Patriots of DAR Members

                                           



                                               

ELIAS JENERETTE

Patriot of TERESA MCLAMB, LYDIA MCLAMB CHANDLER, SIBYL BELLAMY MCLAMB AND PORTIA BELLAMY

Elias Jenerette enlisted as a sergeant for three years at Georgetown on September 20, 1776 and was assigned to the 4th South Carolina Regiment in the Artillery.  The Regiment was originally organized November 14, 1775, and committed to the Southern Defense June 18, 1776 when it became part of the Continental Army. In October 1776 six companies including the Independent Companies of Artillery of Beaufort and Georgetown were attached to the 4th Regiment.

Elias served in the southern campaigns from Cat Island to Augusta and Brier Creek when the Regiment chased the British troops to Stono Ferry where they engaged May 12, 1779. Nearly 1,200 American Forces commanded by Gen. Benjamin Lincoln fought 900 British commanded by Lt. Col. John Maitland. America suffered 146 killed or wounded and an additional 150 missing.  Elias was among those wounded. The Battle at Stono Ferry was not only a victory for the British but led to an advance on Savannah and ultimately to the Siege of Charleston, a disastrous defeat for the Americans.  Elias was with the Continental troops in a city divided by the war, under blockade and held under siege for two weeks.  More than 13,000 British troops from New York under Sir Henry Clinton aided by General Charles Lord Cornwallis surrounded the city by land and sea. 

When American Commander Nathaniel Greene offered to surrender if his troops were given safe passage, Clinton refused and bombarded the city, setting it on fire.  On May 12, 1780 Greene was forced to surrender his 5,000 troops and the city fell into British hands. Elias was with the men taken prisoner. Officers were sent to Haddrells Point at Mt. Pleasant.  Possibly as many as one thousand of the Americans managed to escape from British military barracks during the first few weeks and that caused the British to move the remaining Americans to the infamous prison ships in the harbor. With few supplies and disease tearing through the survivors many chose to join the British. Others simply died from neglect.


Elias survived not only the wound at Stono Ferry but the siege at Charleston and returned to North Carolina. Elias married three times and had several children. Following  the death of first wife Nancy MNU  in 1803, he married Catherine Davis and had five additional children before she died in 1816.  His third and final marriage in 1817 was to Margaret Poitevint.  She outlived him by 12 years, dying in 1845.

Elias was granted 200 acres for his service in 1789 and first applied for a pension in 1829 giving his residence as Columbus County and his age as 73. After months of delays his request was granted, and he received $33.00 a month until his death September 28, 1833 in Columbus County. His pay during his enlistment was $10.00 a month, and when he returned home his back pay totaled a little more than $400.00, probably for his entire service. His will, proven in February 1834 names his wife Margaret and twelve children: John W, Elizabeth, Lydia, Mary, Sarah Grisset, Nancy Gore, Isaac, Joseph, William, Martha, Margaret (Bellamy) and Kitty. Although his burial place is unknown his enlistment and pension papers prove residence in Brunswick and Columbus Counties. 

Chapter members Teresa McLamb and her daughter Lydia Chandler have two lines descended from Elias. Margaret Emily, daughter of Catherine and Elias, married James Bellamy (2nd great grandfather of Teresa’s mother and chapter member Sibyl Bellamy McLamb) on June 5, 1820 in Horry County. They also descend from Elias and Nancy’s daughter Mary who married Joseph Gore in 1820. Gore is the 3rd great grandfather of Teresa’s father W.J. McLamb through Gore’s mother.

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The spelling of Elias’s surname above is the same as his signature on his oath taken for the pension application.

 

 

 

 

                                                            9 Dec 1761

Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA

DEATH 30 Jul 1843 (aged 81)

Fitchburg, Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA

BURIAL

Laurel Hill Cemetery

Fitchburg, Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA 

PLOT Lot 22: Primrose Path

MEMORIAL ID 106782599 · View Source


Son of John & Mary Bancroft Merriam (AKA John Meriam, Jr in Wayland records).

Soldier of the American Revolution.

Served under Capt. Williams, Col. Sprout's 5th Massachusetts Regt Line under Gen. Nixon for six months.

