USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > List of the soldiers in the War of the Revolution, from Worcester, Mass. : with a record of their death and place of burial > Part 1
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F 74 .W9 D6 Copy 2
LIST OF THE
Soldiers of the Revolution
From WORCESTER MASSACHUSETTS
and Memorial Exercises held May thirty, nineteen hun- dred and one
A LIST OF THE SOLDIERS
IN THE
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION
FROM
WORCESTER, MASS.
WITH A RECORD OF THEIR DEATH AND PLACE OF BURIAL.
COMPILED AND ARRANGED BY MARY COCHRAN DODGE.
PUBLISHED BY COL. TIMOTHY BIGELOW CHAPTER, DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
Copy 2
F14 WOD6 Copy 2
535753 F19, 38
PREFACE.
With the organizing of the Colonel Timothy Bigelow Chapter, D. A. R., the work of locating the graves of Worcester's revolutionary soldiers was begun. The list itself was first compiled from the State Archives and a few other authentic sources. No records other than the original ones were used except in one instance, viz .- the roll of fifty-four men enlisted from Worcester under Capt. William Gates, Col. Jonathan Hol- man's regiment, who marched July 17, 1776, for service in New York. Capt. Gates' record for this time can be found in the State Archives, but no roll of his men is to be found there. In 1876 Mr. Albert A. Lovell included in his history of Worcester in the War of the Revolution, a copy of this roll, the original of which he found in the possession of the American Antiquarian Society. This roll cannot now be found, and but for the copy made by Mr. Lovell the names of seventeen of these Worcester men whose only enlistment this was, would be unrecorded.
After completing the list of men credited to Worcester, came the more arduous task of identifying these men, tracing many of them to other States, obtaining records of death, and locating graves. To accomplish this the sources of information have included town, church, family and county court records, registries, private papers and local newspapers.
While realizing that the most exact accuracy must be observed to make such a record of value, the compiler feels that even with the greatest care errors are unavoidable where so many sources of information have been called upon.
It is a pleasure to acknowledge the kindly and valuable aid so cordi- ally given by the many different persons upon whom she has called for information. It is hoped the publishing of these lists will bring to her knowledge dates of death and places of burial of those she has been unable to ascertain. With this in view certain information has been in- cluded in the lists which might lead to the identification of those whose death dates could not be found.
In 1901 the City of Worcester appropriated a sum of money with which bronze markers were purchased and placed at each grave located in Worcester and the " South Parish" (until 1778 a part of Worcester), now Auburn. A bronze tablet was also placed on the "Common" in memory of seven soldiers buried there.
MARY COCHRAN DODGE.
WORCESTER, June, 1902.
A.
This list includes the "minute and militia men" who marched April 19, 1775, on the alarm at Lexington, and enlisted men belonging to or credited to Worcester. The names with an asterisk were from the " South Parish," now Auburn.
ALLEN, SALMON. ANNUM, CUFF.
"Reported died, April 19, 1779."
AVES, John. BACON, WILLIAM. BAIRD, DANIEL.
BALL, JOSEPH. BALL, SAMUEL. BANCROFT, JONAS .*
Died, Worcester, Dec. 9, 1819, aged 77. Rural Cemetery, Lot 563. Living in Concord, Vt., 1825.
Died, Auburn, Jan. 2, 1821, aged 76. Center Cemetery.
BANCROFT, JONAS, 2nd*
BANCROFT, JONATHAN .* BANCROFT, REUBEN (or Ray-
ham) .* BANCROFT, WILLIAM .*
Died, Dana, Aug. 18, 1834.
BARNARD, RICHARD. (black)
BARRETT, ISRAEL. BARTON, TIMOTHY.
Living in Winchendon, 1784.
"Reported killed July 22, 1777."
BENNET, BENJAMIN.
BENNET, JOSEPH .* BENNET, SAMUEL. BETTERLY, THOMAS.
Living in Newfane, Vt., 1784.
BETTERLY, WILLIAM.
BIGELOW, GERSHOM, JR. BIGELOW, TIMOTHY.
Died, Royalston, 1807-8. Died, Worcester, April 4, 1790, aged 50. Old Common.
