In the small

TL; DR -- Note that the SAR/DAR databases are useful. Looking at William Gardner who is mentioned by SAR, not DAR. There are several families involved in this study. And, there are documents from the time as William was an agent for the new country in New Hampshire. Need to settle Williams ancestry. 

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Lately, we found out that SAR has been updating their website with information about applications. Earlier, we referenced NSDAR and their database in terms of research. In summary, these two organizations have a focus that starts with the Revolution and comes forward. Both provide information about members and their Patriots. One can see relationships between families which can help applicants. Also, the information has been proven though one needs to consider guidelines and rules with regard to the use of this information. 

Too, one can see where there is an absence. It turns out that a recent research project dealt with a Patriot that is in the SAR database with no applications node but is missing from the one of NSDAR. So, we will be looking at that more closely. 

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  SAR entry - William Gardner who was featured in our last post: Wentworth-Gardner House, in Portsmouth NH. There were several William Gardners, but we know that this is the right William (P-164166) due to the birth and death years. The record shows his early service, which was when he had a rank of Ensign. 

Taking the case of DAR further, their database is built from applications. The interesting aspect is that they have used the same approach for over 100 years, though there have been changes in technology as we all know. However, consistency and stability are two requirements not always being met by computer systems, so DAR's efforts in this regard is to be appreciated. So, yes, our technology focus? It will continue. 

However that will be addressed later. Our next post will summarize what we have learned about William Gardner. Basically, later than shown in the SAR database, he was a supplier. He and General Washington had some disagreement. Hence the title of this post. We all think of the Revolution and the U.S. in terms of the Commander in Chief and the first President. However, lots and lots of other people were involved. 

Some get attention. We will be adding to that mix as we continue our research. As well, Alexander Hamilton exchanged some letters with William. We will be digging deeper into that. Again, 'in the small' really deals with where the rubber meets the road. With respect to William Gardner, we found some information on his children and later life. There are a few official documents that mention him (Letter to GW, 16 Aug 1779).  

In the large, though, supplying the Revolution was difficult for many reasons. We will be looking at that. There is some mention that William paid out of his own pocket. We all know that there were funding issues. Actually, we might just pop forward and compare notes about this issue in the time of the U.S. Civil War. We already looked at Col. Thomas Wentworth Higginson's effort at raising troops. 

Lots of error-full events now result from knowledge of scale being lost. One might say that we see top-down impositions as fault causers. Too, though, too much fantasy (SciFi, what have you, Hollywood, ...) is the same issue. Hype versus reality with respect to AI. Sheesh, just caught the esteemed WSJ adding to the problem. Never thought that we would see that. Oh yes, scale? The whole of the internet has raised that to levels unanticipated the past couple of decades. 

You see, with regard to the U.S., history might have periods, however there are persistent themes (memes) the whole of the way from then to now. That's why the upcoming 250th is important (a chance to redo some analysis). Of course, the 400th looks at that which started the thread toward the Revolution. 

Remarks: Modified: 04/09/2021

04/09/2021 -- Added the TL;DR.