Josiah Meigs

Source

"Josiah Meigs, the thirteenth child of Return Meigs and Elizabeth Hamlin, was born at Middletown, Connecticut on the 21st day of August 1757 in the forty-sixth year of his mother's age."

At Sachem's Head, Guilford

Taken from the Old Paths and Legends of the New England Border: Connecticut...:

Sachems Head On 1766 Map - Library of Congress

Daniel Kelley, A Backus/Reynolds Descendant

A genealogical history of the Kelley family : descended from Joseph Kelley of Norwich, Connecticut, with much biographical matter concerning the first four generations and notes of inflowing female lines:

Source

Brother Jonathan

Source

Also see my blog post at Detour Through History.

The Trumbull family was intertwined with the Backus's (I'm a Backus descendant).

John Brown Chronology

John Brown

 By William Edward Burghardt Du Bois

John Brown and the Coppock brothers in a blog post here.

Description Accompanying A Museum Display Picture Of John Brown

General Orders of 1757

General Orders of 1757: issued by the Earl of Loudoun and Phineas Lyman In The Campaign Against The French, published in 1899.  Lyman served under the Earl of Loudoun.

Source

A sample of Lyman's General Orders:

Brenton's Point

From a Visit to Grand-papa: Or, A Week at Newport,  By Sarah S. Cahoone, published in 1840:

"Starting, at length he exclaimed, in a subdued voice, 'This, then, is Rhode-Island." 

John Dodge In Sandusky

NARRATIVE

OF

MR. JOHN DODGE

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY

AT DETROIT

The narrative of John Dodge is one of the records of frontier life during the period of the American Revolution that displays the intense feeling of hatred and unfairness evinced by the British soldiers to the American rebels. It was written and published during the time of the greatest excitement in the West—the scene of the Narrative—and is historically valuable because of being contemporary with the events in question.

He was born in Connecticut, July 12, 1751.... .

Source: Richardson book

Before John had reached his nineteenth year he had wandered into the northern part of the Ohio district and had entered into business as a trader in Sandusky. He was familiar with the Indian language used in his neighborhood and frequently acted as interpreter.

From John Montour's story:

In late April 1778, [British] Lieutenant Governor Hamilton informed Sir Guy Carleton that in late January of that year, John Montour [the son of a Metis trader and a Native American mother] helped three Virginia prisoners escape from Detroit.

Why would Montour take such a risk? Even if he had succeeded and had not suffered imprisonment, he would have lost what trust Hamilton placed in him. Perhaps part of the answer can be found in the identity of one of the prisoners. The evidence strongly suggests that John Dodge, an American trader in the Sandusky villages, was one of the escapees.

The connection is important because John Montour and John Dodge were friends.

The Revolutionary War Brought Military Success And Financial Ruin

The story of Colonel Oliver Spencer embedded in the story of his son Oliver's capture by Native Americans.

The most prominent settler of Columbia [Hamilton County, Ohio] was Colonel Oliver Spencer, father of our narrator. Colonel Spencer was not only of the best English descent, but, a point of greater importance, he was entirely worthy of his ancestry. A native of Connecticut, he removed at an early age to Elizabethtown, New Jersey, where he married the daughter of Robert Ogden. 

Colonel Spencer engaged in the tannery business with his father-in-law and was rapidly acquiring wealth when the Revolution came to alter his whole future course of life.  We need note in this connection only that while he served with credit throughout the war, rising to the rank of colonel in the continental service, he found himself at its close a ruined man, his capital dissipated, and his home and tannery (the latter one of the largest in America) gutted. Under such circumstances he turned a ready ear to the project for colonization on the Ohio, with the prospect it held out to men of energy of beginning life anew under more favor able circumstances than the settled East could offer. [Source]

Oliver Spencer is not an ancestor of mine, but is a distant cousin. He was born in East Haddam, Connecticut, into the Spencer family who were among the first settlers there in 1662.  My ancestor was Gerard Spencer (1).

Oliver Spencer's ancestry:
 Samuel(4) Spencer (Isaac(3), Samuel(2), Gerard(1), born at East Haddam, 10 Jul 1708, died there 4 Sep 1757...child:
iii. Oliver, b. 6 Oct 1736; d. 22 Jan 1811

From The Banks Of The Gunpowder River

"My mother had told me nothing from which I could formulate a suggestion or give a reply that would throw any light upon my family history... ."