BOOTH, ROBERT. BOYDEN, DARIUS .* BOYDEN, JOSEPH .* BOYDEN, PETER.
Died, Auburn, Mar. 18, 1783, aged 39.
BRADLEY, JOHN. BROOKS, NATHANIEL.
BROWN, SAMUEL.
Died, Auburn, July 28, 1777, aged' 32. Center Cemetery. Living in Newfane, Vt., 1801. Died, Worcester, Feb. 3, 1838, aged 97. Rural Cemetery. Died, Worcester, May 25, 1785, aged 41. Old Common, No. 107.
BROWN, WILLIAM. BUCKLER, JAMES. BUXTON, WILLIAM.
Living in Gardner, 1803.
BENGLARIS, POMP.
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CARTER, BENJAMIN .* CARTER, TIMOTHY. CASE, JAMES. CHADWICK, DANIEL.
CHADWICK, DAVID. CHADWICK, ISAAC. CHAMBERLAIN, WILSON. CHAPIN, BENJAMIN. CHAPIN, ELI.
CHASE, AMERIAH. CHRISTIAN, JOHN (also of Sutton). CLARK, DAVID. CLARK, ELISHA. CLARK, JONAS. CLARK, JOSEPH.
CLARK, SAMUEL.
CLEWS, THOMAS.
COLE, JOHN.
COMENS, DANIEL .*
CONNOR, EDWARD.
COOK, ROBERT.
COOK, SAMUEL.
COWDEN, WILLIAM.
CRAFTS, EDWARD.
CRAWFORD, ROBERT.
CROSBY, ELISHA.
CROSBY, SIMON (also of
Boston) . CROWLE, ANDREW .* CROWLE, JOHN.
CUFF, WILLIAM.
CUMMINGS, ELIJAH.
CUMMINGS, JOHN.
CUNNINGHAM, JOSEPH. CURTIS, JOSEPH. CURTIS, OLIVER.
Died. Pelham, Mar. 10, 1815.
CURTIS, WILLIAM. CUTLER, JONATHAN.
CUTLER, NATHAN* (also of Sutton).
Living in Newfane, Vt., 1785. Died, Auburn, Aug., 1784.
Died, Worcester, May 23, 1836, aged 84. Hope Cemetery, Tier G. Died, -, 1794, aged 57. Died, Worcester, Aug. 21, 1836, aged 78.
"Died in service Aug. 25, 1776." Died, Worcester, Mar. 7, 1830, aged 76. Hope Cemetery, Tier D. Living in New Salem, 1792.
Died, Auburn, Dec. 26, 1807, aged 88. Center Cemetery. Died, Auburn, Oct. 21, 1812, aged 76. Center Cemetery.
Died, -, 1796. Died, Petersham, Aug. 25, 1838. " Died, Albany Grand Hospital, Oct. 21, 1777." Died, Middlesex, N. Y., April 11, 1806, aged 60. Died, Royalston, Sept. 10, 1785.
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CUTTING, BENJAMIN. CUTTING, FRANCIS. CUTTING, ISAAC.
CUTTING, ZEBULON.
DANA, WILLIAM.
DAWES, CATO. DIBBILL, CATO. (black)
DONEHUE, PHILIP. DRAPER, RICHARD. DRURY, JOHN.
DRURY, THOMAS, JR. DUNCAN, SAMUEL.
DUNCAN, SIMEON .* DUNCAN, SIMEON, JR.
DUNHAM, ELISHA. DUTTON, ASA.
DWELLE, JOSEPH.
EATON, SAMUEL.
EATON, THOMAS.
Died, Worcester, Aug. 25, 1783.
EATON, URIAH (also of Hol- den and Sudbury). EDDY, LEVI .*
Died, Auburn, May 6, 1821, aged 76. Center Cemetery.
EDMUNDS, JOHN.
ELDER, JOHN.
EPHRAIM, EBENEZER.
Died, Worcester, Feb. 13, 1819.
"Reported died Jan. 4, -. "(probably 1778)
ESTABROOK, BENJAMIN. FAIRFIELD, SAMUEL. FEETHER, JOHN. (or Fiafter)
FILMORE, GEORGE. FISK, EBENEZER. FISK, JAMES. FITTS, ROBERT .*
FLAGG, ABEL.
