USA > California > Register of the California Society, Sons of the Revolution in the State of California, 1902 > Part 6
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Recd Pa.mt. DAVID BEEBE Delivered Pr. order of Doctr JOHNSON
Lieut. Beebe's
Certificate.
The original document is now in the possession of Holdridge Ozro Collins, his great-great-grandson, and a fac-simile is herewith presented :
falem may the 10 1447 This Pontifier
That Marken Joinfon Joel Terrill Selas Levis apear to. 90 in the romes of Thephen wormen Ence foot Graniet wormer who have Execute Them selves by paying their mon and giving notes gshould beglad to have the money Sent by the Namen for line that man Una Babe Lou
Waterbury May 11th D"1777 I the Subscribery the beaver of the within Certificate Bed of the treasures of the Town of Harbury the Form of fifteen Sounds Lowfull money to the fait unto Stephen Tomson, Lael Virover and Filas Lewis for engaging to join the Troops at Twostaven Rich 100 ml ~ Javid Deele
Deliver poder of RockJohnson we
Lieu: Beaker 1 Certificate
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Lieutenant Beebe appears to have had trouble with his superior officer, for Captain Lewis made a complaint to the Connecticut Legislature against his Lieutenant. This doc- ument, dated at Waterbury January 1, 1778, found in Vol- ume 3 of Revolutionary Papers in the State Library, is as follows :-
" [ mustered and marched the Company under my command to the Fish- kills, where we arrived on or about the 8th day of October last past ; and before I had opportunity to make a regimental return of my Company, sald Lieutenant Beebe did in fact come off and lead off a large number of my Company without liberty and contrary to my orders "
No proceedings were had thereon other than an order that Beebe pay the costs which had arisen. This order was undoubtedly entered as a matter of discipline for a technical violation of orders, but Beebe seems to have been justified in his course, for he marched the men to New York City, where he joined the command of Brig. Gen. John Douglass. He participated in the raid of December 10, 1777, on Long Island, and his services were recognized by his promotion as Captain in the Twenty-seventh Regi- ment of Connecticut troops, in which rank he served until the end of the war.
Upon his discharge from the military service, he re- turned to his home in Naugatuck, where he passed the re- mainder of his life in the quiet pursuits of a farmer.
He was married at Waterbury in August, 1758, to Je- mima, daughter of Gideon Hickox and Sarah Upson, by whom he had two sons and three daughters. His second child and oldest daughter, Ursula, born January 9, 1761, was married on November 15, 1780, to Walter Wooster, who served during the War of the Revolution from March, 1777, to February, 1780, as Sergeant in the Sixth "Con- necticut Line," and her name appears upon the Pension
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Rolls of the United States to the time of her death on Sep- tember 28, 1846.
The records of the Church members of the Old Con- gregational Church at Naugatuck, Connecticut, have the following entry :
" Jemima Beebe, widow of Ira, admitted 1786. Withdrawn. Baptist."
She survived her husband twenty-one years, and she was interred by his side in the family lot at Naugatuck. Their monument bears the following legend :
" Ira Beebe, died Dec. 29, 1792, aged 59.
Jemima his wife died April 9, 1813, aged 77."
Major General David Wooster
Sergeant WALTER WOOSTER Great-grandfather of HOLDRIDGE OZRO COLLINS
HE Wooster family is one of the oldest in Connecticut.
The first of the name was Edward Wooster, born in Derby, England, in 1622. He was a citizen of Milford in 1651, and in 1654 he moved to Paugasuck, now Derby, of which he was the first settler.
Nothing is known concerning his first wife, but, by her, he had several children, one of whom was Abraham, the father of Major General David Wooster. His second wife, whom he married in 1669, was Tabitha, daughter of Henry Tomlinson, of Stratford.