Enlisted from East Sudbury on/about July 1780 at the request of a committee chosen by said East Sudbury to raise the quota... . He was at West Point in the 5th Regt. Meriam was discharged Feb. 8, 1781.

At least one record mentions that he marched on the Alarm at Lexington,* though I have not yet been able to verify this.

He received a Revolutionary War pension** until his death.

Note: Grave has previously been referred to as being located on the "Willis Lot".


JOHN MERRIAM JR


In the fall of 1776 the Continental Congress passed the Eighty-Eight Battalion Resolve Act calling on each of the 13 states to raise battalions based on their population. Massachusetts set quotas for each town and John Merriam Jr. enlisted as one of the “men raised agreeable to resolve of June 5, 1780…engaged for the town of East Sudbury”. Records describe him as 18 years of age, 5’3” with a light complexion.  Not long after his enlistment, the British attacked Springfield, setting it on fire, and quickly moved out.  John Merriam’s company marched into Springfield on July 20 and then pushed on to Fort Arnold in New York.  Due to the location of the Fort General George Washington considered it a primary target for the British and had placed Benedict Arnold in command. In 1778 the Continental Army had laid an iron chain across the Hudson River hoping to prevent British incursions and extra troops were sent there. In 1780 Arnold defected to the British and John Merriam was present. When Arnold defected to the British the Fort name was changed to Clinton and eventually renamed West Point John served with his Massachusetts Regiment until it was disbanded on Jan. 1, 1781.

After returning home John married Dinah Hudson and became a house carpenter.  He and Dinah had eleven children born between 1787 and 1804.  He requested a pension in 1833 and was granted $20.00 per year until his death on July 30 1843.  His request dated March 6 gives his age as seventy-one and states he is a resident of Worcester.  He outlines his service and signs the request.  Included in his file is an affidavit from the town clerk of Sudbury attesting to his birth on Dec. 9, 1761 with his parents listed as John and Mary (Bancroft) Meriam.  He is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Fitchburg.  Dinah was the daughter of Darius and Dinah (Goodnow) Hudson of Wayland. The gravestone is carved with his name, death date and age 81 A Soldier of the Revolution.  Below is the name of his wife Mrs. Dinah his wife died Nov. 5 1849 aged 77. 







Patriot of Phyllis Wilson with the research and information provided by our wonderful Diane Price. Phyllis Wilson's brother, Dr. Robert Bushee provided the initial information for Phyllis Wilson to become a member of the DAR, 1812, and Colonial Dames.





A LADY OF LIBERTYAND HER PATRIOT FAMILY

Mary Klaarwater Vernooy


 

Mary and her husband Peter Verooy were living beyond the safe bounds of a fort in Ulster County NY on August 12, 1781 when the few homes were attacked by a British backed group of native Americans and several set on fire. Peter, his wife Mary and others sheltered in his stone house.  The women, as women did then, loaded muskets and kept the children calm.  The men repelled the attackers.  Records indicate only one resident of Wawarsing died during the attack due to an early warning.  The stone house was still standing in 2015 but listed in poor condition.  Peter had a grist mill on the property that had been handed down from his great-grandfather. Peter and Mary were married Oct. 20 1773

Peter is first recorded in the NY State Militia on April 5 1758 at barely 19 years-old and would serve in various capacities for the next 25 years.  Peter was also a signer of the Articles of Association and provided supplies for the troops. He died at age 74 in 1815 leaving a will, naming his wife Mary and children Cornelius, Anna, Caty, Joseph, Wessell and Jacobus.  Mary survived him by several years.

Mary’s father, Abraham Klaarwater, signed the Articles of Association and served in the War. Her grandfather, Frederick Shoonmaker signed the articles in 1775 at the age of 82 and an uncle raised and supported two troops, selling a favorite saddle horse for funding.  Frederick’s will dated 1778 names daughter Elizabeth Klaarwater well as his other eight surviving children.

Many women provided assistance during the war but because most did not own the food, their cooking utensils or guns they are considered as a lady of liberty and not as a patriot.