FLAGG, BENJAMIN.
FLAGG, BENJAMIN, JR.
FLAGG, JOSIAH. FLAGG, NATHANIEL. FLAGG, PHINEAS.
FORBUSH, JAMES.
Died, Belpre, O., -, 1809.
Died, Auburn, July 6, 1836, aged 91. Died, Dummerston, Vt., July 28, 1820, aged 72. Died, Auburn, June 19, 1781, aged 56. Died, Worcester, Feb. 22, 1836, aged 80. Hope Cemetery, Tier F.
Died, Oakham, April 27, 1839.
Died, Auburn, Dec. 29, 1831, aged 74. West Cemetery. Died, Worcester, Sept. 18, 1775, aged 22. Old Common, No. 109. Died, Worcester, Oct. 8, 1818, aged 95. Hope Cemetery, Lot 962. Died, Worcester, Mar. 9, 1819, aged 73. Hope Cemetery, Tier B.
Died, July, 1810. Died, Worcester, Oct. 1, 1791, aged 39. Old Common, No. 63.
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FOSTER, ELISHA. FULLER, ELISHA. GALE, DANIEL. GALE, HENRY .* GALE, NOAH. GAMBLE, JOSEPH. GATES, ASA.
GATES, JAMES. GATES, JOSIAH. GATES, PAUL.
GATES, SAMUEL.
GATES, SILAS. GATES, SIMON,
GATES, STEPHEN. GATES, THOMAS. GATES, WILLIAM.
GATES, WILLIAM. GLASCO, SIMON. GLEASON, DAVID.
GLEASON, ISAAC. GLEASON, JOHN. GLEASON, JONATHAN.
GLEASON, JOSEPH. GLEASON, PHINEHAS.
GLEASON, REUBEN. GLEASON, THOMAS. GLEASON, VERNON. GOODWIN, JOHN. GRAY, JOHN. GRAY, JOSEPH. GRIGGS, GIDEON. GRIGGS, SAMUEL. GRIGGS, WILLIAM. GURNEY, JACOB. HAIR, EDWARD. HAIR, JOHN. HALL, JOHN. HAMILTON, MOSES. HAMILTON, SAMUEL. HAMILTON, WILLIAM. HARDY, PETER .*
Died, Monson, Nov. 21, 1835, aged 78.
Died, Franklin, Vt., June 25, 1826, aged 71. Died, Worcester, Dec. 19, 1831, aged 77. Rural Cemetery, Lot 315.
Died, Worcester, Feb. 2, 1849, aged 93. Hope Cemetery.
Died, Rome, N. Y. Died Worcester, July 7, 1811, aged 76. Hope Cemetery, Tier C.
Died, Auburn, April 29, 1833, aged 86. Center Cemetery. Died, Worcester, Aug. 14, 1832, aged 79. Janv. M . Died, Worcester, Aug. 20, 1839, aged 75. Died, Worcester, June 4, 1827, aged 82. Hope Cemetery, Lot 739.
Died, Worcester, Dec. 26, 1809, aged 56. Hope Cemetery, Tier A.
Died, Worcester, Oct. - , 1807. Died, Worcester, Feb. 24, 1831.
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HARRINGTON, ASA HARRINGTON, JOSHUA, JR. HARRINGTON, JOSIAH, JR. HARRINGTON, NATHANIEL.
HARRINGTON, NOAH.
HARRINGTON, SAMUEL.
HARRINGTON, SILAS.
HARRINGTON, WILLIAM. HARRIS, DANIEL. HARRIS, THOMAS. (black) HARRIS, WILLIAM. HASTINGS, EBENEZER. HAVEN, DANIEL. HAWES, ELEAZER. HAWES, ELIJAH. HEALY, JEDEDIAH.
HEMMENWAY, ADAM. HEMMENWAY, JEFFREY.
HEMMENWAY, SAMUEL. HENRY, SILAS. HEYWOOD, DANIEL.
HEYWOOD, NATHANIEL.
HIGGINS, ARCHIBALD.
