USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Lynn > Lynn in the Revolution, Part II > Part 18
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Appears as a landsman on frigate "Boston," Samuel Tucker com- mander; entry, December 4, 1778; also appears on ship "Lyon": also on another from Marblehead.
Also private, Captain Samuel King's company; enlisted July 14, 1775; service, six months, two days, for defence of seacoast; also private, Captain Zadock Buffinton's company, Colonel Samuel John- son's regiment; enlisted August 19, 1777; discharged November 30. 1777, at Cambridge; service, three months, twelve days.
RAMSDELL, ABEDNEGO,-son of Noah and Mary (Batten) Ramsdell, was born in Lynn, September 11, 1750. His father's home was on Marble- head Lane where it makes a sharp bend in entering the town of Swamp- scott. The house stood upon the easterly side of the road, and has long since disappeared. Abednego Ramsdell was married March 10, 1774, by Ebenezer Burrill, Esq., town clerk, to Hannah Woodbury. probably of Newburyport. His nearest neighbor was Theophilus Burrill, whose home is still standing on Essex Street, Swampscott. and beyond the latter lived Joseph Richards and his brothers. Tra- dition has handed down an interesting story of how two of these young men started for the battle of Lexington. They were members of C'ap- tain Farrington's company of militia, but had risen early that morning and gone to the seashore for the purpose of shooting black ducks. In their absence the alarm reached town that the regulars were out, and most of their neighbors had gone in haste with the company. Abed-
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nego Ramsdell and Joseph Richards had killed some ducks and were returning, when they were met by the father of the latter, who gave them the exciting news that there was trouble "up country" and that they had better go. It is asserted that they immediately threw down the ducks, and set off in haste for the scene of the conflict. Judge James R. Newhall, in the History of Lynn, says that Mr. Ramsdell was warned by a woman as he left town that she had had a presentment that he would not return. He replied that he was going in a good cause, and that, if he fell, he would take a redcoat with hin. It is said that the last time he was seen in Lynn he was running through the town with his stockings fallen over his shoes. Gradually he was joined by others along the road who were going in the same direction, and these men decided to place themselves under the lead of one of the older men. Hurrying along, they fell in with a considerable number of men whose objective point was the Boston road to Concord, and at about noon they learned the full particulars of the morning's fight, and that a large force of British was on the road beyond. They arrived in the town of Menotomy some time during the early part of the afternoon, there meeting the Lynn men who had preceded them. Mr. Ramsdell took position at the Jason Russell house, and was awaiting the van- guard of the British troops when they arrived at about five o'clock. While engaged in firing at the main column in the road, he was fired upon in the rear by the flank guard and killed. The hardest fighting of the day took place around this old farm-house, which still stands a survivor of the battle. Twelve men were laid out in the parlor that afternoon, killed by British musket-balls and bayonets. Mr. Ramsdell was buried in the field in the rear of the house. In 1848 his body was removed to the cemetery at Arlington, where a monument was erected over the common grave of the men who had been killed at the Jason Russell house.
Abednego Ramsdell had two brothers, Shadrack and Mesheck, both of whom served in the Revolution. His three sisters, Rachel, Mary, and Hannah, all married Revolutionary soldiers.
RAMSDELL, EBENEZER,-raised for six months' service, and passed muster October 25, 1780, at Camp Totoway; discharged December 13, 1780; service, five months, twenty-eight days, travel, 220 miles, in- cluded .- Mass. Rolls.
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RAMSDELL, JACOB,-son of John and Rebecca (Hazletine or Hazleton), was born March 7, 1745-6; married Elizabeth Collins. September 13, 1770, by Rev. John Treadwell; children, John, Bethia, Betsey, and Jacob. In the probate records a certificate appears, filed by his widow Elizabeth, March 31, 1806, which says that her husband, Jacob, went away ten years previous and had not been heard from. He was a seaman, and left four children.