Patriots of Carol Jutte








                                   


SOLOMON PEIRCE MINUTE MAN

 



Erected in 1903 by 220 descendants of Solomon and Amity Peirce

On April 19, 1775 Solomon Peirce was probably asleep after a day of work as a cordwainer when the call went out to the Lexington Massachusetts Militia members to rally.  He and 79 others joined his company, commanded by neighbor, Captain John Parker and set off for what became known as The Battle of Lexington and Concord. Parker was a veteran of the French and Indian War and was difficult to hear at a distance due to tuberculosis but his men heard the words: "Stand your ground; don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." Eight colonists died that day: John Brown, Samuel Hadley, Caleb Harrington, Jonathon Harrington, Robert Munroe, Isaac Muzzey, Asahel Porter, and Jonas Parker. One wounded man, Jonathon Harrington, managed to crawl back home, where he died on his doorstep. Eight were wounded including Prince Estabrook, a black slave who was serving in the militia and Solomon shot in the thigh. Solomon recovered and was present June 17 and 18, 1775 at the Battle of Bunker Hill

After the battle of Lexington and Concord, the Provincial Congress authorized depositions to be taken as soon as possible. Below is the deposition of Solomon Peirce and 13 others, taken six days later on April 25, 1775.

No. 8 27

We Nathanael Parkhurst, Jonas Parker, John Munroe, Junr, John Winship, Solomon Pierce, John Muzzy, Abner Mead, John Bridge, Jun Ebenezer Bowman William Munroe 3d, Micah Hager, Saml Saunderson, Samuel Hastings & James Brown of Lexington in the County of Middlesex and Colony of Massachusetts Bay in New England & all of lawfull age do Testify and Say that on the morning of the nineteenth of April Instant about one or Two O Clock being informed that a number of Regular Officers had been riding up & down the Road the evening & night preceding & that some of the Inhabitants as they were passing had been Insulted by the Officers and stoped by them; and being also informed that the Regular Troops were on their march from Boston in order (as it was said) to take the Colony store then deposited at Concord. We met on the Parade of our Company in this town; After the Company had collected we were ordered by Capt John Parker (who commanded us) to disperse for the present and to be ready to attend the beat of the Drum and accordingly the Company went into houses near the place of Parade. We further Testify and Say that about five o clock in the morning we attended the beat of our Drum and & [[object Object]] were formed on the Parade. We were faced toward the Regulars then marching up to us & some of our Company were coming to the parade with their backs towards the troops and others on the parade began to Disperse when the Regulars fired on the Company before a gun was fired by any of our company on them. they killed eight of our company & wounded several & continued their fire until we had all made our escape.

Nathanael Parkhurst

Lexington 25th April 1775 Abner Mead Jonas Parker

Samuel Saunderson John Bridge Jr John Munroe, Jun

Samuel Hastings Ebenezer Bowman John Winship

James Brown William Munroe Solomon Pierce

Micah Hager John Muzzy

Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.

Five years later he was commissioned a lieutenant in the company of his distant cousin Capt. William Munroe. By the end of the war in 1784 he had been promoted to Captain, was 42 year- old, had been married for more than 20 years to Amity Fessenden and was the father of 10 children with an 11th born in 1786. Before the war in addition to being a cordwainer Solomon was a farmer and owned 95 acres along Concord Avenue. By 1803 Solomon and Amity were living in a house on son Jonas’ property.  Amity died at age 68 Feb. 18, 1811.  Solomon lived long enough to see son Leonard serve in the War of 1812, and died Oct. 16, 1821 at age 79.  

Captain Parker died five months after the Battle of Lexington and Concord on December 17th at age 46


Diane Price's  Patriot.