He occupied several positions of trust, being constable, sergeant of the Train Band, selectman, etc. His biogra- pher closes with these words :
" He was not a man of notions and changes, but continued steady and faith- ful at his post, providing as best he could for those who were dependent upon him, little dreaming that his grandson and his family would be celebrated in great- ness the world over, and that his own name, thereby, would go down in sublime honor to the end of the greatest republic ever established in the world. For twenty years he was the leading man of the little plantation that seemed unlikely to be- come greater than a man's hand, but has attained in business and in war an en- viable fame. All honor to the first, reliable and most noble hero of Derby."
Walter Wooster, his great-grandson, derived his de-
108
scent through two of his children, Ruth and Timothy. The following table will show the lines :
EDWARD WOOSTER, twice married, viz :
1, in England, wife unknown,
2, Tabitha Tomlinson, of Stratford, Conn.
BY FIRST WIFE, Ruth Wooster, born Apr. 8, 1668 ; married 1687, Sam- uel Bowers, son of Rev. John Bowers, of Derby.
BY TABITHA TOMLINSON, Timothy Wooster, born, Nov. 12, 1670, married May 23, 1699, Anna Perry, daughter of Arthur Perry, Jr., of Boston.
Sarah Bowers, born 1688, 1 [ married Mch. 22, 1737, her first cousin,
Timothy Wooster, Jr., born Dec. 29, 1699.
WALTER WOOSTER, born July 7, 1745, married Nov. 15, 1780, Ursula, daughter of Captain Ira Beebe.
Jemima Wooster, born 1784, married 1807, Ahira Collins.
Ozro Collins, born 1811, married Oct. 23, 1843, Ann Van Etten.
Holdridge Ozro Collins.
Timothy Wooster Sr. was one of the principal citizens of Derby, living upon the farm lands inherited from his father. In 1716 he was chosen Selectman, being called in
--
homestead of Abira Collins, Straitsville, View Baven County, Connecticut.
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the records "Sergeant." His son, Timothy Jr., was one of the "Society of Oxford, " organized out of the territory of Derby by Act of the General Assembly of Connecticut, in May, 1741.
Here, Walter was born, and his youth and carly man- hood were passed in the family circle, giving his attention to the labors of the farm.
During the first two years of the war, he remained at Oxford, but he was enrolled as a member of a local military company, organized for home protection, which was fre- quently called out in alarms and for guard duty.
On March 2, 1777, he enlisted for three years in Cap- tain Leavenworth's Company of the Sixth "Connecticut Line, " commanded successively by Colonels William Douglas and Return Jonathan Meigs. He was immediately ap- pointed Sergeant, which rank he retained until his dis- charge. He was one of the little command of Colonel Meigs, on May 24, 1777, "who landed on the east end of Long Island with two hundred men, destroyed twelve ves- sels, and a great quantity of provisions and forage collected at Sag Harbor, took ninety prisoners, and returned without the loss of a man."
With his regiment he went into camp at Peekskill in the summer of 1777, but he was frequently detached on ex- peditions or outpost duty on the lines above King's Bridge, where, in an engagement, he was severely wounded in the shoulder. His command served from August to October, 1777, on the Hudson, in Gen. Parsons' Brigade, under Gen. Putnam, and engaged in all the movements made in conse- quence of the enemy's march against Fort Montgomery. The Regiment was stationed in the winter of 1777-1778 at West Point, and assisted in constructing "Meig's Redout," and other fortifications on both sides of the river. In the
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summer of 1778, he was encamped with the main army un- der Washington at White Plains, and the winter of 1778- 1779 was passed at Redding. In the operations of 1779, his Regiment formed a part of the Connecticut Division in Gen. Heath's wing on the east side of the Hudson River. Sergeant Wooster lead the storming detachment at Horse- neck, on Long Island Sound, February 26, 1779. He was the first man to enter the Fort, and it was he who hauled down the British flag. He participated in the storming of Stony Point, July 15, 1779, and in all the subsequent en- gagements of his Regiment until his discharge at Morris- town huts, New Jersey, in February, 1780.
