USA > New York > Yates County > The military history of Yates County, N.Y. : comprising a record of the services rendered by citizens of this county in the army and navy, from the foundation of the government to the present time > Part 13
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
141
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
of the installation ceremonies appropriate and congratulatory remarks were made by Commander Philo H. Conklin, of Post Sloan, G. A. R., Past Commanders George W. Hobart, Perry W. Danes, Cassius N. McFarren, Benjamin Fullagar, and John F. Randolph; by Captain James H. Briggs, late of Philadelphia; also by Comrades Joseph Eveland, D. Clinton Robinson, Andrew B. Horton, Eli Lewis, and David Phil- brook. Short and interesting addresses were likewise given by Mrs. Smith, the Department President, and by Mrs. Randolph, the newly-installed President of the Circle. The name, "Phil Sheridan Circle of the Ladies of the G. A. R.," was adopted by ballot. The National songs, "America" and "Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!" were sung, and the pro- ceedings closed by an excellent repast, reminiscent of army fare.
The Phil Sheridan Circle meets on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at Grange Hall on Main Street in Penn Yan. The organization is steadily increasing in membership and usefulness.
CHAPTER XIV.
Militia Organizations-The First Separate Company, N. G. S. N. Y.
T r HE first militia regiment, composed wholly of residents of Penn Yan and vicinity, was the One Hundred and Third, which was in organization when Yates was yet a part of the County of Ontario. The New York Annual Register for 1821 gives the field, staff, and line officers of this regi- ment as follows: Colonel, William Cornwell, Jr .; Lieuten- ant-Colonel, William Shattuck; Major, John Lawrence, Jr .; Chaplain, Simon Southerland; Adjutant, James C. Robin- sou; Quartermaster, Samuel Stewart; Paymaster, William M. Oliver; Surgeon, Joshua Lee; Surgeon's Mate, Joel Dorman ; Captains, John F. Randolph, Baxter Hobart, Har- vey French, Frederick S. Pierce, Jacob Herrick, Elijah Hartwell; Lieutenants, Daniel King, Samuel B. Wyman, Linsley Warfield, Israel Ferris, Jr., Nehemiah Winship, William McDowell, Allen Cole, David Priest: Ensigns, James P. Robinson, Ebenezer French, Thomas Ferris, John S. Rowley, John W. Willey, Nehemiah Raplee, Thomas Briggs, Elisha Doubleday. In Starkey, then called Reading, and included in Steuben County, was located a portion of the Eighty-first Regiment, commanded by Colonel Timothy Hurd, who had been a Captain in the War of 1812. Colonel Hurd was afterwards promoted to General of the First Brig- ade, comprising the militia of Steuben and Allegany Coun- ties. His son Harry was (in 1820) Cornet of a Company in the Tenth Regiment of Cavalry in the same town, where was also located in later years the Two Hundred and Sixth Reg- iment,* commanded by Colonel Harvey G. Stafford. To this regiment was attached an artillery company, under com- mand of Captain Jolin Royce.
*In this regiment Dr. Walter Wolcott held the rank of Surgeon, and Captain Daniel Lanning commanded a company. John D. Wolcott, at the same time, served (with the rank of Captain) on the staff of General Nehemiah Raplee, who then commanded the Brigade, of which the Two Hundred and Sixth Regiment formed a part,
143
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
In 1825, when Yates County had been established, there was a company of cavalry in Penn Yan, commanded by Captain George Shearman. This company acted as an es- cort to General Lafayette, on the occasion of his visit to Geneva that year. This reception was also attended by an artillery company from Penn Yan, under command of Cap- tain Abram P. Vosburgh. At a later period Yates and a part of Ontario County were represented in the State militia by the Fifty-ninth Regiment of Infantry. Colonel (after- wards General) George Wagener was in command of this regiment in 1840, and was succeeded by Jacob Van Orsdol, and he by William A. Dutcher. At the time the regiment was commanded by Colonel Dutcher, Edward Briggs was Lieutenant-Colonel and Samuel B. Wyman was Major. Company D (of this regiment), located in Potter, had, in 1845, the following line officers: Fiske Clark, Captain; James Conley, First Lieutenant; James C. Briggs, Second Lieutenant. James Conley was promoted to Major in 1849 and to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1854. Previous to 1849 there was an organization in this part of the State known as the Rifle Corps, to which Alexander F. Whitaker, of Penn Yan, belonged, and in which he attained the rank of Major- General. The Fifty-ninth Regiment, in addition to its regu- lar drills and training, would usually go into camp each year, either at Canandaigua, Avon, Geneva, or Dansville. The General Training was always a gala occasion, and was usually held during the first week in September. Crowds of people would assemble to witness the manœuvres of the troops on parade, and the quantity of refreshments, particu- larly gingerbread, that would then be consumed is beyond calculation.