William Simms 

 William Simms was born about 1731 at Aspen Grove in Albemarle County Virginia and served in the Militia.  During the French and Indian wars, he was a member of Hogg’s Rangers led by Peter Hogg and took part in several missions including the battle at Fort Duquesne. The Rangers under the command of a young George Washington were widely reputed to be crack shots and known to use guerilla tactics. Hoggs Rangers later became part of the 6th Virginia Regiment fighting in key battles during the American Revolution, including the Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, the Battle of Monmouth and the Siege of Charleston. The notable commanders of the 6th Regiment were, Col. Mordecai Buckner, Col. John Gibson, and Col. John Green. In 1779 they merged with the 2nd Virginia Regiment. During the war he rose to the rank of Captain and serving until 1781. In 1779 he purchased land on Priddy’s Creek near his birthplace and when he was discharged built one of the first mills. He married Annister Step (or Stapp) in 1751 and they had three children, Elizabeth, James and Lucy. Annister died in 1759, and William married Agatha Robinson in 1761. They had ten children, William, Mary, Joanna, Nancy, Agatha, Francis, Rosemond, John, Ann and Richard. His estate inventory was filed in filed July 1797 in Albemarle County, Va.  Prior to his death two of his daughters had moved to North Carolina with their husbands.  Lucy married John Dalton and Elizabeth married John McKain (McCann) and both men sued for their share of Williams’s estate.

Mary Sand's  Patriot





                                                         




CAPTAIN ABRAHAM CUDDEBACK

In 1774 the Continental Congress authorized each colony to organize a committee of safety and observation.  The New York committee drew up the following Pledge.
 “Persuaded that the salvation of the rights of liberties of America depend, Under God, on the firm union of its inhabitants in a vigorous prosecution of the measures necessary for its safety; and convinced of the necessity of preventing anarchy and, confusion, which attend the dissolution of the powers of government, we, the freemen, freeholders, and inhabitants of _____, do, in the most solemn manner, resolve never to become slaves: and do associate, under all the ties of religion, honor, and love of our country, to adopt and endeavor to carry into execution whatever measures may be recommended by the Continental Congress, or resolved upon by our Provincial Convention, for the purpose of preserving our Constitution, and opposing the execution of the several arbitrary acts of the British Parliament, until a reconciliation between Great Britain and America, on constitutional principles (which we most ardently desire), can be obtained: and that we will in all things follow the advice of our General Committee respecting the purposes aforesaid, the preservation of peace and good order, and the safety of individuals and property.”
In 1775 Abraham Cuddeback, signed the pledge.  Abraham, born in 1738, was a well-respected member of his predominately Dutch community when he became a Captain in the 2nd Regiment of the Ulster County Regiment.  Standing six feet tall and weighing more than 200 pounds with a distinctive voice he commanded with fairness and ingenuity.  He often served as a scout against the Indians as well as the British because he was not only an excellent shot but adept at blending into the woods.
In 1777 he was one of several men assigned to prevent the British from crossing the Hudson River and prevent the fall of Fort Montgomery. Most of the men deserted during the night and as dawn broke Abraham found himself alone, signs that the Fort had fallen and a British crew spying on him.  They promised him immunity if he surrendered but he refused.
In 1778 he was in command of men living in the Gumaer Fort when an attack was suspected.  Cuddeback had the women put on spare coats and hats, shoulder pitchfork or sticks and paraded them with the men in a single file in the back of the fort around and in front while a drum was beaten. Once he was sure the enemy had seen them he had the women and children take refuge in the cellar. After firing a few shots, the Indians left, taking some horses and setting fire to buildings outside the fort.
In 1759 Abraham had married Esther Gumaer.  They had a large family of five boys and two daughters.  Once the Colonies had won their independence Abraham returned to a life that included farming and exploring.
Diana Fotinatos is descended from daughter Jemima.

                 

                                                       




















                                                     




DR. JONATHAN KNIGHT was commissioned as a Staff officer, Surgeon’s Mate 1 February 1778 in the 4th Connecticut Regiment, 1st Division.  Dr. Knight was born in 1758 in New London CT.  He enlisted during the winter when “surgeons” were desperately needed to care not only for the wounded but to combat disease, frostbite and other results of both inadequate clothing and low rations.  The troops wintered at Valley Forge and General George Washington required the surgeons to report the names and conditions of all those sick every Wednesday and Saturday. He also ordered the Director-General of the Hospitals to provide surgeons with medicine chests of supplies.  Dr. Knight served until January 1, 1781, and likely received $1.00 a day plus two rations as a Surgeon’s Mate.  In October 1781 he married Anna Fitch and continued practicing medicine until his death in 1829.  His eldest son Jonathan also studied medicine and was a founding professor of Yale School of Medicine.
Dana Majernik's Patriot