HINDS, JOHN. HOLBROOK, ABEL. HOLBROOK, ELEAZER. HOLMAN, SAMUEL .*
HOLMES, GERSHOM. HOLMES, JACOB, JR. HOUGHTON, LEVI (also of
Stow). HOWE, EZEKIEL, JR. HOWE, JOEL. HUBBARD, JONAS. HUBBARD, LEVI.
HUBBARD, REUBEN.
Died, Pelham, Oct. -, 1817, aged 66. Died, Worcester, Feb. 28, 1831, aged 89. Hope Cemetery, Tier G. Died, Worcester, July 18, 1832, aged 73. Providence St., Millbury. Died, Worcester, Mar. 27, 1838, aged 84. Hope Cemetery, Tier B. Died, Worcester, June 15, 1831, aged 79. Rural Cemetery, Lot 764.
Died, Worcester, Oct. 22, 1807. "Reported died May 27, 1775."
Died, Worcester, Feb. 7, 1821, aged 63. Hope Cemetery, Tier D.
Died, Worcester, Aug. 15, 1819, aged 82. Hope Cemetery, Lot 1245.
Died, Princeton, Aug. 5, 1832. Died, Worcester, Dec. 15, 1809, aged 55. Hope Cemetery, Tier A. Died, Shrewsbury, Nov. 18, 1834, aged 86. Center Cemetery. "Reported right arm shot off Oct. 6, 1775, and as having died Oct. - , 1775.
Died, Worcester, -- ,
Died, Auburn, Dec. 29, 1793, aged 48. Center Cemetery.
Died, Worcester, Jan. 18, 1803, aged 67.
Living in Gardner, 1824.
" Mortally wounded, Quebec, Dec. 31,1775." Died, Paris, Me., Feb. 18, 1836, aged 73. Tomb at homestead. Died, Norway, Me., before 1802.
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HUNTER, JOHN. JENNISON, DANIEL .*
JENNISON, PETER .* JENNISON, ROBERT. JOHNS, ISAAC. (Indian)
JOHNSON, AMOS.
JOHNSON, BENJAMIN. JOHNSON, DANIEL.
JOHNSON, JOHN. JOHNSON, NATHAN.
JOHNSON, SAMUEL.
JOHNSON, URIAH.
JONES, ASA. JONES, ISAAC.
JONES, NOAH. JONES, PHINEHAS.
Died, Worcester, Jan. 15, 1807, aged 44.
Died, Worcester, Mar. 22, 1814, aged 66. Hope Cemetery, Tier A.
JONES, SAMUEL.
JONES, THOMAS.
JONES, WILLIAM. JORDAN, EDMUND.
JUPITER. (black)
KANNADY, JOHN. (or Kennedy)
KELSO, HUGH.
KENNEDY, JAMES.
KENNEDY, WILLIAM (also of Sutton).
KINGMAN, ISAAC.
KINGSBURY, JAMES.
KNAPP, CYRENUS.
KNIGHT, ARTEMAS.
KNIGHT, EDWARD.
Died, Worcester, Sept. 15, 1819, aged 69. Hope Cemetery, Tier H. Died, Worcester, Feb. 7, 1812.
KNIGHT, ISAAC.
KNIGHT, THOMAS.
KNIGHT, WILLIAM.
KNOWER, JOHN.
Died, Shrewsbury,
--- , 1817.
LANE, JOHN. LANMAN, JAMES. LARNARD, SAMUEL* (or Lear- ned, also of Oxford). LOVELL, EBENEZER.
LYNDE, THOMAS. MCCONKEY, WILLIAM. MCCRACKEN, SAMUEL.
Died, Auburn, Feb. 4, 1839, aged 81, Center Cemetery.
Died, Worcester, Dec. 6, 1817, aged 88. Old Common. Died, Leicester, Dec. 24, 1811.
Living in Holden, 1785.
ยท
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MCFARLAND, JAMES. MCFARLAND, WILLIAM.
MCGUIRE, JOHN. MAHAN, JOHN.
MAHAN, SAMUEL. MARSH, EBENEZER. MATTEL, WILLIAM. MILES, WILLIAM. MILLER, EPHRAIM. MILLER, JOSEPH. MILLS, EPHRAIM. MOORE, DANIEL. MOORE, JAMES.
