USA > New York > Saratoga County > History of Saratoga County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers. > Part 72
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129
Ezekiel Ensign came into this country some time before the Revolutionary war, and settled above the Wilbur Basin creek, at the place now owned by his grandson, George En- sign, on the river-road. His first house stood on or near the site of the present one. Ilis original purchase was six hundred and forty acres. At the approach of Burgoyne, in the summer of 1777, Mr. Ensign removed his family to Al -- bany, and himself returned to find his farm occupied by the British army, and his house, which he was unable to reach, turned into a hospital. It is reported that twelve officers died there and were buried in the rear. The hospital, a historic building, is a part of the present farm-house of George En- sign. When the family left for Albany they buried their household utensils, but could never find them again. In after-years strangers came and obtained permission to dig for money, but it is not thought they ever obtained any.
After the war Mr. Ensign opened a public-house, and it was continued for many years by his son, Charles Ensign, while this was the great through route for travel from Albany to Whitehall.
Mr. Ensign left nine sons,-Ezekiel, who settled in Washington county ; Allen, a captain, and George, a mate, both lost at sea ; John, who settled in Corinth ; David, who went to Warsaw ; Charles, who first settled in Easton, but returning, lived and died upon the old homestead ; Dan, who settled in Stillwater on a part of the original tract ; Robert, who went to Corinth ; and Henry, his twin-brother, who settled in Easton,-and two daughters,-Sallie, who became the wife of Dr. Patrick, of Stillwater, and Rebecca, who married Mr. Toll, son of Jesse Toll, one of the early settlers of Saratoga. A nephew of Ezekiel Ensign,-Otis Ensign,-whose father was killed at the massacre of Wy- oming, in July, 1778, after his father's death came to live with his uncle in Stillwater; but soon after, though only sixteen years of age, he enlisted in the patriot army, and served five years until the close of the war. He then re- turned to Stillwater, married Mary Patrick, a sister of Dr. Patrick, subsequently removing to Delaware county, thence to Chautauqua, where he died, at the advanced age of ninety- four, being one of the last surviving soldiers of the Revolution. He suffered the dangers of the battle-field, was with Wash- ington at the crossing of the Delaware and at Valley Forge, and, though young, appears to have been promoted, as he was in command of the gnard at the execution of Major André. D. W. Ensign, of the publishing firm, is a grand- son of Otis.
Amos Ilodgman eame from Weston, Mass., to Stillwater about the year 1788. His first home was the present place of Ephraim Ford. Hle left four sons, two of whom mar- ried and settled in Stillwater,-Isaac and Leonard. The latter is still living.
John McCarty was one of the very earliest settlers. IIe purchased many years before the Revolutionary war a large tract of land at Wilbur's basin. His daughter, born in this country, became the wife of the pioneer Wilbur, who settled here soon after the war closed ; and of her children two are living,-Mr. Wilbur, the father of Edward Wilbur, and Mrs. Catherine Barker. Here is actual proof of early set- tlement,-Mrs. Barker's mother, born in this very place. Mrs. Barker states that her maternal grandfather, John McCarty, left Ireland under circumstances to create all the elements of a first-class novel. He had brilliant prospects, an excellent estate selected for him, and, in the good old times of conrtly intrigue, a lady was also, without any particular effort of his, designated for his wife. Suddenly awaking from the dreams of home and family so easily ar- ranged for him by others, he discovered to his horror that his future wife had red hair. Ilis resolution was immedi- ately taken. Sooner than marry those " sweet auburn curls"-as they might now be called-he left home and friends, bride and farm, and buried himself in the forests of Stillwater. Novelists will easily finish the other chap- ters, and tell us what became of the Irish lady abroad, and describe the one John McCarty did marry, but we can only relate anthentie history.
Evert Vandenburg was here before the Revolutionary
289
IIISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
war, and had a fine farm on the alluvial flats, at the upper and lower extremities of which the British and American forces were encamped in 1777. During the first day's battle the left wing of the British army advanced along the river-road, and finding the American position too strong to be attacked, retreated ; but, in their disappoint- ment, they burned the Vandenburg buildings to the ground.