                                                          


Captain Stephen Ashby was born in Prince William Virginia about 1725 and was living in Spotsylvania County in 1776.  He was commissioned a Captain in the Virginia Continental Line on September 9, 1776.  He raised a company from Hampshire County (now part of West Virginia) that was attached to the 12th Virginia Regiment of Foot Soldiers in February 1777.   In the fall of 1778 the 15 Virginia Regiments were consolidated into 11 and the 12th became part of the 8thth Regiment.  Stephen is listed as a Company Commander at Valley Forge.
On January 1, 1783 Stephen retired to allow younger officers to advance and was awarded 4,000 acres of land in Kentucky where he died in 1797.  He willed his plantation to his unnamed wife.  He stipulated 300 acres was to go to each of his three daughters, Lettice, Rosa and Anna, who were also to get 1/6th of the lick if it produced salt.  His son Enos received 200 acres and 1/5 of the salt lick.  The remaining 2900 acres was left equally divided between sons Daniel, Abaslom, John and Stephen Jr.. In 1847 his proven heirs received a warrant for an additional 300 acres.  His will was proven in present-day Mercer County Ky, but he is listed as having died in Christian County.
Pat has four of Stephen’s children in her ancestral tree, Stephen Jr., John, Rosa, and Abaslom.

Pat Gooding's Patriot






Joseph Clark, a third-generation New Englander, served as a ranger during the War of Revolution.  He was born in New Hampshire Colony in 1743, to a family that had been there as early as 1660. At nineteen he married Sarah Frost, daughter of an Indian interpreter and trapper, and in 1766 the family moved north into the Maine District of Massachusetts along the Kennebec River. By 1772 Joseph and Sarah had settled on Moose Island (later incorporated as Eastport, Maine).
Joseph and Sarah's eight children are all listed in the township records of Eastport, Maine as having been born there between 1767 and 1785. After the birth of his fourth child, Joseph served as a soldier in Massachusetts troops stationed at the Penobscot River in Maine. His date of enlistment is not clear, but the ranger force he served in was discharged in early 1778.
In 1791 Joseph received a grant from Massachusetts of the land on Moose Island that he had first lived on without title.  He is listed as one of the 1772 original grantees, with 100 acres on lot 7.  When Eastport was incorporated as a township in 1798 Joseph was chosen as one of two "Inspectors and Cullers of Fish."
Joseph Clark lived the rest of his life in Eastport. He was living there when, during the War of 1812, the British captured and occupied Eastport in July 1814. Joseph spent his last years living - again - under British occupation.  He did not live to see the British occupiers leave and the town returned to America in 1818 as he died in 1817.
Patriot Profile of Jayne Rankin.



                                                      

Caleb Olin was born Dec. 8, 1753 in Old Warick RI, a neighbor of a family named Greene, whose son Nathaniel became a General during the War of Revolution.  Barely past his 21st birthday he married Freelove Mitchell and the couple settled in Shaftsbury, VT.  Caleb is described as over six feet tall and weighing 300 pounds.  He served under his old playmate Nathaniel Green and in 1775 was present at Fort Ticonderoga in Essex County NY when the Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold overcame the British. He was present at the Battle of Bennington in 1777 and aided in capturing Tories because he knew the mountains and area so well.

By 1814 they had followed son Thomas to Canton NY and lived there until their deaths.  Caleb and Freelove had 10 children in addition to Tomas.  Freelove died July 4, 1834, and four years later at age 85, Caleb died.  They are buried together in the Olin Cemetery in Canton.