Excerpts are from A loyal traitor : a story of the War of 1812, a book described below in Publisher's Weekly:

The story purports to be the memoirs of a sailor, John Hurdiss, which are discovered by the editor and published. [Source]

 "...I [John Hurdiss] knew that the name of the river on which our plantation [Marshwood] bordered was the Gunpowder*, that the blue waters were the waters of Chesapeake Bay... ."  

Source

"I had been a mysterious waif in a Connecticut village, an instructor in small-arms on board a privateer, an English prisoner of war, an alleged Frenchman among the refugees in England, a lieutenant of a fine schooner, and the commander of two vessels, all inside of two years.  As for any other title than that of an American citizen, I care not so much as the snap of a finger... ."

*Note: The reference to Gunpowder River in Maryland was of interest because of ancestors who lived there, including John Greer.

Icabod Jeremiah Perry

Reminisences of the Revolution by Ichabod Jeremiah Perry, reportedly a cousin of Commodore Perry, was written about his experiences of the Revolutionary War.  Ichabod Perry's granddaughter, Rose Sheldon of Lima, New York, loaned Perry's manuscript to the DAR for publishing.

The best information available indicated that Ichabod Jeremiah Perry was the father of the Stephen Perry who married Esther Loper. That would mean that Ichabod was the grandfather of Rebecca Perry and great-grandfather of Rosaltha Farrar More (wife of James Levi More).

Ichabod Jeremiah Perry married [Rebecca] Sturges.  The Perrys settled in Richmond, New York, where he died in April, 1839.

Excerpts

I paid no attention to the Dog at first, and after Creeping a little further I look'd up again, where the
Dog still stood, when I recogniz'd him to be my father's Dog (for my father had start'd on horse back, as soon as he had notice). In a few minutes my father came up to us, on our hands and knees Crawling. He culd not speak to us, but he took us up and plac'd us on the horse, and steadi'd us by our legs, till we came to a house, where they gave us some warm milk pottage, which greatly reviv'd us.

Then I thought I was beginning to Recrute. But after I had been home about a week, I was taken more unwell than common. They sent for a Doctor who said that I was breaking out with small-pox which made Considerable alarm in the house, for none of the family had ever had it; they then sent for a tender Nurse who took me up (bed and all) and put me into an ox sled and Drove me off to a house where there was another of our Company who had just broken out. As we past some of our naibors, I culd hear the young people weeping and crying for they thought that would be the last of me. 

I was pretty sick and part of the time Derang'd. I had few pox that came out. The Doctor said that they would been better out than in, but I liv'd thro' it. I was thirty one Days in the pest house. My nurse charg'd me a Dollar pr Day, and my expenses for boarding, wood, house rent, and Doctor's bill, took all my wages for that Campaign, and more too; I was ten or fifteen Dollars in Debt— my father and step mother, at that time was both taken sick of a feaver, and but just made a live of it, so that they was not able to assist me.

In June or July one of my step brothers (Smith) was Draft'd for three months in the horse service. He hir'd me to take his place and I engag'd to serve the tour, and my name was set Down in lue of his. I join'd the Company and we had our horses and accorterments apris'd. Mine was apris'd in my name, and we went to White Plains where we joyn'd Col'n Meggs Reg't of horses. Our business was prinsaply scouting between the lines, we would some times fall in with the British scouting parties, and sometimes we would chase them, and sometimes they would chase us. 

My mother Died in Child bed when I was born and about the same time one of my Mother's brothers lost a child, which they had nam'd Jeremiah, and they took me to nurse, and call'd me by the same name ; which was the one that I always went by amongst my mother's relations. My father for tradition's sake saw fit to alter it and Call me Ichabod, but he afterwards told me that I might go by both names. I then gave in my name, Jeremiah Perry, which name I went by as long as I was on board.

...and then set fire to every building. (But as for my part, I did not much like our orders, altho my native Town had lately bin burnt by our enemy). 

We then went on till we got near Boston when our Officers held a consultation with the advice of Wm. Pinkney, (who had bin sent as a minister from America to France, and was a passenger home) and they agreed that our Officers shul'd take Command of the ship, and take her into Boston, and that Cap't Landis
shul'd be consider 'd as under arrest.