Jeremiah Hart eame from Rhode Island, it is supposed, in 1775 or 1776, in the midst of the Revolutionary war, and settled in Stillwater, east side of the lake, on the present farm of Charles Arnold. The first log house was down by the bank of the lake. There he spent his life, and died on the old farm. His sons were Jeremiah, who settled on the old place, but afterwards removed to Sara- toga Springs; John settled near the old homestead. He was the father of James D. Ilart, now of Mechanicville. Stephen and Philip moved away. After arriving here, Jeremiah, Sr., was engaged to some extent in the scouting service of the American army in 1777. John Hart was drafted in the War of 1812, and hired a substitute for forty dollars and equipments.
John Taylor lived in Albany, but owned a place here at the time of the Burgoyne campaign. It is often sup- posed that his house was the "Sword house" mentioned in the histories ; but Charles Neilson, who knew every foot of ground, and the location of every house on and near the battle-fields, correets this statement. It was not the " Sword house." The tenant upon the place in 1777 was one McGee, and the house itself, moved on to the river-road, became the Sunith tavern of after-years.
George Coulter was living in Stillwater at the time of the Burgoyne battles. His house, occupied by Isaac Freeman in after-years, was not the " Freeman's Cottage" so con- spicuous in the battles, and within half a mile of which so much fighting occurred. Yet it was near the real " Free- man's Cottage," and the battle raged fiercely over both farms. We have no account of Coulter's emigration to Stillwater, nor have we obtained anything concerning the Freeman who did live on the present place of A. S. Bright- man, and whose log house writers have designated "Free- man's Cottage."
Joel Ketcham was a very early settler, probably about the elose of the Revolutionary war ; his name appears on the assessment-roll of 1789. His old homestead was the present place of R. II. Barber. Ile had two sons, Richard and Nathaniel. Richard was a long time merchant at the corners bearing yet the family name; Nathaniel was sheriff of the county in 1811, and died in 1813 at the age of thirty-five. Joel Ketcham died in 1822, eighty-five years of age.
Asa Chatfield was in Stillwater before the Burgoyne campaign of 1777. We have nothing of his history, either before or after. IJis house was on the present Benjamin Sarle's place, and General Gates' aids made a reconnais- sance of the British lines from that point on the morning of October 7.
Philip Munger, grandfather of Ezra Munger, was a resident before the Revolution on the present Sherman farm. The first house was a little south of the present one. His children were Samuel, Timothy, Solomon, Calvin, and
Thomas. Timothy was the father of Ezra, and settled where the latter now lives; Solomon, in Saratoga Springs; Samuel, in Stillwater ; Thomas, also; Calvin died young.
The Joseph Munger whose house is marked on the war maps was a distant relative. Benjamin Munger, an early resident, may have also been connected. His homestead was the present place of Charles G. Bishop.
Thomas Hunt was another pioneer. His place was a half-mile east, where his son Ephraim and his grandson Charles Hunt now live.
Captain Ephraim Woodworth's house was about one hundred rods south of the Neilson barn that was turned into a fort. At this house General Gates had his head- quarters during the battle of October 7. He either came from Dutchess county or from Connecticut. ITis sons were Ephraim, Isaac, and Reuben. Isaae, soon after the war, built a house a little west of Gates' headquarters, nearly south of the present Denison barn. Ephraim and Reuben settled farther west in the same neighborhood. A grand- daughter of Ephraim Woodworth, Sr., and daughter of Ephraim, Jr., is still living at Ketchum's Corners, widow of the late Dr. Hart. Ephraim Woodworth's business was that of a weaver, and the hospital of the battle maps was probably his shop.