During the latter part of the Civil War the Fifty-ninth Regiment was officered as follows: Colonel, Benjamin L. Hoyt; Lieutenant-Colonel, James Conley; Major, John E. Bean. The militia companies at that time organized and belonging to this regiment were located in the following towns: Company A in Benton-George H. Banks; Cap- tain; Frank R. Cole, First Lieutenant; Oscar Hazen, Sec- ond Lieutenant. Company B in Torrey-George S. Dow-
144
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
ney, Captain; Hugh King, First Lieutenant; Sherman Graves, Second Lieutenant. Company C in Penn Yan- William W. Eastman, Captain; Alonzo T. Lyon, First Lieu- tenant; Newton B. Spencer, Second Lieutenant. Company D in Italy-George Baldwin, Captain; Ezra Squires, First Lieutenant; Allen B. Chase, Second Lieutenant. Company E in Barrington-Lawrence E. Halloran, Captain ; John Johnson, First Lieutenant; Darius E. Baley, Second Lieu- tenant. Company F in Milo-Joseph St. John, Captain ; Foster S. Roberts, First Lieutenant; Alexander H. Mills- paugh, Second Lieutenant. Company G in Starkey-Myron Skiff, Captain; A. Perry Minturn, First Lieutenant; Marcy Robson, Second Lieutenant. Company H in Jerusalem- Joel Burtch, Captain; Joel L. Davis, First Lieutenant. Company I in Potter-David M. McMaster, Captain; Cor- nelius Halstead, First Lieutenant; Frank R. Andrews, Second Lieutenant; Company K in Middlesex-Luther Loomis, Captain; William H. Stebbins, First Lieutenant ; John J. Robson, Second Lieutenant.
Company C was at first an Independent Zouave Com- pany, organized in Penn Yan in 1861 .* The members of this company, when ou drill, wore a regular uniform, con- sisting of fez caps, blue jackets, and red trousers, with regu- lation leggings. The line officers at the time of organization were William W. Eastman, Captain ; Meletiah H. Lawrence, Jr., First Lieutenant ; Morris F. Sheppard, Second Lieuten- ant. Shortly after the date of organization, Morris F. Sheppard was succeeded as Second Lieutenant by A. Oliver Lewis. This company is remarkable for having furnished a number of commissioned officers for service in the war.
In 1862, when the National Guard Act was passed by the Legislature of the State of New York, the Independent Zouave Company was mustered (July 16th) under this act into the State service as Company C of the Fifty-ninth Reg- iment. The line officers of the company at that time were
* Another independent company, known as the "Home Guards," also as the "Excelsior Guards," was formed that year in Penn Yan. The of- ficers of this company were: James Burns, Captain ; Jeremiah S. Jillett, First Lieutenant; William C. Joy, Second Lieutenant; Michael P. Bren- nan, Orderly.