MOORE, JOHN.
MOORE, JOHN.
MORSE, ISAAC. MORSE, JOSEPH.
MORSE, THOMAS.
MUZZY, SETH.
NASH, JACOB. NAZRO, NATHANIEL.
NEWTON, SAMUEL.
NICHOLS, JONAS .* NICHOLS, THOMAS. NILES, SILAS. NOYES, BELA. NOYES, JOHN. PARTRIDGE, SETH. PATCH, JOSEPH.
PATCH, NATHAN.
PERRY, JOSIAH. PETER, JOHN. (Indian) PHILLIPS, JONATHAN. PHILLIPS, JOSIAH. PIERCE, AMOS. PIERCE, DAVID. PIERCE, JOHN. PIERCE, JOSEPH.
PIERCE, JOSIAH. PIERCE, OLIVER. POTTER, JAMES (also of
Holden).
Died, Worcester, Dec. 22, 1835, aged 77. Hope Cemetery. Died, Worcester, Jan. 27, 1805, aged 83. Hope Cemetery, Lot 1489. Died, Worcester, Oct. 30, 1831, aged 85. Died, Worcester, Oct. - , 1789, aged 32. Old Common, No. 11.
Died, Worcester, May --- , 1793, aged 54. Died, Worcester, Oct. 30, 1831, aged 85.
"Reported killed."
Died, Worcester, Mar. 17, 1828, aged 72.
Died, Worcester, April 8, 1836, aged 76. Hope Cemetery, Tier B. Died, Worcester, June 22, 1808, aged 72. Rural Cemetery, Lot 98. Died, Worcester,
Died, Worcester, Mar. 2. 1808, aged 63.
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POWERS, NICHOLAS. PRATT, ISAAC .* PRIEST, SAMUEL. PRUE, GERSHOM .* PUTNAM, ELI. QUIGLEY, JAMES.
QUIGLEY, JOHN. RAYMOND, WILLIAM.
REED, JOSEPH.
RICE, JONATHAN.
RICE, JOSIAH. RICE, LEMUEL.
RICE, PIIINEHAS.
RICE, REUBEN.
RICE, TIMOTHY.
RICHARDS, DAVID.
RICHARDS, DICK. (black) RUSSELL, BENJAMIN.
SAVAGE, FRANCIS. SEVERY, THOMAS.
SHIELD, WILLIAM.
SLATER, PETER.
SMITH, AARON.
SMITH, AMOS.
SMITH, ELISHA.
SMITH, ITHAMAR.
SMITH, JACOB.
SMITH, JOEL.
SMITH, JOHN.
SMITH, PHINEHAS.
SMITH, ROBERT.
SMITH, SIMON.
SMITH, SOLOMON.
SMITH, TITUS.
SMITH, WILLIAM SPENCER.
SNOW, WILLIAM, JR.
STEARNS, ASA. STEARNS, DANIEL. STEARNS, SAMUEL, JR.
Living in Marietta, O., 1788.
Died, Auburn, May 3, 1834, aged 70. Center Cemetery.
Died, Worcester, May 17, 1806, aged 66. Hope Cemetery, Tier B.
" Mortally wounded, Quebec, Dec. 31,1775." Died, Worcester, Jan. 29, 1829, aged 78. Hope Cemetery, Tier E.
Died, Boston, Jan. 4, 1845, aged 83. Granary Burial Ground, No. 100.
Died, Worcester, Oct. 13, 1831, aged 71. Hope Cemetery.
Died, Worcester, Jan. 5, 1777, aged 33.
Living in Heath, 1800. Died, Worcester, July 4, 1807, aged 80. Old Common, No. 41.
SPRING, JOHN. SPAULDING, REUBEN. Died, Chazy, N. Y., Feb. 2, 1852, aged 93. Died, Newport, N.H., May 4, 1849, aged 93. Died, Claremont, N.H.,-, 1840, aged 85.
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STEARNS, WILLIAM. STEVENS, CYPRIAN. STEWART, WILLIAM. STONE, AARON. STONE, DAVID .* STONE, ISRAEL .*
Died, Worcester, Jan. 10, 1838, aged 92.