Appears as a private in Captain Ezra Newhall's company which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775; service, twenty-one days; also as lieutenant in Captain Lindsey's company, Colonel Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge's regiment, dated August 1, 1775; enlisted May 12, 1775; service, eighty-one days; also appears in a petition addressed to the Council at Watertown, dated Cambridge Camp, October 2, 1775, signed by Colonel Woodbridge, asking that said Ramsdell and others be rec- ommended to General Washington for Continental commission, they having failed to be commissioned by the Provincial Congress .- Mass. Rolls.
RAMSDELL, JAMES,-probably son of Timothy and Margerity, born Janu- ary 10, 1733; married June 26, 1755, to Meribah Johnson. Was evi- dently in the regiment with Henry Hallowell, inasmuch as the latter mentions him as being on the march through New Jersey.
Private, Captain Moses McFarland's invalid corps at Boston, for service from January 1 to December 1, 1780; enlistment during the war ; also first appears as private in Captain Daniel Galeucia's tenth com- pany, Colonel Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge's regiment; enlisted June 16, 1775; order for bounty coat dated Malden, October 25, 1775; also list of men raised to serve in the Continental Army from 1st Essex County regiment, dated Lynn, February 16, 1778; term three years; joined Captain Williams's company, Colonel Greaton's regiment; also private, Captain Joseph Williams's company, Colonel John Grea- ton's regiment, for service from February 26, 1777, to December 3t. 1780; reported invalided in 1780 .- Mass. Rolls.
He was paid a bounty of £14 by the town of Lynn, March 1, 1778. - Accounts of Greaton at State House.
RAMSDELL, JAMES, Jr.,-parentage, unknown. A James, Jr., died in Marblehead, September 14, 1814 .- a seaman.
Appears on a list of men raised to serve in the Continental Army
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from Ist Essex County regiment, dated Lynn, February 16, 1778, and sworn to at Salem by John Flagg, military officer of the town of Lynn; joined Captain Joseph Winship's company, Colonel Greaton's regi- ment; also appears on Continental Army depreciation roll of men who served three years from January, 1777, to 1780.
Descriptive list dated West Point, January 25, 1781; Colonel Greaton's 3d regiment; age, twenty-one years; stature, 5 ft. 6 in .; complexion, light: hair, dark; eyes, blue; residence, Lynn; enlisted January 1, 1777, by Lieutenant Tuttle; enlistment during war .- Mass. Rolls.
RAMSDELL, KIMBALL (KYMBAL),-married Mary Ramsdell, probably daugh- ter of Noah and Mary (Batton) Ramsdell, born January 4, 1741. His own parentage is unknown. His children were Mary, Lucy, Joseph, Rachel, Kimball, Rachel, Lucy. He was a soldier in the French and Indian War, but appears only in Henry Hallowell's list as having been in the Revolution.
RAMSDELL, MESHECK,- son of Noah and Mary (Batton) Ramsdell, was born March 14, 1747; married March 2, 1768, to Sarah Young, daughter of Thomas and Martha Young, born June 20, 1748. He was living in Lynn in 1790, according to the census of that year, but the date of his death is unknown.
Private, Captain Rufus Mansfield's 4th Lynn company which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775; service, two days .- Mass. Rolls.
RAMSDELL, NATHAN,-perhaps son of Joseph and Rachel, born in Malden, March 18, 1745.
Private, Captain Rufus Mansfield's 4th company which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775; service, two days; also private, Captain Joseph Hiller's company, Colonel Jonathan Titcomb's regiment; ser- vice on an alarm at Rhode Island from May 5, 1777, to July 5, 1777 .- Mass. Rolls.
RAMSDELL, NATHANIEL, -son of Nathaniel and Joanna (Downing) Ramsdell, was born November 5, 1730; married by Rev. Nathaniel Henchman, December 4, 1755, to Tabitha Ramsdell, daughter of Ebenezer and Tabitha, born July 26, 1726; children, Joanna, Eunice, Ebenezer, Gideon, William, Reboah. He was living in Lynn in 1790, according to the census of that year.