Annetta Clark's patriot:




Our Patriots’ Story

German born Wilhelmus Bitzer served with the 10th Regiment Militia in Albany County NY.  Fifteen additional militia regiments were raised in that county during the War of Revolution.  The law required all males between 15 and 55 to enroll in a militia company.
Militia members were “citizen soldiers” and separate from companies that garrisoned Fort Albany.  Bitzer is listed as serving under Philip Livingston.  General Abraham Von Ten Broeck led 3,000 troops at the Battle of Saratoga  October 7, 1777 and Livingston’s militia regiment was likely part of the undertaking.  It was a decisive victory for the Patriots and helped hasten the surrender of British troops at Yorktown Virginia , ending the war and founding a new country.
Wilhemus had married Maria Fronica before the war began and by 1813 they had three children.  Following the war Wilhelmus, Maria and three sons moved with fellow Germans to Chillicothe Ohio as indentured servants for three years.  By 1801 he was paying taxes, an indication he was a freeman.  Wilhemus died November 9 1823, his wife in 1825.  They are buried in Ohio.

Carol Jutte's Patriot







William Drake, born in 1762, was just sixteen when he enlisted Sept. 6, 1778 to muster at Dartmouth MA.  In 1779 he enlisted in the Continental Army, and was described as 5’10” with a light complexion. He served until 1780, marching and fighting across Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  He married for the first time in 1783 to Abigail Shaw who died in 1826.  They had six children and following her death he married Amelia Swift.  William remained in Plymouth Massachusetts where he died in 1848.  He is buried at the Drake Family Cemetery, now the Titicut Parish Cemetery Association, in Middleborough, Plymouth MA. between his two wives.

Nancy Mazzei's Patriot.




Stephen Williams, a North Carolinian, enlisted in the Continental Army in 1782 in the 3rd Regiment.  His company, under the command of Captain Raiford, marched into Charleston SC as the British left.  The Regiment had been dispatched to South Carolina as support for the army under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Greene. In January 1783 all North Carolina regiments were absorbed into the 1st NC Regiment. They remained in Charleston until they were furloughed to James Island until after the British surrendered at Yorktown and the final peace treaty was signed. Stephen was born in Edgecombe County about 1763 and died in Brunswick County September 16, 1843. After the war he married Mary White in 1808.  She survived him, dying in Brunswick County in 1870.  Stephen received a pension of $38.66 and “Polly” received the same amount following his death. In his pension request Stephen swore “I was living in Duplin County in the State of North Carolina when called into service, since the Revolutionary War I have lived in Onslow County, State of North Carolina, part of the time in Duplin County, and part of the time in Brunswick County.  I now live in Brunswick County, North Carolina.”  Stephen and Polly were the parents of five children.

Dale Spencer's Patriot






 

John Frederick Bicking, a German immigrant, did not bear arms or fight in battles. He
did, however, use his skills and business to provide something important to both the military
forces and the Continental Congress—paper. Bicking owned 150 acres along Mill Creek in
Lower Merion Pennsylvania. Fresh water was a necessity for turning the machinery required
to both wash and beat the rag cloth fibers used to make paper. He was one of several printers
who supplied paper for Benjamin Franklin’s presses before the Revolution began. When the
Continental Congress needed paper to keep records of their meetings and paper to print bank
notes for currency to pay the troops Bicking was one of the paper makers called on.
Soldiers who fought at Valley Forge were paid with notes printed on his paper. The
Washington Papers record that Capt. James Lovell thought papers and minutes from the
Continental Congress were buried on Bicking’s property so the British could not seize them.
Lovell thought paper makers were so important to the war effort he submitted an application
to exempt them from military service. Bicking married Mary Catherine Unverzagt, the
daughter of a paper maker. They had eleven children, three of whom followed the family
tradition of paper making. Mary died in 1782 and John in 1808. They are buried at the
Bicking Family Cemetery in Narbeth, Montgomery County Pennsylvania.

Carol Hart's Patriot



WILLIAM BUCHANAN TRIGG was born in Bedford County Virginia in 1742 and at the age of 33 was appointed Justice of the Peace.  In 1778 he was appointed Lt. Col. in the Bedford County Militia.  The Militia served at Jamestown, marched to Williamsburg and on to York where they joined the Continental Army. Col. Trigg was present when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown.  Following the war he and his wife Sarah Saunders (Saunders) migrated to Sumner, Tennessee.  Both are buried at the Terrell Cemetery in Hendersonville, When William died in 1817 he left his extensive holdings to his eleven children and his Tennessee property to his wife stating “I have tried to do equal justice to all.”  Sarah died two years later and is buried next to her husband.  His grave is marked with a DAR marker and his tombstone is engraved “Sleep parents of a numerous race…”

Peggy Jo Harris's Patriot




Inscription:
Burwell Davis Col. Thomas Eaton's Regt. Rev. War.  His grave was marked by the SOA. Shady Grove Methodist Church Cemetery in Warren County, NC.