Officers of the board told us they had no money but old Continental, which was good for nothing, so I and Chancey Wheelor set out for Fairfield (which was about two hundred miles) without money. 

After our ship had got repair'd, our brig ariv'd from Halifax with about three hundred American prisoners, which were all seafaring men. Our Capt'n had recover'd of his wound and he was exerting himself to the utmost to git the ship ready for sea before the old hands time was out. Benj'm Darrow and myself told some of the OflEicers that we was going to quit, and we went home in Oct. or Nov'm in 1781.

After the Doctor had given the tender his Directions they left me, but I overheard the Doctor tell the Officers that I would not live till morning, but that did not alarm me much for I was Determin'd to try an experiment.

This book review nicely summarized the manuscript:

Phineas Lyman And His Connecticut Soldiers

The Plains of Abraham was an account of the French-Indian War, a war in which Phineas Lyman participated.

Phineas Lyman's activities during the war:

[Also see a blog about General Orders of 1757: issued by the Earl of Loudoun and Phineas Lyman In The Campaign Against The French... .]


Rolls of Connecticut men in the French and Indian War 1755 - 1762, Volume 2....:

Another blogger's post about Connecticut in the French-Indian War.  And yet another site focused on scalping during the war.

General Phineas Lyman In The French-Indian War

The General Orders of 1757, issued by General Phineas Lyman, two years after Lyman was noted as a hero at the Battle of Lake George (New York), on September 8, 1755, logs the daily events undertaken by soldiers and their commanding officer.

First - The Battle of Lake George:

General Orders of 1757: issued by the Earl of Loudoun and Phineas Lyman In The Campaign Against The French, 1899, (250 copies printed):

From Luke Gridley's diary of 1757:

From The Plains of Abraham by Brian Connell:

He (William Johnson) was met by a tremendous fusillade [in the Battle of Lake George], which decimated the [French] men of the regiments of Languedoc and La Reine. Although his Canadians and Indians fanned out to right and left, they had little stomach for the fight. Johnson was early wounded in the leg and carried back to his tent, but his deputy, Phineas Lyman of Connecticut, darting everywhere unscathed in the heat of battle, animated and encouraged the motley force.

Also in the Battle of Lake George, Baron Dieskau was "shot in the leg, deserted by his men and captured."

In the prelude to the Battle of Lake George, "...(Dieskau) learnt by capturing tow of Johnson's messengers that the colonists had a large force on his flank. Changing the direction of his march, he made across country for the head of Lake George. Indian scouts brought the first news of Dieskau's approach to Johnson. He sent a thousand men out to meet them, but this vanguard was ambushed and the whole fled in panic back to Johnson's lines. In the skirmish Legardeur de St. Pierre, Washington's wary rival two years earlier at Fort Le Boeuf, was killed at the head of his Indians."

For his service in the French-Indian War, Phineas Lyman was awarded land interests in the Natchez, Mississippi, area.

Included in the Journal of Gen. Rufus Putnam is a short bio of Phineas Lyman:

More Characters From The Devil's Backbone

From The Devil's Backbone, The Story of the Natchez Trace, by Jonathan Daniels:

Jedidiah Morse, who wrote the first geography to be published in the United States, spoke of the opulent families both in Natchez and the Cumberland settlements to which the Natchez Trace ran.

First among them was Gen. Phineas Lyman. His interest had been aroused as an officer...to whom the British crown owed gratitude and its newly acquired lands (ca 1763) offered reward. General Lyman was regarded by the British as the ablest and most trustworthy Colonial general in the northern colonies in the French and Indian War. And his prestige, if not his appearance, was enhanced by the fact that he was married to Eleanor, daughter of Col. Timothy Dwight of Northampton, Massachusetts, whose son and great-grandson were both to become presidents of Yale University.

He (Phineas Lyman) must have talked much in the tavern of his old wartime comrade, Israel Putnam, later to become a popular hero of the patriots in the American Revolution. At any rate, Israel and his brother Rufus were stirred by the 'false hopes' Phineas raised about the land. The Putnams left a journal about their explorations (1772-73) but preferred to remain in New England.