STONE, JONATHAN .*
STONE, JONATHAN, JR .*
STONE, JOSEPH .*
Died, Auburn, Jan. 3, 1844, aged 91. Center Cemetery. Died, Auburn, Dec. 21, 1806, aged 81. Center Cemetery. Died, Auburn, Nov. 24, 1809, aged 59. Center Cemetery. Died, Auburn, Feb. 22, 1837, aged 79. Center Cemetery.
STONE, WILLIAM. STONE, -VIS. STOWELL, DANIEL. Died, Paris, Me., Sept. 20, 1828, aged 70. Stowell Cemetery.
STOWELL, DAVID. STOWELL, WILLIAM.
Died, Paris, Me., Jan. 8, 1829, aged 72. Stowell Cemetery.
STOWERS, RICHARD. STREETER, JOSEPH .* STURTEVANT, NOAH.
STURTEVANT. SAMUEL. SWAN, EDWARD. SWAN, JAMES. TAYLOR, JAMES. TAYLOR, JOHN. TAYLOR, THOMAS.
Died, Auburn, April 15, 1787, aged 42.
TOTMAN, JOHN (or Tatman). Died, Worcester, Oct. 3, 1833, aged 88. Tatman Burial Ground.
TREADWELL, WILLIAM.
TROWBRIDGE, WILLIAM.
TURNER, -SHA. WALKER, GEORGE. WALKER, WILLIAM. WARD, ASA.
WARD, PHINEHAS. WARD, WILLIAM. WARREN, ABIAH. WARREN, JOHN.
Died, Providence, -- , 1834, aged 72.
THOMAS, DAVID.
THORP, Joseph.
Died, Worcester, April 10, 1796, aged 46. Old Common, No. 5. Died, Worcester, Sept. 30, 1833, aged 82. Hope Cemetery, Tier C.
Died, Worcester, June 27, 1818, aged 70. Hope Cemetery, Tier 13. Died, Worcester, Nov. 20, 1808, aged 79. Hope Cemetery, Tier B.
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WARREN, SAMUEL. WATERS, WILLIAM. WEEDEN, JOB. WELD, EDWARD CHURCH. WESSON, SAMUEL.
WESSON, SILAS.
WESSON, THOMAS.
WHEELOCK, JOSEPH.
WHITNEY, BENJAMIN, JR. WHITNEY, EBENEZER.
WHITNEY, JOSHUA.
WHITNEY, SAMUEL, WHITNEY, SAMUEL, JR. WHITNEY, SILAS. WILDER, MOSES.
WILDER, REUBEN. WILEY, SAMUEL, WILLIAMS, RICHARD.
WILLINGTON, DANIEL.
WILSON, ALEXANDER. WISER, JAMES.
WISWALL, DANIEL. WISWALL, EBENEZER.
WOLF, JOHN. WORKS, JACOB .* WORKS, SAMUEL. WYMAN, REUBEN. YOUNG, WILLIAM, JR.
" Killed, Quebec, Dec. 31, 1775."
Died, Worcester, July 30, 1823, aged 86. Died, Worcester, Jan. 17, 1836, aged 76. Rural Cemetery. Died, Worcester, May 7, 1809, aged 72. Hope Cemetery, Lot 310. Died, Gilsum, N. H., June 1, 1831.
Died, Stockbridge, Vt., before Nov., 1793. Died Worcester, Sept. 17, 1823, aged 70. Died, Auburn, April 24, 1811, aged 58, Center Cemetery.
Died, Worcester, Jan. 20, 1822, aged 67. Hope Cemetery, Lot 310.
Died, Leicester, June 13, 1808, aged 87.
B.
This list includes those who at time of enlistment were not inhabitants of Worcester, but later resided and died here, and whose graves have been marked.
FOWLE, CURTIS.
MERRIFIELD, TIMOTHY.
SMITH, ETHAN.
THOMAS, ISAIAH.
WARREN, WILLIAM.
Died, Worcester, Mar. 18, 1825, aged 80. Hope Cemetery, Tier B. Died, Worcester, May 6, 1806, aged 68. Rural Cemetery, Lot 233. Died, Worcester, Aug. 29, 1849, aged 86. Rural Cemetery, Sanford Lot. Died, Worcester, April 4, 1831, aged 82. Rural Cemetery, Thomas Tomb. Died, Worcester, July 29, 1831, aged 80. Rural Cemetery, Lot 745.