BURWELL DAVIS, born 14 August 1756 in Granville County NC, was drafted into the state Militia in 1778. His service was for six months and he served under Captain  Britain Harris.  His pension request says they marched to Kinston on the Neuse River, then south across the Santee River at Moncks Corner, on into Georgia where they engaged the British.

In May he received a discharge signed by Major Thomas Scurlock of Halifax NC.  In 1781 he was called up once more.  According to his pension the company could choose between serving three months or furnishing their own horse and serving two months.  Burwell chose to use his own horse but following the Battle at Guilford Courthouse the troops joined General Greene at Troublesome Iron Works where the horse were sent home.  The men marched to Camden SC.  Burwell was discharged from Camden and returned home. He built a home on Fishing Creek, “corded” his own bed and married Martha “Patsy” Hawkins when he was 33 years old and she was 23.  He eventually owned 1200 acres where he raised crops and hogs.  He and Patsy had nine children.  He made his own coffin and stored peas in it. Burwell outlived Patsy by 10 years, dying at the age of almost 90 in 1846.    Both are buried at Shady Grove United Methodist Cemetery in Warren NC.

Betsy Brodie Roberts's Patriot

  






JOHN HART, born in New Jersey in 1713, played an active role in the formation of the United States of America as early as 1774.  He began his public service in 1750 when he was elected to the Hunterdon County NJ Board of Chosen Free holders.  In 1761 he was representing New Jersey in the Colonial Assembly and in 1768 was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas. In 1774 he was elected to the committee to “elect and appoint Delegates to the First Continental Congress and protest the Tea Act.”  The following year he was elected to the New Jersey Committee Correspondence and served on the Committee of Safety.  In 1776 he was designated to sign the new “Bill of Credit Notes” issued by New Jersey and signed each of the 25,000 notes personally.  That same year he served in the State Continental Congress and in June was elected as one of five New Jersey delegates to the Second Continental Congress.  His was the thirteenth signature on the Declaration of Independence.  In August 1776 Hart was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly and served as the first speaker of the house.  That same year his wife of 37 years, Deborah Scudder died and a few months later, John and two young children were forced to flee their home in advance of British troops.  He was re-elected to serve as Speaker of the Assembly of NJ two additional terms.
Washington accepted his offer to allow 12,000 men to camp on his property a few days before the Battle of Monmouth on June 24, 1778 which the British lost.  The following year in 1779 John Hart died at his home surrounded by family.  He was sixty six and had ably and steadfastly chosen to support the cause of Independence and help form a new nation.
Christine Urick's Patriot
photos to be posted later



William Harris was involved in the fight for independence as early as 1774.  In September 1774 the town of New Gloucester (Massachusetts/Maine) chose Harris to represent the town at a County Convention “to consider what measures were expedient to adopt for the general interest of the County in the then alarming situation of public affairs.”  In a report read aloud and published members wrote “We believe our enemies supposed we must submit and tamely give up all our rights.  It is true a rigorous opposition will subject us to many inconveniences, but how much greater will our misery be if we relinquish all we now enjoy, and lay our future earnings at the mercy of despotic men?”  Two years later Captain William Harris was elected to a committee to insure the townsmen followed the resolve of Congress.
He was commissioned in September 1777 and was present at the defense of Falmouth (present-day Portland Maine) in 1779. Capt. Harris was born in 1731in North Yarmouth and was active in the incorporation of the town.  He retained his interest in civic affairs when he moved to New Gloucester where he remained until his death in 1824 at the age of 92.  In 1754 he married Mary Bradbury who died in 1817.  They had ten children, more than 70 grandchildren, and 107 great-grandchildren when they died.  At least one son, Moses, also served in the Revolutionary War.  
Lynn Deen's Patriot



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