Appears as a matross on pay abstract of Captain Winthrop Gray's
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company, Colonel Thomas Craft's regiment, for advance pay and blanket money; residence, Lynn .- Mass. Rolls.
RAMSDELL, NEHEMIAH,-private, Captain Erza Newhall's company of minute men which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775; service, twenty-one days; also private, Captain Joseph Hiller's company, Colonel Jonathan Titcomb's regiment; arrived at destination June 11, 1777; service to August 11, 1777, two months, six days .- Mass. Rolls. RAMSDELL, NEHEMIAH,-was probably born about 1717. Ile married May 9, 1737, Susannah Gross, and had four children, Susanna, Ne- hemiah, Elizabeth, and Harrison. His second wife appears to have been Deliverance Smith, whom he married November 24, 1747, and by whom he had two children, Anna and Rhoda. Rhoda married Thomas Sehemich Raufall Kilby Hudson, a soldier of the Revolu- tion. Mr. Ramsdell was one of the oldest members of Captain Farring- ton's company, being over fifty-five years of age at the time of the Lexington alarm. His son Nehemiah served in the company with him, and still another Nehemiah served in the company of Captain Ezra Newhall. He took little part in the affairs of the town, serving only as tithing-man in 1767. His death occurred in 1782, letters of administration being granted on his estate December 4 of that year. His wife died November 6, 1797. He is buried in the old Western Burial Ground, where a marble gravestone and a bronze marker of the S. A. R. were erected in 1904.
RAMSDELL, NEHEMIAH, Jr., son of Nehemiah and Susanna (Gross) Ramsdell, was born in Lynn, December 10, 1739. Little is known of him. He appears to have been married by Rev. Mr. Treadwell, Febru- ary 12, 1778, to Anna Attwill. He served with his father in Captain Farrington's company on the 19th of April, 1775, meeting the British at Menotomy. Inasmuch as there were three of the same name borne on the muster-rolls to the credit of Lynn, it is impossible to distinguish which one performed service in the Rhode Island campaign. In the summer of 1777 a large company was raised in Lynn for the expedi- tion against the British who were about Narragansett Bay, and a Nehemiah Ramsdell was one of the number, enlisting June 11, 1777, and serving until August 11, when he was discharged and returned to Lynn.
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Letters of administration were granted upon his estate October 19, 1807. A bronze marker and marble gravestone were erected to his memory in the old Western Burial Ground in 1904.
RAMSDELL, SHADRACH,-son of Noah and Mary (Batton) Ramsdell, was born July 19, 1744; married by Rev. Mr. Treadwell, December 25, 1766, to Hannah Peck. He lived upon what is now Chatham Street, just beyond Marianna. The house is still standing, but the road at that time was a mere cart-path. Administration was granted upon his estate June 28. 1802, at which time he was described as a mariner, and his mansion house and land adjoining were valued at $700.
Appears in a list of men taken from the Orderly Book of Israel Hutchinson of the 27th regiment, taken prisoner at Fort Washington, of Captain Ezra Newhall's company; dated Fort Lee, November 16, 1776; reported taken November 16, 1776 .- Mass. Rolls.
RAMSDELL, SILAS,-appears on an order for advance pay signed by him at Cambridge June 8, 1775; also private, Captain Ezra Newhall's company, Colonel John Mansfield's regiment, dated August 1, 1775; enlisted May 6, 1775; service, three months, two days; order for bounty coat at Winter Hill, November 4, 1775 .- Mass. Rolls.
RAMSDELL, TIMOTHY,-appears as a prisoner in Colonel Israel Hutchinson's Orderly Book, taken at Fort Washington, November 16, 1776. Ile be- longed to Captain Addison Richardson's company.
RAMSDELL, WILLIAM,-a William, son of Ebenezer and Tabitha, was born April 9, 1742; married by Rev. Mr. Roby, January 20, 1769, to Mrs. Polly White; also published July 24, 1774, to Sarah Newhall. An order asking for the guardianship of the children of William Ramsdell, was filed in the Probate Court, November 18, 1817, he having lately «leceased. Children, Mary, William, Sally, Catherine, Betsy, Peggy.