Jolin Hunter came to Stillwater as one of the Connecti- cut colony, in 1762-64. He seerus to have first settled near Round lake, in the present town of Malta ; but about the close of the war came east, and located ou what is now the farm of Miss Julia Hunter. His house and black- smith-shop were near the corners of the road now leading northeast of the present Hunter place. He was a sur- veyor, and several maps drawn by him are now in possession of Miss Hunter. He owned at one time a large part or all of lot No. 5 in the Saratoga patent. Some of it was pur- chased of Eben Patrick, and some from Jonathan Frisbey. One map shows the property-owners ou lot 5 in regular order from the river westward. It lacks a date, but must have been very early,-some time before 1800,-as John Hunter died in 1805. The proprietors, commencing at the river, were Cyprian Watson, John Hunter, D. Andrews, Reynolds, Joel Seymour, Deliverance Andrews, John Fel- lows, Obadialı Powell, David Bidwell, Abraham Hodges, Thomas Salisbury, David Bidwell, aud Samuel Olmsted.
John Fellows was one of the Connecticut colony, his emigration dating back with the rest of them to 1762-64. Ilis early home was about a mile west of the "Yellow meeting-house." During the most dangerous period of the war the family, like others, returned to Connecticut for safety. John Fellows was active in holding religious meetings. He had a hearty hatred of all shams, and was opposed to gaudy and pretentious show, and often abruptly expressed his views ; but he was a man of great usefulness, and tradition among the people pronounces him " a good man,"-a verdiet meaning far more than many high-sound- ing words of praise. Ile left three sons, William, Ezra, and Thomas. William settled in Stillwater, and was the father of Abiram Fellows, now of Mechanicville. Ezra settled in Stillwater. Thomas was a son-in-law of William Seymour, and went west with the Seymour family. Eldula, a daughter of Johu Fellows, married Joel Seymour; an-
37
290
HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
other daughter became Mrs. Depew ; and still another, Mrs. Dr. Day.
Rev. Robert Campbell, the early minister who came with the Congregational church to Stillwater, preached for then, lived with them, endured pioneer labors with them, died in their midst, and his remains rest in the old burial-ground by the church. His son, Robert Campbell, Jr., following his father's profession, took up the work his father laid down, and preached for eight years to this congregation, making a pastorate by father and son of nearly forty years. A grandson is the well-known Dr. Campbell, of the Central Presbyterian church of Rochester.
Jonathan Morey was one of the Connecticut colony. His wife was a daughter of Rev. Robert Campbell, Sr. His son, Thomas Morey, was a deacon of the church for many years and a prominent town officer. Jonathan Morey died March 31, 1790.
Cyprian Watson, another of the Connecticut men, set- tled on the present Landon farm. He too was a deacon of the church. He had a son, Cyprian, well known in later years, and one daughter, who became Mrs. Dunham.
Deacon William Seymour, another Connecticut man, set- tled in the same neighborhood, on the present Hart farm. He was a blacksmith. His sons were William, Jesse, John, and Eben. John and William went to Chautauqua county. Ehen became a minister. Jesse settled across the river and died therc.
The Patricks were a prominent name in the pioneer set- tlement, as they were also in after-years. The homestead was the present Wetzel farm, and the house was perhaps half a mile west of the present one.
Amariah Plumb seems to have been one of the Connec- ticut colony, but he probably settled westward, in the present town of Malta, and Plumb brook is no doubt named for him.
John Thompson's place was a mile and a half south of Stillwater village. He was a prominent, publie-spirited man, was elected a Representative to Congress, and held many other important positions. His homestead was the present farm of John Lansing.
Simeon Barber was an early settler. IIis homestead was the present Rogers place, and is marked upon the battle maps of 1777. Near his house, a little south, General Fraser was mortally wounded. Mr. Barber was a great- uncle of Mrs. Catherine Barker before spoken of, whose maiden name was Wilbur,-so that, perhaps, the romantic John McCarty, who fled from the ruby-haired Irish maiden, may have married a Barber.
Jeremiah Taylor lived where William P. Curtiss does now,-below Wilbur's basin.
Gabriel Leggett and Isaac Leggett were brothers, and were pioneers before the Revolutionary war. Gabriel's homestead was the present place of George Weston and Isaac, in the same neighborhood. It is understood that the old Salisbury place, north of Wilbur's ravine, was the origi- nal property of Thomas Leggett, whose name appears upon the assessment-roll of 1789, marked " York," -- meaning, it is supposed, resident in New York. That home is a venera- ble relic of old times.