Also Devil's Backbone-related posts here and here

John Cleaveland - A New Light In New England

"The World of John Cleaveland" by Christopher M. Jedrey, profiled the life and times of John Cleaveland, who was, as am I, a direct descendant of Moses & Ann (Winn) Cleveland. John Cleaveland was the 3rd son and 7th of 11 children of Josiah Cleveland and grandson of Josiah Cleveland. [President Grover Cleveland was also a descendant of Moses Cleveland]. John Cleaveland was also a descendant of Elisha & Rebecca (Doane) Paine; I am a descendant of the Paines as well.

The scope of Mr. Jedrey's book went beyond the genealogy of Reverend John Cleaveland (1722-1799), although that was included. Reverend Cleaveland's triumphs and struggles within the religious community that itself was going through changes was another theme, although his elders were not immune from religious tensions.

"Some...opposed the Half-Way Covenant (created 1662), and hence were inclined toward toleration for these Baptists* who had sprung up in their midst." *"North Woburn, where the (Moses) Cleavelands lived, contained the Wymans, the Pierces, the Wilsons and the Pollys--four of Woburn's Baptist families."

The author also described the world in which Rev. Cleaveland lived, the impact of New England life and how that life and the dynamics of it reinforced the world of John Cleaveland. The plight of younger sons when land in New England was inherited by the oldest affected John. Younger sons might learn a trade or turn to fishing; John thought he'd try higher education instead.

"... Woburn readily gave land to new settlers from its seemingly inexhaustible holdings of undistributed lands. However, as the amount of available land shrank, it became important to determine who was entitled to a share of the remainder... ." "The question arose ... in February 1666, and the next year a list of the eighty proprietors was made, excluding some latecomers and younger sons." The exclusion of 'younger sons' was not the only time the significance of birth order was mentioned in Mr. Jedrey's book.

"In the early 1690s, Josiah (Rev. John Cleaveland's grandfather) and Samuel moved to the Quinebaug Country... . In the fifteen years that followed, their brothers Isaac and Edward joined them there... ." Connecticut became more settled after King Philip's War, a war in which Moses, Jr., Aaron, and Samuel Cleaveland participated.

"In August 1710, he (Josiah Cleaveland, Jr.) married Abigail Paine, who, like so many Cleaveland brides, belonged to a family whose standing in the community was superior to that of the Cleavelands. Her father, Elisha, had migrated from Barnstable about 1700 and purchased 2,000 acres from Major Fitch. He had become one of the leading citizens of Canterbury [CT]."

"The second Josiah Cleaveland (an eldest son) was able to provide a better start in life for his children than any previous Cleaveland had done, but he did so according to the old family strategy. He gave his eldest son and namesake the bulk of the paternal estate that he had so carefully reassembled."

John Cleaveland, not being the oldest son, but the third, decided in 1739 that his future was at Yale. "John Cleaveland's decision to attend Yale was only the first step in a long process of finding his way in the world. But, given his family's background, it was a bold step forward. The Cleaveland family was no longer hampered by the illiteracy that had been the lot of their emigrant ancestor; nevertheless, their educational attainments were still not very high."

There was mutual dissatisfaction between John Cleaveland and Yale administrators, stemming from the New Light preaching, and Cleaveland was expelled from Yale. John Cleaveland eventually accepted a position as a minister in Massachusetts (Chebacco) rather than Connecticut (laws unfavorable to John's position were being passed in Connecticut). Yale eventually bestowed a degree upon John Cleaveland and also claimed him as one of their own (as a military chaplain) listed in a Yale publication.

"Before 1768, [Rev.] Cleaveland had not often felt called upon to comment upon political affairs (Note: an example of his pre-1768 writing can be found here and a 'bibliography' can be found here). "....in the fall of 1768 he wrote his first political essay for the newly founded Essex Gazette (most of his essays were under the pseudonym Johannes in Eremo -- John in the Wilderness)." With the Revolutionary War looming, there were plenty of issues for Rev. Cleaveland to address.
John Cleaveland's life would fill a book (literally!). "John and Mary Cleaveland had reason to be thankful, for God had vouchsafed them both her life and the lives of their first seven children. The children survived the rigors of childbirth and the dangers of adolescence; in fact, all but one saw their father to his grave in 1799."

"The World of John Cleaveland" provided a glimpse of the world of my Cleaveland and Paine ancestors and their place within it.

Note: All quoted material was from the Jedrey book.