Appears as a fifer in pay-roll of Captain Stephen Wilkins's company, Colonel Wigglesworth's regiment; allowed travel home from Albany, two hundred and ten miles, sworn to January 15, 1777; also order for bounty coat dated Winter Hill, November 4, 1775.
REDDIN, BENJAMIN BULLARD,-son of Thomas and Jerusha Reddin, was born in Marblehead, where he was baptized July 19, 1741. It is certain that he was early an inhabitant of North Saugus. The ancient house in which he lived is still standing on the left side of the Lynnfield road,
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going north. Ile was a tanner, and carried on his business upon Hawkes's Pond, not far from his home. He married October 10, 1771, Anna Mansfield, daughter of Robert and Mary (Rann) Mansfield, born July
22, 1748. His children were Thomas, Jerusha, John, Robert, Benjamin, Joseph, and Mary. In Banyo B Rader 1769 he was constable, but appears to have taken little part in town affairs. His military service was confined to that which he rendered in Captain Parker's company at the time of the Lexington alarm. Ile died in North Saugus in March, 1825. Ilis estate consisted of three acres of land, a dwelling-house, barn, and other buildings, valued at $800. He is buried in the old cemetery at Saugus Centre together with his children. A marble stone and bronze marker of the S. A. R. were erected at his grave in 1903.
RHODES, JESSE,-son of Ignatius and Sarah (Merriam) Rhodes, was born May 24, 1759; married by Rev. Mr. Roby, November 16, 1783, to Love Newhall, daughter of Allen and sister of Daniel A. B. and Charles; children, Jesse, Loue, Salley, Betsy, Huldah, Allen. He died January 3, 1821. Hle was a deacon of the old First Church, and lived on Boston Safe Rhodes Street. The old house, torn down about the year 1884, stood a little back from the corner of Boston Street, on the easterly side of Cedar. The land was formerly the old Witt place, but in the course of years came into the hands of Mr. Rhodes. It was one of the oldest houses in town, and had the long sloping roof. Its timbers were of oak, and it was built in a most substantial manner.
Ilis military record is given as follows: Private, Captain Addison Richardson's company. Colonel Wade's regiment; entered service July 12, 1780, three months, eleven days; regiment detached from Essex County militia; travel 240 miles home; also private, Captain Simeon Brown's company, Colonel Jacob Gerrish's regiment of guards; service, April 2 to July 3, 1778, three months, two days; also July 3 to July 12 same year; rolls dated at Winter Hill .- Mass. Rolls.
RHODES, JOHN,-son of Hezekiah and Abigail, was born January 27, 1733, and died in the army in 1776.
RHODES, JOHN, son of Ignatius and Sarah (Merriam) Rhodes, was born
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August 6, 1750; married by Rev. Mr. Treadwell, December 11, 1777, to Lydia Farrington; children, Joseph, Sarah, Ezra, Elizabeth. Ile lived in Breed's End according to Pratt, and died June 10, 1826, aged seventy-seven. His wife, Lydia, died April 15, 1815.
He was in Captain Rufus Mansfield's company, and responded to the alarm of April 19, 1775. Buried in the ok Western Ground, with marker and stone at his grave.