145
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
William W. Eastman, Captain ; Alonzo T. Lyon, First Lieutenant; Newton B. Spencer, Second Lieutenant. This company was on guard duty at Canandaigua for a few days in the summer of 1863 for the purpose of keeping order during the draft. In 1864 the company members volun- teered for one hundred days and were mustered Aug. 25th into the service of the United States for that period. They were enlisted into the Fifty-eighth Regiment, commanded by Colonel Reuben P. Wisner, and became Company H of that organization. Company H had the following line offi- cers: William W. Eastman, Captain ; Alonzo T. Lyon, First Lieutenant ; George Titus, Second Lieutenant. Dur- ing the period of enlistment the company was on detached service, with headquarters at Elmira, and was employed in conducting volunteers and substitutes to the front, and in guarding Confederate prisoners. Company H was mustered ont at Elmira, Dec. 3, 1864. The members then became Company A of the Fifty-ninth Regiment of the National Guard, and were finally mustered out at Penn Yan, Dec. 19, 1868 .*
Muster-in roll of Company H of the Fifty-eighth Regi- ment of Infantry :
William W. Eastman, Captain; Alonzo T. Lyon, First Lieutenant; George Titus, Second Lieutenant; Lauren C. Eastman, Albert Brigden, Ransom B. Jones, Eli Lewis, Herman C. Howell, Sergeants; John B. Gilbert, John J. VanDeventer, Charles H. Comstock, Ransom Pratt, Cor- porals ; Privates, Andrew M. Brown, Theodore Barber, George Bell, Daniel L. Chapin, Charles S. Eastman, Ed- ward G. Elliott, Edward S. Fullagar,t John A. Graham, Lewis H. Haight, Addison Hawley, Nelson R. Hammond, George A. Hanford, Charles A. Kerney, James M. Lown, John W. Merrifield, Peter Mills, John R. Middleton, Charles W. Morgan, Jacob Rector, Jesse Reynolds, George F. Sherland, Charles H. Smith, Joshua Titus, George Tun- nicliff, Joseph J. Thayer, William O. Valentine, Edward K. VanDeventer, Jonathan J. Whitaker, Charles Woodruff.
*The remaining companies of the 59th Regiment had been previously mustered out in the month of June, 1868. ¡ Died.
146
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
THE FIRST SEPARATE COMPANY, N. G. S. N. Y.
In 1875 a law was passed authorizing the formation or or- ganization of separate companies of infantry, to be attached to brigade or division headquarters. The first company in the State to be organized under the new law was the First Separate Company, N. G. S. N. Y., which was organized at Penn Yan on the 15th of June of that year. The line offi- cers at the time of organization were William W. Eastman, Captain ; Calvin J. Huson, First Lieutenant; Arthur S. Bush, Second Lieutenant. Calvin J. Huson was succeeded, as First Lieutenant, by Henry M. Mingay, who, in 1882, was promoted to Captain. Arthur S. Bush was succeeded, as Second Lieutenant, by Ransom B. Jones, who became First Lieutenant in 1882. The same year Abraham Gridley was promoted from Corporal to Second Lieutenant, and on Jan. 26, 1883, was further promoted to first Lieutenant, and was raised to the rank of Captain July 3, 1885. George T. Wilkins was promoted Oct. 5, 1885, from Sergeant to First Lieutenant, and Andrew C. Harwick was promoted from Corporal to Second Lieutenant Jan. 26, 1883. Dr. Ben- jamin L. Holt was made Assistant-Surgeon, with the rank of First Lieutenant, Sept. 8, 1883. The company was at first attached to the Seventh Brigade, Fourth Division, but on the re-organization of the National Guard of the State, Jan. 1, 1886, the old organization of brigades and divisions was changed and the entire National Guard was re-organ- ized into four brigades. The First Separate Company then became attached to the Fourth Brigade, with headquarters at Buffalo.
The company was handsomely uniformed and was sup- plied with the Remington breech-loading rifle. The armory was located in what was formerly known as Washington Hall, on the east side of Main Strect in Penn Yan. The main room of the Armory was spacious, well ventilated, and lighted by twelve gas jets, and here the company was drilled, usually on each Monday evening. The arms were stored, when not in use, in racks in a substantial arms-cup- board that stood at the south end of this room. In closets
147
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
in an adjoining room were also kept the uniforms and equipments of the different members of the company.