Reuben Wright lived near Wilbur's basin. The ferry
near his homestead was called Wright's ferry for many years.
Anthony Collamer came from Boston to Stillwater just after the Revolution, and settled near Saratoga lake ; afterwards moved to Malta. His son, Thomas Collamer, was born the very day of the battle of Bunker Hill. Col- lins, a grandson, now lives in Stillwater. Anthony Collamer and two brothers were in the actions at Bemus Heights, and doubtless learned enough of the county to induce subsequent settlement.
Elisha Andrews was among the early settlers in 1765-70. There were also several others of the same family name,- Dennison, Deliverance, and Ephraim.
Mrs. Elizabeth Lossing Gleason, understood to be a rela- tive of the historian Lossing, is still living in Stillwater, at the advanced age of ninety-seven. Born in Cambridge, her father removed when she was yet a child of two years to Usher's Mills in IIalf-Moon. IIe had been a scout in the Burgoyne campaign. She was married in 1806, and Gleason's Hollow takes its name from her husband, who built a mill there. She is now a venerable relie of antiq- uity, having brought up a family of eight sons and four daughters. Four grandchildren also have been personally cared for by her.
Cornelius Vandenburg lived in Stillwater village, and was prominent in the legal profession.
Henry Metealf, too, was an early lawyer of unusual abilities. A career of great brilliance was terminated by his early death.
James Baker, though not a pioneer, deserves a place in history. Ile is said to have had eighteen sons. Ile settled about 1800, at the foot of the hill north of Mechanicville, but soon after built where his son, Bloom Baker, now lives. ITis descendants, to the number of nearly two hundred, are accustomed to have a grand family reunion once a year.
The further early settlement of Stillwater is clearly shown in the affidavit of Elias Palmer, applying for a pen- siou ; in the partial assessment-roll of 1789, which contains one hundred and twelve names of property-holders ; in the extraets from the town records ; in the lists of town officers ; in the names contained in the records of churches; and in many other allusions in this work. To individualize these notices any further is impossible, in a town as old as this, and in a volume embracing the whole county. The assess; ment-roll of 1799 shows five hundred property holders.
The first tavern may have been opened by William Mead, a son-in-law of the first George Palmer, at Stillwater vil- lage, very probably before the Revolutionary war. The house of Ezekiel Ensign, on the river-road, was the earliest tavern in the north part of the town, beyond the one at Bemus Ileights. This was opened not long after the war closed, and was continued for many years by his son, Charles Ensign.
John Bemus opened a publie-house about 1760, and General Gates had his headquarters there for a time in 1777. The tavern of William Patrick on the hill in Still- water village seems to have been quite noted as early as 1800, tradition among old people frequently alluding to it. Eli Stone, brother-in-law of Amos Hodgman, also kept another tavern a little farther down. William Gleason
291
HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
also kept a taveru before 1800 on the site of the present brick hotel. A very early publie-house was also at the forks of the road west of Bemus Heights, the present Smith place. There was one kept by William Strang at the present MeCarty tavern, known as Stillwater Centre. That is the village which often contended successfully with Palmer's Falls for the honor of the town-meetings. Po- litical caucuses are even yet held there occasionally. Still another tavern was on Dunning street, in what is now Malta ; and we must not omit to state that the " Yellow Meeting-house" Corners was once a place of business or travel sufficient to have a tavern kept by llezekiah Reyn- olds. At Keteham's Corners Noah Chapman probably kept the first tavern, on the site of the present Woodworth House.
In the First Baptist church neighborhood the old brick house of the Sayles homestead is a venerable building over one hundred years old. The very old buildings in Still- water village are the Swart House, the " Mill House," and the Catholic church. The house opposite the Swart House, too, was built by General Schuyler for workmen while the old canal was being dug in 1790, or about that time.
The hill iu Stillwater village was probably fortified at the same time of the hill a mile southwest, elsewhere men- tioned. The intrenchments, as remembered by Ashbel Palmer, were in the form of a crescent around the north brow of the hill, inclosing the ground where the present Presbyterian and Catholic churches stand. Within the curve was a mound, as if erected for cannon. This was a little east of the present school-house. There was a long building for barracks standing, within the memory of some now living, on the south brow of the hill. The headquar- ters at Direk Swart's would be just in the rear of these works.