RHODES, JOSIAH,-son of John and Ilannah Rhodes, was born in Lynn, July 25, 1758. A Josiah, Jr., and Rebecca Tarbox were married by Rev. Mr. Roby, April 6, 1781; children, John, Rebecca, Lydia, and Betsey. Josiah was buried in the old Western Burial Ground, Octo- ber 28, 1834. In the list of burials no age is given, it simply being stated that he was "very old." The following is given from a sketch by Mr. B. F. Newhall, of Saugus: "For many years there have stood by the river in East Saugus old mills. In 1796 the manufacture of chocolate was begun in them, and continued very successfully for a long time. In 1805 or 1806 the premises were leased to Amariah Childs, then one of the most prominent men in the town. During the War of 1812 the mill was overwhelmed with orders and the price of chocolate rose to a very high figure. One of the most amusing things connected with this old chocolate manufacture was the pretended art or skill indispensable to a successful issue. This was believed to be a secret possessed by only here and there an individual. Even the persons who carried on the manufacture did not pretend to any knowledge of the art. It seemed to be a general concession by the public that the science of manufacture was known to but few. The grand magician of that early day was Josiah Rhodes, nicknamed 'Slim Cæsar.' He exercised the most unlimited control over the whole establishment. So arbitrary was he in the exercise of his pretended skill that scarcely any one dared to look at the chocolate in process of manufacture. The roaster and stirring kettle were objects forbidden by him to be examined by the ignorant world. I well remember with what veneration I used to look upon this aged, cadaverous veteran. The smoke of the roaster could be seen curling up over the fire, but none had the courage in his presence to smell the forbidden odor. Occasionally a small, mysterious, white
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powder, from a clean piece of white paper, would be cast into the roaster or the kettle, in a mysterious and magical manner, completely blinding the eyes of the uninitiated. Such was the dignity and haughtiness attendant upon the exercise of his skill, that he rarely ever smiled or spoke when thus engaged. Even his employers scarcely dared to ask a question. Men who labored years under him never dared to raise a pretence of knowing anything. Such were the mysteries of the trade in olden times."
The Pension Office gives the following Revolutionary record : Private, ('aptain Daniel Galeueia's company, 1775, three months; private, Cap- tain Cox's company. 1778, two months; private, Captain Buffinton's company, Colonel Jacob Gerrish's regiment, 1778, three months; pri- vate, Captain Ebenezer Richardson's company, Colonel Wade's regi- ment, July or August, 1780, three months. Allowed a pension from August 14, 1832.
RHODES, SAMUEL,-probably son of John and Hannah (Rhodes) Rhodes, was born in Saugus, July 13, 1753. He was in the company of Captain David Parker on the 19th of April, 1775. On October 14, 1777, he enlisted in Captain North's company, and entered the northern army. On April 30, 1780, he was in eamp near Morristown, in a regiment under Colonel Henry Jackson. He was married by Rev. Mr. Roby, September 12, 1781, to Hannah Shillaber, and had children,-Hannah, Sarah, Lydia, Polly Rebecca, Jane, and Content. He lived on the road then called " Back Lane," now known as Winter Street, between East Saugus and Saugus Centre. The street was appropriately named. for the old people were accustomed to say that the snow did not melt there until July. He lived there until about 1800, when he removed to Danvers, where he died in 1816.
RHODES, THOMAS,-son of Ignatius and Sarah (Merriam) Rhodes, was born in Lynn, February 13, 1747; married by Rev. Mr. Treadwell, April 23, 1778, to Anna Ireson, daughter of John and Azuba Ireson, born Thomas Rhodes May 25, 1754. He was a private in Captain Rufus Mansfield's 4th Lynn company which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775; two days' service at that time, but may have seen further service. His homestead after the Revolution was on Western Avenue, in the house now just
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across the tracks of the Boston & Maine Railroad, on the left toward Breed's Square. He built the house over a hundred years ago, and died there, February 9, 1838. His wife died September 22, 1815, and both are buried in the old Western Burial Ground, where a marker and stone have been erected to his memory. His children were Thomas, John, Anna, William, Edward, and Sally. Ilis grand-daughter, Miss Hitch- ings, who occupies the house (1904), remembers him well. Ile was a man of considerable education, and one whose advice was often sought in matters of importance. He was a farmer, and a constant attendant at the Old Tunnel Meeting-honse. His farm extended from South Street to Walden and Summer. The old musket which he probably carried on the day of the Lexington alarm is still pre- served in the house in which he lived. In personal appearance he was a man of medium height, of light complexion, was smooth-shaven, and had white hair. In his last days he broke his hip, and from that time his health gradually failed. In his will he mentioned his land and buildings, and his pew in the Orthodox Meeting-house, which he valued at forty dollars.