EXERCISES
IN COMMEMORATION OF REVOLUTIONARY HEROES HELD AT CITY HALL, MAY 30TH, 1901, UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE HISTORICAL AND PATRIOTIC SOCIE-
TIES OF WORCESTER, MASS.
Song by the school children of Worcester under the direc- tion of Mr. Seth Richards.
" O Columbia the Gem of the Ocean."
ADDRESS.
BY THE PRESIDING OFFICER, DANIEL KENT, ESQ.
Ladies and Gentlemen : We had hoped that these exercises might be held upon our historic Common beside the monument which marks the resting place of Col. Bigelow, a man who served with distinguished valor in the War for Independence. The weather, however, has forced us to meet here in the City Hall. I think it is very appropriate we should gather in this place, for this building stands upon the site of the Old South Church in which were held many of the meetings of those stirring times which led up to and extended through the Revo- lution. It was in this close vicinity that the minute-men gathered on the nineteenth of April, 1775, and it was here ser- mons were preached and prayers were offered up for the safety of the country.
This meeting has been arranged under the auspices of the historical and patriotic societies of the city. Some two years ago, one of our sister organizations, the Colonel Timothy Bigelow Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolu- tion, undertook the commendable task of obtaining as accurate a list as was possible of the soldiers who enlisted for the Revolution from Worcester, and ascertaining where those
15
soldiers died and where their graves were located. This has been an arduous labor and faithfully performed. Upon its approximate completion two months ago the Chapter invited the other local patriotic and historical societies to join with them in exercises commemorative of those Revolutionary heroes.
No complete list of the Revolution's soldiers from Wor- cester has ever been published. Their names have only been preserved on fragmentary records, some of them long since forgotton. Now these have been gathered together by the secretary of this Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and to her should be the praise that at last, over one hundred and twenty-six years after the Revolution began, we have, perhaps, as complete a list as we ever can obtain at this distant day. I wish to read the names of those whose graves have been located in Worcester, and also of those whose death records are in Worcester, but whose place of burial is unknown. The total number enlisting from Worcester was three hundred and seventy-five. Of these, sixty-one graves have been located in Worcester; twenty-one have been located in other places ; eleven soldiers were killed or died in service ; twenty-six death records are recorded at the City Hall, but the graves are un- located ; leaving two hundred and fifty-six whose place of death is not known.
Of the sixty-one graves located in Worcester, eight are on the Common, namely : Timothy Bigelow, Phineas Flagg, Robert Smith, Samuel Brown, Ebenezer Lovell, William Treadwell, Abel Flagg, and John Mahan.
Ten are in Rural Cemetery : Isaiah Thomas, Daniel Baird, Silas Harrington, Timothy Merrifield, Nathaniel Brooks, Nathan Patch, Samuel Gates, Ebenezer Whitney, William Warren, Ethan Smith.
Twenty-seven are in Hope Cemetery : Benjamin Flagg, Daniel Chadwick, Jedediah Healey, William Trowbridge, Eli Chapin, Jeffrey Hemmenway, Asa Ward, Daniel Heywood, Phineas Ward, Benjamin Flagg, Jr., Phineas Jones, Ebenezer Wiswall, William Gates, Edward Knight, Simon Gates, Jonathan Gleason, Willian McFarland, Joseph Patch, Phineas Gleason, Lemuel Rice, Joshua Whitney, Nathaniel Harrington, David
16
Richards, Simeon Duncan, Jr., Samuel Harrington, Peter Slater, Curtis Fowle.
In the Tatman Burying Ground at Quinsigamond one Revo- lutionary soldier rests,-John Tatman.
In 1778, the South Parish was, as you know, set off to the town of Ward, and in 1837 the name of the town was changed to Auburn. Of the Revolutionary soldiers buried in Auburn who enlisted in Worcester prior to the division, there are fifteen graves located : Jonathan Stone, Sanuel Clark, Jonathan Stone, Jr., James Wiser, Peter Boyden, Jonas Bancroft, David Gleason, Levi Eddy, Daniel Jennison, Jonathan Rice, Samuel Holman, Israel Stone, Joseph Clark, Robert Fitts, Joseph Stone.
