Ohioans helping search for undocumented Revolutionary War soldiers as part of America 250 celebration
As states across America prepare to celebrate 250 years as a country, one state is trying to find war heroes to commemorate them.
Historians believe around 7,000 Revolutionary War soldiers are buried throughout Ohio. After the American Revolution, thousands of soldiers were paid parcels of land for fighting in the war.
Millions of those acres were in what is now, Ohio. As thousands of veterans moved westward for a new beginning, many settled there.
"These veterans are some of our first Ohioans to come to the state," said Krista Horrocks, the project manager, historian and cemetery preservationist with the Ohio History Connection. Horrocks oversees the state's program, Revolutionary War Veterans Graves Project, partnered with America250-Ohio.
BEHIND THE SCENES: MEMORIAL DAY TRIBUTE
The project is seeking help from Ohio residents to locate the grave sites of Revolutionary War heroes.
"These guys, they survived, and they moved on, and they moved on and settled here in Ohio with their families," Horrocks said.
To date, the public has documented over 4,100 soldiers throughout the state of Ohio. The deadline is Memorial Day.
Horrocks knows they will not hit the 7,000 mark "because some of them do have missing grave sites," but the app Survey123 can help get as close to that goal as possible.
Survey123 lists the surveys related to the project and allows users to search in local cemeteries, according to Horrocks. The app can be downloaded on any mobile device.
HONORING FALLEN VETERANS: MEMORIAL DAY
When locating veterans' graves, people can also look up cemeteries with documented Revolutionary War heroes. Once an undocumented grave is located in the app, users can answer a slew of questions related to the cemetery. This includes name, date of birth, date of death and pictures.
Several cemeteries around the state are also doing their part.
"We've had various lists submitted to us over the years of, 'this may be a list of Revolutionary War veterans, or this may be a list'," said Randy Rogers, Executive Director of Green Lawn Cemetery, which he added is the second-largest cemetery in the state of Ohio.
While Green Lawn was established in 1848 – well after the Revolutionary War – Rogers says many families brought their relatives over from other cemeteries. He said other cemeteries closed in the city as the city of Columbus grew.
As the Memorial Day deadline approaches, Rogers said they have documented nine Revolutionary War heroes on the app for the state project. Though he has identified thirteen, he said the hunt for these veterans can get complicated.
"You know, families take a lot of pride in their veteran and their patriot ancestors," Rogers said. "They may have a marker on the family lot, even though they're buried somewhere else, and they have a headstone somewhere else, but they just have a marker here."
The group plans to compile a list of the found Revolutionary War veteran graves and post it for the public. Horrocks hopes the end result will mean restored or new historical markers, or gravestones for these heroes that were once forgotten.
"The whole point of the project is to get really good, accurate data to the public so they can do the best for the veterans in their community," Horrocks told Fox News.