RHODES, WILLIAM,-son of Ignatius and Sarah (Merriam) Rhodes, was born August 10, 1752, and may have been the William who married Eunice Hutchinson, August 29, 1775, and had the following children: William, Richard, Joel, Jesse, John, and Thomas.
He was a private in Captain Rufus Mansfield's 4th Lynn company which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775; service, two days.
RICH, JAMES, sailor. See Timothy Newhall, who says that he sailed in the Penobscot expedition with Rich. He was living in Lynn ac- cording to the census of 1800.
Seaman, ship "Protector," entry December 15, 1780, to May 9, 1781, four months, twenty - four days, Captain John F. Williams; also appears December 11, 1782, in a roll made up for service to date of capture of vessel or date of return from captivity; also appears as prize master on "Tyrannicide," May 10, 1779, to June 23, 1779, also June 24 to September 6, 1779 .- Mass. Rolls.
RICHARDS, JAMES,-son of William and Tabitha (Williams) Richards, was born August 28, 1754, and marched with Captain Farrington's com- pany on the alarm of April 19, 1775. In the same company with him were his father. William, his brother, William. Jr., and his uncle,
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John Richards. Another uncle was Joseph Richards, who was the companion of Abednego Ramsdell who was killed. Nothing further has been found concerning James Richards.
RICHARDS, JOHN,- second son of John and Lydia (Phillips) Richards, was born January 4, 1736. He with his brother, William, marched with Captain Farrington's company on the alarm of April 19. 1775, and is credited with the same amount of service as his brother; namely, two days. No other record of service has been found, and little further is known of him. His marriage to Elizabeth AHey, by Rev. Mr. Henchman, occurred November 1, 1757, and while the date of his deatlı cannot be verified, it is possible that he was the John whose death is given in the town records as April 16, 1822.
RICHARDS, JOSEPH,-son of John and Lydia (Phillips) Richards, was born in that part of Lynn called Swampscott, September 25, 1753. Ilis father's home was upon what is now known as the "Stetson estate," and upon land where his emigrant ancestor, Edward Richards, who came to America in 1630, settled in 1641. The site was upon the north- erly end of Stetson Avenue, later occupied by the Stetson homestead, which was afterwards removed to make way for the avenue.
In company with many of the young men of the easterly section of the town he had joined the militia company of Captain William Far- rington, in which were also his brothers, John and William, and his nephews, William and James. His sister, Lydia, was the wife of the lieutenant, Benjamin Johnson. Family tradition has handed down the interesting story of his connection with the events of the famous 19th of April. Early in the morning he had gone to the seashore with one of his neighbors, Abednego Ramsdell, who lived on the northerly side of what is now Cherry Street, but then Marblehead Lane, for the purpose of shooting wild fowl. Returning during the early part of the morning, they were met by the father of Joseph Richards, who hurriedly told them what was taking place and advised them to go and have a part in it. Mr. Richards had nothing but a light fowling-piece which he had been using, but immediately set off with his friend Ramsdell. Although their company had gone, they hurried on alone, being soon joined, however, by several others. All agreed to be led by the oldest inember of the band. When they reached Malden, they heard a more definite account of the situation; namely, that the British were probably
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on the retreat. They altered their course accordingly, but evidently continued on to Menotomy, where they met the British during the latter part of the afternoon. At the first opportunity Richards rested his gun on a wall and fired, but, being heavily charged, it burst, the barrel flying over his shoulder. So many of the enemy, however, were lying dead on the road that he had no tronble in finding a new set of equipments. These he used during the rest of the day, and brought them home with him. The British musket remained in the family as late as 1865. His companion was killed soon after they met the British, but Private Richards continued the running fight until the king's troops reached Charlestown.
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