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Episode Overview
Hittin’ the Bricks with Kathleen is a podcast centered on genealogy, local history, and understanding how large historical events leave long shadows in family records. In this episode, host Kathleen Brandt examines how the French and Indian War (1754–1763) created ripple effects that appear decades later as mystery migrations, unexpected pensions, and land grants that confuse modern researchers.
This episode focuses on how early military service, shifting alliances, and uneven record-keeping before the American Revolution shaped family trees in ways that are often misattributed or overlooked.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn
- Why the French and Indian War explains many unexplained family movements
- How service records before 1775 differ from Revolutionary War documentation
- The distinctions between provincial troops, militias, and British regulars
- Where to find overlooked military and civil records tied to early service
- How land grants and pensions often trace back to this earlier conflict
Topics Covered
- French and Indian War timeline and geographic scope
- Fragmented colonial record-keeping before 1775
- Provincial troops vs. militia vs. British regular forces
- Native nations as military allies and the unequal rewards they received
- African American service, injury, and paths to manumission
- Muster rolls, pay lists, council minutes, and court records
- George Washington’s papers as an early name index
- Bounty land in Virginia and North Carolina
- Interpreting Revolutionary War pension files
- Population movement before formal paperwork exists
Episode Discussion & Key Moments
Kathleen traces how the French and Indian War laid the groundwork for later political revolution while quietly reshaping families across colonial America. She explains why records from this period often appear scattered, incomplete, or indirect—and why researchers must widen their search beyond standard military files.
The episode breaks down practical strategies for locating provincial troop records, militia references, council decisions, and court mentions, as well as how to use George Washington’s papers as a gateway to otherwise hidden names. Kathleen also addresses how Native nations and African Americans participated in the conflict, often receiving delayed, unequal, or poorly documented compensation.
Key questions examined include:
- Why do some ancestors appear to surface suddenly in Revolutionary records?
- How did earlier wars move families long before pensions or land grants were issued?
- What kinds of documents quietly preserve evidence of service?
Resources & Research Starting Points
- Provincial troop muster rolls and pay lists
- Colonial council and court minutes
- George Washington’s papers
- Virginia and North Carolina bounty land records
- Revolutionary War pension files (read every page)
Why This Episode Matters
Many genealogical puzzles attributed to the American Revolution actually begin earlier. Understanding the French and Indian War helps researchers correctly interpret migration, land ownership, military service, and delayed benefits—allowing family histories to be
Be sure to bookmark linktr.ee/hittinthebricks for your one stop access to Kathleen Brandt, the host of Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen. And, visit us on YouTube: @HTBKRB with Kathleen John and Chewey video recorded specials.
Hittin' the Bricks is produced through the not-for-profit, 501c3 TracingAncestors.org.
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