It is understood that the first store in town was opened by Palmer & Levins, nearly opposite Mrs. Eddy's resi- dence. An early firm iu the same building were the brothers Reuben and Warren Smith. Two prominent mer- chants for many years were Jesse Patrick and Seth Eddy.
Ford & Hale are supposed to have been in business on the hill as early as 1790, nearly opposite the house of Direk Swart. The store was afterwards burned. O'Donnell's store, too, was near the tavern of Eli Stone.
.
At Ketehnmn's Corners, Abram Q. Wright, it is thought, opened the first store, and afterwards Richard Ketchum was associated with him. Their place was the site of the present brick store.
Jesse Patrick's store was near the hay-scales at the paper- mill in Stillwater village. Robert Patrick opened a store in early times at Bemus Heights.
Daniel Hale was a very early surveyor.
John Hunter, a pioneer in the south part of the town, was also a surveyor. Maps drawn by him, of great value and in excellent preservation, are in possession of Miss Julia Hunter, a granddaughter, residing east of the yellow meet- ing-house.
An early physician in town was Robert Patrick. Ephraim Otis, of Quaker Springs, practiced extensively in Stillwater. Old residents all speak of William Patrick as a physician, and his son, William Patrick, Jr.
Very little ean be said of first mills. It has been shown that probably Isaac Mann built a mill between 1750 and 1760. The mill stood, whoever may have built it, just below the end of the channel cut through the rock. It had two or three successors on the same spot. The present grist-mill was built by John Newland in 1846. There was a saw-mill very early in the Gleason IFollow. It is prob- able from the name that some kind of a mill was located in early years upon Mill creek. Very few know anything about it. There is a tradition, however, in the Hewitt family that such a mill did stand up the ravine on one of the branches. Ezekiel Ensign built mills very early on Wilbur Basin creek.
The lumber-yard now owned by Stephen Wood dates back about fifty years, having been opened by William Seymour soon after the canal was finished.
Some enthusiasm arose a few years since over a supposed finding of coal, eansed from the discovery of specimens of slate burning freely. A derrick was erected, which may still be seen west of the village. No valuable result was reached. The undertaking was abandoned, and it is re- lated that the men engaged in the work soon after lost their lives by accident in the mines of Pennsylvania.
For about twenty-five years past many cannon-balls and shells have from time to time been found in the river at Still water village. They were numerous at one point not far above the bridge. John C. Force, at the bridge, esti- wates those found at several hundred. The explanation given by some for this is that, in the preparation of Gates to meet Burgoyne, a large quantity of shot was piled on the bank in readiness to be taken to the battle-field if needed ; that they were left so far back from the camp for safety against capture, or reserved for use if obliged to re- treat to this point ; that after the battles were over they were carelessly or purposely left ; that in a few years they were gradually rolled into the river, in sport, or even to get them out of the way; that fifty years afterwards everybody had forgotten this, if they ever knew it, and hence it was quite a discovery to find them in the river. This explana- tion may be correct, and certainly is good enough until some one finds a better. Another theory of this matter is that a barge loaded with war material was overturned at that point.
Of course, in this town there are many collections of relies of the great struggle. The families living on and near the actual field of battle all have more or less of them, -balls, pieces of bone, fragments of clothing taken from skeletons, bayonets, buttons, coins, and many other things. Mrs. Eddy, of Stillwater village, has a large collection, made with much care through several years.
Genuine relies are so abundant here that some may doubt the story which an old resident tells, that in his youth he knew boys to mould balls, strike them with a hammer to make them show hard usage, bury them for a year or so, until they were thoroughly rusted, and then dig them up and sell them to visitors from Saratoga Springs at twenty-five cents apiece.
The following paper is inserted as throwing light on the early settlement, and also furnishing much valuable informa- tion as to the times of the Revolutionary war in Stillwater :
292
HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
APPLICATION OF ELIAS PALMER FOR A PENSION-PAPERS DRAWN IN 1833.
