Discovering your Ancestors

When researching your genealogy, the process can initially feel daunting, especially when census records are difficult to find. With persistence, however, the effort often pays off, and a researcher may uncover ancestors they never expected to be connected to. That was the case for my father before he passed away. Like many people, he was simply curious about the identities of the forebears who had settled in the United States, in some cases centuries earlier. He had long wondered whether he had Mayflower lineage, and he was not surprised when he eventually confirmed that he was descended from Richard Warren, who arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts aboard that historic vessel.

As he continued his research, the process became easier, especially once he reached the period when record keeping in the Massachusetts Bay Colony had become more systematic and reliable. Tracing his mother’s ancestry further back, he eventually discovered that he was related to a veteran of the Revolutionary War. The revelation was all the more striking because the man from whom he was directly descended was Brigadier General Ebenezer Learned.

Discoveries like this can lead a researcher down entirely new paths, especially when they uncover an illustrious ancestor such as General Learned. The experience is exhilarating, and it sparks a deeper curiosity about the life and character of someone you never knew you were connected to. Many people have had similar experiences, and they often find community in heritage organizations such as the Society of the Cincinnati.

General Learned was raised in Oxford, Massachusetts, where his grandfather had been among the town’s earliest settlers. His father, Ebenezer Learned Sr., rose to the rank of colonel in the Massachusetts militia. It was his son, however, who distinguished himself during the American Revolution, leading his regiment with notable valor at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. Under the overall command of General Horatio Gates, the Continental Army defeated British General “Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne, capturing an entire British force for the first time in the war and marching them from the field as prisoners of the United States.

The victory at Saratoga proved to be a decisive turning point in the Revolution. It convinced France that the American cause had a genuine chance of success, prompting the French to enter the conflict as allies—an alliance that fundamentally reshaped the balance of power against their long‑standing British rivals.

This American war hero was also the first man to enter Boston on March 17, 1776, after the British evacuated the city following the Battle of Dorchester Heights. General George Washington ordered him to take the lead because Learned had already survived smallpox and therefore could not contract the disease again—a crucial consideration in the contagion‑ridden capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He led a battalion of 500 men into the city to begin clearing the devastation the British left behind. Earlier, while still a colonel, he had commanded a company of minutemen en route to Boston when he received news of the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.

There is comparatively little research material available to historians on the colonial militia prior to the American Revolution, but one notable work does mention the young Captain Ebenezer Learned during his service in the French and Indian War. In A People’s Army, historian Fred Anderson observes, “Fortunately, Rufus Putnam’s memoirs offer a superb portrait of such an officer: Putnam’s first company commander, Captain Ebenezer Learned.”¹ But there is a telling irony in the story, too: its main event is a desertion, which Learned very capably led.

Discovering that we had relatives like General Learned in our family tree was deeply rewarding, and it underscores how genealogical research can reshape—and even deepen—your understanding of yourself.

1. Anderson, Fred. A People’s Army: Massachusetts Soldiers and Society in the Seven Years’ War. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1984 ↩︎