The wound which he had received, incapacitating him from further active service, he returned to Connecticut, and the Town of Derby designated him as a member of its re- cruiting committee. He was soon thereafter appointed a revenue officer, and he collected the war taxes in his Dis- trict for the Continental Army.
The record of the taxes collected by him, showing mi- nutely the amounts and the names of persons from whom received, was kept in six books, which were given to his daughter, Mrs. Abigail Isbell, the mother of Mr. Robert Harris Isbell, now of Woodlawn, New York.
The record of his marriage is in the First Book of Town Meetings, on page 130, in Derby, Connecticut, and is as follows, viz :
" Walter Wooster of Derby and Ursula Beebe of Waterbury were married Nov. 15th, 1780."
The records of the Pension office at Washington state that after he was married he was on the "Alarm list. " and he was frequently absent from home on military duty, his wife being obliged, for her safety, to resort to the houses of friends.
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After the close of the war, upon the re-organization of the military establishment of Connecticut, he was commis- sioned a Captain in the Militia.
He settled upon a farm near Waterbury, where he died July 21, 1829. His widow, Ursula, was a pensioner of the United States up to her death, on September 28, 1846.
The following obituary notice appeared in the "Co- lumbian Register," of July 25, 1829, a newspaper published in the City of New Haven, viz :
" At Waterbury (Salem Society) Mr. Walter Wooster, aged 82. He served his country In the hour of her need, and was one of the heroes who stared death in the face at the storming of Stony Point, and among the first of those who braved the cannon's mouth and entered the fort. He was in several hard fought battles, and at different times saw many of his comrades fall by his side. killed or wounded, while he escaped unhurt. Mr. Wooster sustained through his long life, the character of an honest man and a humble christian, (of the Baptist denomination ) and his was 'the path of the just which shineth more and more unto the perfect day.' "
Regulations for the use of the Library
Members of this Society shall be permitted to take books from the Library upon signing and leaving a receipt for the same.
None but members shall be permitted under any cir- cumstances to take any publications from the Library, and members are prohibited from loaning books to any persons whomsoever.
Official Rosters, Rolls and other publications of a simi- lar character, and Official Records of the Society shall not be taken from the Library.
0
WILLIS BALLANCE
HARLES BALLANCE, a Private in the Tenth Vir-
ginia Militia Regiment, who gave his life that his country might live, dying on May 13, 1777, from wounds received in battle, left two children by his wife Martha, daughter of Colonel Samuel Lampton.
Blanche, his daughter, was married to William Mitch- ell, of Virginia.
Willis Ballance was born in Virginia-about 1758, and his early years were passed at the home fireside. His edu- cation was acquired in such schools as the neighborhood af- forded, and in the teachings of his mother, a woman of cul- ture and superior intelligence. She was a cousin of Dolly Madison, wife of James Madison, afterwards President.
Upon his father's death, the management of the estate and care of his sister and widowed mother fell upon the youthful shoulders of Willis, but he was able to place their affairs in such a condition of security that when the demand became so imperative for re-enforcements for the struggling patriots, he felt that his duty called him also to the cause for which his father had been a willing sacrifice. He en- listed September 9, 1778, in Captain Bressie's Company of the Second Virginia Regiment, commanded successively by Colonels Gregory Smith and William Brent. He was im- mediately appointed a Corporal, in which rank he served for three years in the Virginia campaigns. The records are silent as to any engagements in which he participated,
but his services were recognized by his Saate in a military grant of two hundred acres of land.
The following are copies from the records of the Land Office in Richmond, Virginia, and in the Land Office at Frankfort, Kentucky, relating to his services and the Land Warrant issued to him, viz :
I.
" Council Chamber, Octr. 21st, 1783.
No. 1898. I do certify that WILLIS BALLANCE is entitled to the propor- tion of land allowed a Corporal, of the State line, for three years service.
