Family Tree Tuesday – Paul Revere

Paul Revere was an American silversmith and patriot during the American Revolution and is remembered as having helped organize intelligence during the American Revolutionary War to keep watch on the British military.

As a messenger in the battles of Lexington and Concord, Revere’s name and his “Midnight Ride” are well-known in the United States as a patriotic symbol.

Revere’s role was not particularly noted during his life. In 1861, over 40 years after his death, the ride became the subject of “Paul Revere’s Ride“, a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The poem has become one of the best known in American history and was memorized by generations of schoolchildren. Its famous opening lines are:

Listen, my children, and you shall hear

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five;

Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year.

We wonder if anyone knew that Paul Revere is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s second cousin once removed’s husband’s fourth cousin. Check out their relationship path here.

Also, don’t forget to check out the American Revolutionary War Project on Geni. You might be surprised to find out that your past is connected to someone in that project.