The Question of 2026 – Do You Know Where Your Ancestors Were in 1776?

As we begin 2026, a year marking the 250th anniversary of the United States, I have found myself with a simple, yet not so simple question – Do you know where your ancestors were in 1776?

For some families 1776 represents independence, military service, or the beginning of opportunity. But for others, it represents slavery, displacement, and lives lived completely outside of the promises of the Declaration of Independence.

One of the questions I am most asked as a family historian is how far back have I been able to research. For my own family, the farthest I have reached is my 3X great grandfather, Robert Hatchet, who was born around 1796 in Fauquier County, Virginia, and I know the name of his mother, Sally.

I don’t yet know anything about Sally other than her name. I don’t know where she was born, if she had more children, or who her parents and siblings were. I can reasonably guess that Sally was likely alive in 1776 and most likely enslaved in Virginia as freedom was being celebrated and declared for the United States of America.

I’m challenging myself this year, 2026, my personal research focus will be on learning more about my ancestors who were living during or around 1776. At the center of this research is Robert Hatchett and his mother Sally. I’m also focusing on several younger ancestors from different lines of my family for whom I currently have little information beyond their births:

• Evaline Hatchett, born 1846 in Alabama
• Joseph Wright, born 1835 in Virginia
• Tilman Ward, born 1833 in Tennessee
• Ann Eliza Ward, born 1837 in Tennessee

My goal for this challenge isn’t necessarily to name every ancestor who lived in 1776, though that would be incredible, but to push my research as close to that year as possible, while honoring the lives of those who came just after it. They are the bridge between documented history and the stories that were never written down. I’m not sure what I will find, but I’m excited to learn where my ancestors were around 1776.