Tho. Meriwether ; Benjamin Harrison. A Warrant for 200 Acres issued to WILLIS BALLANCE, Octr. 21st, 1783,"
II. "Land Office Military Warrant No. 1898.
To the Principle Surveyor of the lands set apart for the officers and soldiers af the Commonwealth of Virginia.
This shall be your WARRANT to survey and lay off in one or more surveys for WILLIS BAL-
- VA.
LANCE his heirs or assigns, the quantity of 200 acres of land, due unto sald WILLIS BALLANCE. SEAL
In consideration of his services for three years as a Corporal in the State Line, agreeable to a certificate from the Commissioner of War. received into the Land Office.
Given under my hand and the Seal of said office this 21st day of October in the year One Thousand Seven Hundred and 83.
John Harvie, Re. L. Off." See also in the State Library of Virginia, Account books, Volume 1, pages 41, 42.
After his discharge he returned to the home of his mother and sister, where he remained until his marriage, busy in the usual occupation of a planter and the pursuits of a country gentleman.
On June 3, 1796, he married Joyce Green, daughter of
Nicholas Green, of Culpeper County, the fifth son of Rob- ert Green, who immigrated to Virginia from England in 1712, and who, with his uncle, Sir William Duff, Joist Hite and Robert Mckay, was a patentee of 120,000 acres of land in the Valley of Virginia-the earliest patent granted west of the Blue Ridge, -and he was one of the most active fac- tors in the colonization and settlement of that beautiful region1.
The territory now forming the State of Kentucky was a part of Virginia, and at this time a strong tide of emi- gration was flowing to the rich blue grass country, large numbers of discharged soldiers locating their lands, under their military grants, in this region.
Willis Ballance decided to make a new home for his family in this Western tract, and, disposing of his interests in Virginia, the summer of his marriage he took his wife to Kentucky, and settled at Eagle Creek, in Madison County.
His reports of the fertility and beauty of his new sur- roundings caused many of his wife's relations to follow him, and their descendants are now found in every section of the State. The family name is perpetuated in the des- ignation of Green River, Green County and Greensburg.
The environment of refinement and gentle nurture of Joyce Green had unfitted her for the hardships of a frontier life, and she died at her western home in 1802, leaving three children, Betsey, Livi and Charles.
Early in 1804, Willis Ballance married Mrs. Joanna Reed, a widow, by whom he had two children, David and Prudence. He never entered public life in Kentucky, but followed the quiet, uneventful avocation of a farmer. He died May 18, 1824, in Mercer County, Kentucky.
Betsey and Levi did not marry and they died in Ken- tucky.
..
Charles Ballance, his son, was born November 10, 1800, at Silver Springs, Madison County, Kentucky. He stud- ied law and on August 10, 1829, he was admitted to the Bar by the Supreme Court of Kentucky. In 1831 he went to Peoria, Illinois, of which place he was one of the first three lawyers. He was elected to the offices of County Surveyor and Justice of the Peace, Member of the Council and Mayor of the City. He was an officer of the Peoria Battalion dur- ing the Black Hawk war, and he was the first Colonel of the Seventy-seventh Regiment, Illinois Volunteers in the Civil War. During the greater part of his professional ca- reer he was retained in the contests against the French claims to real estate in Peoria, and his fame as the leading real estate lawyer of early Illinois rests upon his uniform success in obtaining judgments in favor of his clients in the Supreme Court of the United States. At Peoria, on March 14, 1836, he married Julia Margaret Schnebly, great-grand- daughter of Dr. Heinrich Schnebly, who emigrated to Mary- land from Canton Zurich, Switzerland, in 1750, and settled at "The Garden of Eden," near Hagerstown.
From this union were born three sons and seven daugh- ters.
His youngest son, John Green Ballance, was graduated from the West Point Military Academy in 1874, and he was commissioned a Brigadier-General for brilliant services in the Philippine Islands.
His daughter, Mary Ballance, was married to Hol- dridge Ozro Collins, of Los Angeles, California.
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