Disconnect – to sever the connection of or between; to decouple.

A ten year old kid: Aw dad, I don’t like history. History is just about a bunch of old dead guys…Yes son, but they are your old dead guys…

People are disconnected from their family histories. The person that knows the names of all of their great-grandparents is a rarity. Whatever the reason for the disconnect, it severs people from the past, their past. We are all following a path through life. If you don’t know where you came from how do you know where to go or how to get there? If you do know where you come from the path ahead is less obscure. 

The Facts

I was curious about family history at a young age.  When my questions did not get satisfactory answers, I became more curious. How to get to the answers was the problem. Little by little I learned how to research into my ancestry and through much work and some serendipity I made discoveries.

To my amazement I found numerous ancestors who were Revolutionary War soldiers. My book Discover Your Roots!: How I Found My North American And Revolutionary War Ancestors describes in detail the steps that I took to find and validate my Revolutionary War soldier ancestors. 

Some of them were at the same battles. Ranging in age from 20 to 66 when the war broke out, many were Minutemen. Several were officers. One, Abner Benedict, was a Chaplin. Another, Conrad Bush, was at Valley Forge in the winter and wrote of cutting his shoes to strips, boiling and eating them to keep from starving. He also captured a British squad single handedly. Also, Uriah McLain was at the battles of Lexington, Bunker Hill, Stillwater and more. His discharge paper was signed by George Washington, and he used it to prove his service and obtain his pension. 

There are more. Daniel Shattuck had his horse shot from under him at Stillwater. Enos Greenfield served under Nathan Hale the famous patriot executed for spying on the British. Jesse Hoyt escaped after being taken as a British prisoner by the infamous British calvary officer Carleton in his raid on Poundridge NY. Lastly, Joel Roberts returned from the war badly wounded.^[3]

The men in the list below were all fighters on the patriot’s side of the Revolutionary War. Many of the men on the list are documented in government pension records and in military records like muster roles. I detail on the list what I know of the soldier’s birthdate, birthplace, Revolutionary War rank and some service details. 

My descent from all of the first eighteen men on the list has been validated by the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. The next nine men are mentioned as Revolutionary War soldiers in family genealogy books and military records. 

Descent Validated by SAR – Name, Year Born, Rank, Actions

Uriah Mclain – 1750, Chelmsford MA, Private, Artificer. Enlisted in City of Boston troop on May 1775. He served to end of war and was in battles of Lexington, Bunker Hill, Stillwater and others.

Solomon Wright – 1754, Wethersfield CT, Private, Artificer.

Daniel Shattuck – 1 April 1727, Northfield MA, Captain. Was in battle of Stillwater, Saratoga. 

Philip Ingram/Ingraham – 11 August 1727, Amherst MA, Private.

Ezra Cushing – 13 July 1748, Abington MA, Private.

Ebenezer Shaw Sr. – 23 April 1718, Weymouth, MA, Captain, Minute Man.

Conrad Bush – 9 October 1757, Germany, Matross. Experienced entire war including the Valley Forge winter and the battles of Long Island, Trenton, Princeton, Yorktown. He captured a British unit single handed, was a Washington guardsman for a time, knew General Lafayette and General Washington’s War Secretary Timothy Pickering.^[5] [6]

Deering/Dearing Jones – 28 March 1738, Mendon MA, Minute Man.

Enos Greenfield – 1749, Lyme CT, Private. Served under Nathaniel Hale, was in the Battles of Flatbush, Long Island, White Plains, Saratoga.

Jonathan Alford – 29 November 1751, Northampton MA, Private.

Reuben Blanchard – 4 February 1762, Greenwich RI, Private.

Isaac Church – 11 February 1742, Killingly CT, Lieutenant. Was at Ft. Edward and the Battle of Saratoga.

Nathaniel Daniels Sr. –  21 February 1719, Pomfret CT, Private, Minute Man.

Abner Benedict – 10 November 1740, Ridgefield CT, Chaplin. Was at the battles of Long Island, White Plains, and Harlem. Was among the last to retreat.

William Hendrick – 12 November 1709, Wallingford CT, Minute Man. Was at Battle of Bennington.

Henrich Buys – 10 November 1734, Rhinebeck NY, Ranger.

Jesse Hoyt – 24 April 1743, Stamford CT Private, Minute Man. Was in the Battle of Poundridge, was taken as a British prisoner there and escaped to fight again.

Joel Roberts – 27 October 1736, Durham CT, Private. Returned from war badly wounded and died shortly thereafter.

Disconnected No Longer

Reconnecting with a family history of participation in the Revolutionary War is awesome. My curiosity and research were rewarded with a lost treasure of family history, leaving me with a feeling of astonishment as I continue to research and to learn more. Many people are disconnected from their family histories. Reconnecting with that history is rewarding and highly recommended.

AWAITING SAR VALIDATION

John Seamons Sr. – 1728, Swansea MA, Private. Possibly a member of the Green Mountain Boys.

Aaron Hendrick – 17 June 1766, Wallingford CT.

Jonathan Morrell – about 1735, Albany NY.

John Blanchard – 1740, Coventry RI.

Elijah Hubbard – 16 January 1737, Middletown CT.

Adonijah Root – 30 December 1730, Woodbury CT.

Hartman Van Deusen – 7 January 1722, Albany NY. 

Daniel Shaw -25 February 1766, Abington NY. Selectman for the town of Abington MA during the war.

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^[1] Valley Forge Muster Roll Project. https://valleyforgemusterroll.org

^[2]  Battle of Lexington, National Army Museum. https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-lexington-and-concord

^[3] Riverton Historic District National Historic Places Registration Form, Section 8 note 6. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/05f01072-5663-47e4-8090-a8a27c6804a9

^[4] Surrender of General Burgoyne. https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/surrender-general-burgoyne

^[5] Carroll E. Smith LL.D., Charles E. Smith compiler, Pioneer Times in the Onondaga Country, p. 97, C.W. Bardeen,  Syracuse NY, 1904.   https://archive.org/details/pioneertimesinon00smit_0/page/97/mode/1uphttps://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/12849/images/dvm_LocHist003177-00049-1?pId=94

^[6] Conrad Bush memorial. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22691011/conrad-bush#view-photo=12326978

^[7]  Surrender of Lord Cornwallis. https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/surrender-lord-cornwallis

Copyright – Bruce A. Wright, Esq. 2024 ©