He deposes as follows : " That he is seventy-seven years old, and has resided in the town of Stillwater since the year 1764, which place was then called Saratoga district ; that carly in the year 1775, at the said place, he enlisted as a volunteer militia-man, in a company then and there raised by voluntary agreement, composed, among others, of the following-named persons : Ebenezer Marvin, Simeon Barber, Ezekiel Roberts, John Wibert, Prestus Denton (who are dead), and of John Neilson, Elisha Andrews, and Ezra Buell, then living at that place, and who have ever since remained his neighbors and the only survivors of the company that he remembers. That the said Marvin and Barber wore chosen by the company,-the first named, captain, and the last, lieutenant ; and the ensign's name is not recollected. That about the 1st day of May, 1775, the company marched from said place to Ticonderoga, by the way of Lake George, to assist the east- ern troops in taking that post from the British, which a few days before their arrival had surrendered to Colonel Allen. That the company in their march furnished their own supplies, and were the first troops that went from this frontier of New York to fight the enemy at the north at the breaking out of the Revolutionary war. That they remained at Ticonderoga doing duty about two weeks, when General Arnold arrived there from the north with prisoners taken at St. John's, which deponent's company guarded from that place into the country south toward Albany, but deponent remained. That a few days after deponent returned to Stillwater; that after being at home about a week he went again to the north with several of his neighbors, voluntarily and promisenously armed, and did duty as a soldier in the militia under General Arnold; marched by land from Ticonderoga to Crown Point, where he embarked aboard of a sloop which Arnold had taken from the enemy and commanded, and deponent was employed in going to and from Ticonderoga to Crown Point transporting stores. The principal direction of affairs was under a committee of safety, of which deponent's father, George Pal- mer, was chairman. Besides Arnold, Colonel Henman, Colonel Em- ner, Captain John Watson, and Lieutenant Titus Watson, of the Connecticut troops, were then at Ticonderoga. Deponent thinks he was absent on this tour of duty for about three months, for he re- members that on his return home the farmers had about finished their harvesting, which operation was generally over by the middle of August. Ile signed no written agreement and received no written discharge, That in the month of January, 1776, a company of mi- litia was formed in Stillwater, and Alexander Baldwin was chosen captain, Samuel Bacon lieutenant, and this deponent ensign, but had no commission. It was a volunteer company, organized for the purpose of going to Johnstown (now in Montgomery county, N. Y.) and capturing ur dispersing the Indians and Tories which Sir John Johnson was collecting in that quarter. The company marched from Stillwater to Albany, and all the militia and volunteers they assem- bled were under the command of General Schuyler. The troops marched from Albany to Schenectady, thence to Tribes' Hill, thence to Johnstown. Was present when Johnson and his white adherents surrendered to General Schuyler. Remembers that Johnson broke his parole of honor. From the distance traveled and the services performe 1, deponent supposes and believes he was ont at this time ahout two weeks. Deponent's company and the Albany volunteers, who were dressed in uniform, were sent to collect and receive the arms which the enemy had given up. Was in no battles. Recollects that John Neilsoo was on this expedition. Deponent says that shortly after his return home he was appointed ensign in a company of which Job Wright wns captain and Holton Dunham lieutenant, both of whom are dead, and commenced the recruiting service in the month of March, 1776. This company belonged to Colonel Van Schaick's regiment, and were enlisted to serve nine months. Recollects he en- listed Michael Dunning, now living at Sempronins, Cayuga Co., whom he believes is now on the pension roll, and Jesse Dunning, David Hull, Joseph Corp, and others to the number of thirteen, but who are now dead. That the recruits were marched by deponent to Albany, and inspected by Colonel Van Schaiek, and there he re- ceived orders to march them to Fort George, which he did. There they were consolidated into Van Schaick's regiment, commanded by Peter Gansevoort, major of the regiment. He never saw the colonel there. Job Wright, the captain, aud Holton Dunham. the lienten- ant, were there. Remembers of his company, who were at Fort George doing anty, those above mentioned, and Simeon Rockwell
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.