In July, 1877, at the time of the great railroad strike, orders from the Division Headquarters were received directing the First Separate Company to hold itself in readiness to go to Hornellsville at a moment's notice. The members, ready armed and equipped, remained at the Armory for three days, but were not ordered out. The company, during the time of its organization, established a well deserved reputation for ex- cellence in drill, and several times took part in the State en- campment at Peekskill. On the 30th of April, 1889, it par- ticipated in the grand parade held in New York City on the Centennial celebration of Washington's inauguration. By orders from general headquarters the First Separate Com- pany was mustered out at Penn Yan January 22, 1890. At the time of muster-out the company had the following line officers: Abraham Gridley,# Captain; George T. Wilkins, First Lieutenant; Andrew C. Harwick, Second Lieutenant.
Roster of members of the First Separate Company, with the year in which each member joined the same :
1875. William W. Eastman, Captain; Calvin J. Huson, First Lieutenant ; Arthur S. Bush, Second Lieutenant ; Henry M. Mingay, Orderly Sergeant; Lauren B. Drake, Second Sergeant; Ransom B. Jones, Third Sergeant; Michael Hennessy, Fourth Sergeant; Michael McCormick, Fifth Sergeant; Delos A. Bellis, Quartermaster-Sergeant ; William A. Remer, First Corporal; James F. Benton, t Second Corporal; Edson Potter, Third Corporal; Frederick W. Bryan, Fourth Corporal; Israel B. Chissom, Fifth Cor- poral; William H. Conklin, Sixth Corporal; Henry W. Nichols, Seventh Corporal ; Frank Cramer, Eighth Cor- poral; Privates, Edwin A. Amsbury, Charles Bell, Charles H. Bonner, Henry S. Bridgman,t George B. Butler, Austin P. Bush, William Bush, Frank Bothwell, Eugene O. Bord-
* Captain Gridley still holds the commission received from the State July 3, 1885, but is rendered supernumerary by the order mustering out the company. He also received, when a student at Cornell University, a Captain's commission for proficiency in military science.
1 Member of the band of music attached to the Company, and known as "Hyatt's Military Band,"
148
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
well, John Chamberlain, George S. Cornell, John Downs, Jr., George S. Evans, James M. Gates, William H. Glad- ding,* Frank R. Gillett, Charles Hainer, William A. Hen- derson, John T. Holloway, George Hyatt,* Alphonso Hyatt,* William C. Hammond, Willett R. Hazen, Robert F. Jolley, Samuel H. Kinnear,* Charles E. Ludlow, Walter S. Martin, Thomas M. Markland, William McClafferty, David J. McKie, Frank Meade, Jr., Lot McNernay, George S. Norris,* Frank W. Phillips,* Dyer I. Royce, William H. Remer, Hadley Remer, Henry C. Shearman, Oscar F. Slay- ton, Frank E. Spencer, Robert D. Stewart, William A. Stanton, John Tobin, Charles E. Vanderlip, Robert Watts, William Warren, George T. Wilkins, Peter F. Whitbeck,* Otto White, Orville B. Wood,* William H. Wood,* Nicholas Wollaver.
Band .- George Hyatt, leader; George S. Norris (leader pro tem.), E flat cornet; Frank W. Phillips, B flat cornet; Henry S. Bridgman, first E flat alto; William H. Gladding, E flat trombone; Orville B. Wood, first B flat tenor; Sam- nel H. Kinnear, tuba; Peter F. Whitbeck, tenor drum; Al- phonso Hyatt, bass drum; William H. Wood, cymbals; James F. Benton, drum major.
1876. Stephen G. Bushnell, William Brennan, Marshall E. Botsford, William Cook, D. Morse Castner, Edward G. Elliott,1 Abraham Gridley, Charles S. Hoyt, William E. Leach, David McEvoy, Daniel O'Neil, Thomas Page, Dar- win P. Spear.
1877. Samuel J. Ask, Charles F. Carley, Albert J. Chil- vers, Herbert Eaton, Ernest Eaton, Howard W. Farmer, Charles E. Raymond.
