Elwyn Robert McKinstry: Descendant of American Patriots A Genealogical Narrative Pedigree

Abstract

Elwyn Robert McKinstry was born on 24 September 1890 in Ottawa, Carleton County, Ontario, Canada. His parents were Robert Elwyn McKinstry and Maud Howe. According to census entries, Maud’s parents were born in the United States of America. If Elwyn’s maternal grandparents were Americans, then it is possible that there are other American ancestors on the maternal branch of his tree. Could it be possible that the branches include American Patriots who fought in the American Revolutionary War? The results of the research are presented in an online exhibition using Omeka Classic at https://genealogysteve.omeka.net/exhibits/show/cover/abt. The genealogical pedigree format used to analyze his ancestral roots begins with Elwyn Robert McKinstry. It ascends to address Patriot families in the generations that experienced the American Revolutionary War. The supporting genealogical research relies heavily on online resources and views them through the cultural and military historical lenses. Sources analyzed include Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application files, lineage society membership applications, family and local county histories, and vital records. The original research, driven by the discovery in a census of ancestors born in the U.S., is source-oriented. Elwyn Robert McKinstry descended from American Patriots of the American Revolutionary War. His ancestors, Samuel Allen, Joshua Graves, Uriah Howe, Joseph Lockwood, and Thomas Lowrey, lived in either New York or New Hampshire and were of age to have served in the American Revolutionary War. Based on online research, Samuel Allen certainly was a Patriot veteran, Uriah Howe probably was a Patriot veteran, and Joshua Graves and Thomas Lowrey likely were Patriot veterans. Additional research in fixed-facility archives is required to further substantiate these Patriots’ service. It is possible that other ancestors yet to be discovered also served or supported the American cause as Patriots.