen-pals who have asked why their ancestor is not on the Federal List of Pensioners. There are several possible reasons, other than not serving. 1. Name you are looking for could be spelled incorrectly. Be sure to exhaust every possible spelling. 2. You could be looking in the wrong place. The Federal List is set up according to the State the service was in not where he lived later in life. So remember your ancestor was somewhere in the 13 original colonies during this period. 3. Many persons who served in the Revolutionary War were not included in Federal Records. This is particularly true of soldiers who served in the militia. State records pertain largely to their own participants in the Rev. War. Many of the types of original records may be found in the State Archives of the enlisted veteran. Once you have discovered the state under which your ancestor served, you should write the State Archives asking about available records and enclosing a SASE for reply. Be certain to ask about bounty land records since many veterans received bounty lands from the states rather than the federal government. Also, don't forget to ask about information on the military unit to which your ancestor belonged. The State Archives will not undertake research for you, but might be able to provide you with a list of researchers living in the area of the State Archives for you to enlist help. For the State of PA: PA State Archives, Third & Forster Sts., Harrisburg, PA 17108. They are indexes, militia, line troops, navy, accounts, payrolls, muster lists, claims, commissions, passes, forfeited estates, donation land and land patents. If you are looking for a State Archive in another state, feel free to email me privately and I'll give you the appropriate address. Good Luck! Barb Seyler