This completes the list of the sixty-one graves which have been identified. As I said before, there are also twenty-six other death records in the City Hall, but it seems impossible to tell where these twenty-six patriots are buried. I think it would be well in this presence to read their names because we are always looking for some clew that will locate them either here in Worcester or wherever they may rest, and possibly by reading this list some of you may recognize the name of a lineal ascendant or collateral relative. If so, you will do a great kindness. not only to the Chapter which is preparing this list, but to the public at large, by giving us any information you may possess. These are the twenty-six : David Chadwick, Isaac Chadwick, Robert Cook, Thomas Eaton, John Elder, Nathaniel Flagg, Paul Gates, Asa Gates, Isaac Gleason, John Gleason, John Hair, Edward Hair, Jacob Holmes, Jr., Ebenezer Hastings, Samuel Johnson, Isaac Knight, John McGuire, John Moore, John Moore, Thomas Nichols, John Pierce, Joel Smith, Daniel Stearns, Benjamin Whitney, Jr., Daniel Wellington, William Stearns.
I understand that it is the intention of the Colonel Timothy Bigelow Chapter to publish very soon the complete list of Worcester's Revolutionary soldiers which they have gathered together. High among the names upon that list stands that of Col. Timothy Bigelow. Of his wise counsel and inspiring enthusiasm; of his heroic service and loyal devotion to the cause of Independence, the other speakers will, I doubt not, speak in fitting terms. Other heroes, too, are there,-men who
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gave their all to their country that we their children might in- herit freedom.
On that list is the name of Major William Treadwell. William Treadwell was a private in Capt. Timothy Bigelow's Company of Minute-men. On the return from the Lexington Alarm he enlisted as Lieutenant in Capt. Edward Crafts' Com- pany of Artillery, Col. Thomas Crafts' regiment. He was a brave man, a born soldier. He served through the war and lived to come home. He was one of the founders of the Worcester Artillery. Like many another hero of that war, he lost all his property. Theirs were in truth experiences which tried men's souls. He died at last in 1795, broken-hearted.
There was Major Edward Crafts : Major Crafts was a prom- inent man here in those times, yet, I doubt if more than a few of our citizens know there was such a Revolutionary soldier who went forth from Worcester. He was the intimate friend of John Hancock and Samuel Adams, and a brother of Col. Thomas Crafts, of Boston. He fought at Bunker Hill. He has a glorious record. He was a man of superb physique, but he returned from his long term of service with shattered health and bearing the burden of heavy financial losses caused by the depreciation of the Continental currency. He later emigrated to Murrayfield, now the town of Chester, and from there, his sons having gone further on to New York state, he went with them to Middlesex, N. Y., where he died at the early age of sixty. His children pressed still further on and settled in Ohio, and every year his descendants gather there to honor the memory of Major Edward Crafts, their Revolutionary ancestor, and his brave wife, his equal in patriotism,-Eliot Winship Crafts.
There was Col. Benjamin Flagg who marched as captain of the second company of minute-men on that memorable nineteenth of April. He afterward commanded a regiment from this county and won glory for himself as well as for the town.
It was Capt. Jonas Hubbard of Worcester who on that awful march under General Arnold, one of the most terrible marches ever made in any war, said, "I do not value life or property, if I may secure liberty for my children." Those
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were the words of a patriot. While he lay under the ramparts at Quebec, mortally wounded, his comrades came to carry him away, and he said, "I came to fight with you; I will stay here to die with you." There spoke the hero.
These are a few of the names, unfamiliar to us now, but which we trust through the work of our historical and patriotic societies will become again household names. These were the men who took up the work of former generations, of the earlier settlers of the town of Worcester and carried it forward. They were equal to the task. Gloriously did they perform their duty. Bear in mind that at this time Worcester was a town of less than two thousand inhabitants, with about two hundred and fifty voters. It has grown and grown until now we have over one hundred and twenty thousand inhabitants. As the years have passed men have arisen to meet the questions which have come, and have solved them to the city's good.
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