1878. Andrew C. Harwick, Charles E. Hurford, Fred Miller.
1
1879. Joshua B. Ellis, Ed. F. Wickham.
1880. Narcisso Alvarez, John Barrett, A. Judson Bennett, George W. Brown, Engene A. Bogardus, John Cleary, Samuel Caton, Frank Camfield, Theron F. Gray, Charles B. Hazard, Owen Hoban, Lewis T. Halladay, James N.
* Member of the band of music attached to the Company, and known as "Hyatt's Military Band."
1 Succeeded Peter F. Whitbeck as snare drummer,
149
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
Hazard, George Jayne, Junius W. Kellam, John M. Leslie, Alfred C. Mosher, Charles W. Miller, John S. Miller, John Purdy, John S. Parshall, George F. Reynolds, George Rey- nolds, Frank Tuttle, Harry Wilcox, James Seymour Wil- cox, William E. Wheeler.
1881. John Craugh, Samuel Kidder, Joseph G. Ketchum, Frank H. Kerney, Patrick McElligott, George F. Mapes, Elmer A. Meeks, Simeon F. Orman, Frank Sutherland.
1882. Thomas Arnold, James A. Baker, William F. Borg- man, Robert Clemence, Smith J. Dailey, James E. Moon, Malcom D. Mix, Sheldon J. Shaw, Frank M. Simmonds, Samuel D. Sands, Edward H. Southerland, Harry E. Wil- kins.
1883. Arthur Ayers, George H. Dunham, Patrick H. Flynn, Adelbert J. Hodges,* Benjamin L. Holt, Frederick W. Pasco, Dewitt G. Rogers.
1884. George T. Amsbury, Henry G. Hunt, Thomas B. Hunter, Charles J. Ketchum, Edwin Lathrop, George Min- gay, George D. Purdy, David P. Shute.
1885. Jeremiah Dwyer, Thomas Dwyer, Archie Nelson Daines, Anthony J. Freeman, Fred W. Flynn, Hiram A. Finger, Charles F. Forshay, Rowland J. Gardner, Jr., Wil- liam H. Hopkins, Delos W. Hopkins, Sidney E. Hopkins, John Lacy, George W. Lewis, Philip Nageldinger, Clark Northrup, Francis J. Roche, William L. Stebbins, Winfred P. Thompson, Arthur C. Warren, Gustaf Adolf Zetterberg.
1886. William Agan, Henry G. Arnold, Charles T. Bur- rill, Albert R. Brooks, William Grant Carroll, Henry White Callahan, James B. Clark, DeCorie Dean, Ed. A. Dunning, Albert W. Hathaway, Thomas Hazard, Frank W. Huff, Harry Jessup, Oliver Lyons, Elmer H. Nelson, James E. Roche, William H. Sands, Gideon W. Townsend, Samuel M. Whitbeck, Jr.
* In 1882 a military department was established at Starkey Seminary and placed under the direction of Adelbert J. Hodges of the First Sepa- rate Company. The students in this department were uniformned and supplied with arms. This was the first school of instruction in military tactics established in Yates County. Ten years later a department for military instruction was established, also under the direction of Mr. Hodges, at Keuka College.
150
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
1887. George E. Almy, Fred W. Beam, Fred A. Beach, John M. Brown, Ralph S. Caywood, Charles Campbell, Charles Cobb, Marshall Cooper, Clinton Cresson, William A. Curran, Charles F. Dense, William C. Dennis, William E. Dense, John Faley, Edward A. Ferris, Arthur G. Gan- non, Ed. Houghtailing, Frank W. Huff, George F. Hamil- ton, P. H. Killigrew, Charles C. Knapp, John Legg, James L. Lott, Harry S. Mizner, Edward Maroney, James F. Moon, William Murphy, Charles Norris, Daniel O'Connor, Jonah Ousterout, Charles W. Phillips, Frank Patten, William W. Shaw, Addison R. Shultz, Edward Smith, Frank T. Timms, Wilber A. Taft, George Tompkins, Edgar E. Wells, Charles E. Wright.
1888. Daniel L. Booth, John R. Clemence, Howard L. Drew, George W. Denison, Melvin Dewey, Elmer Ellsworth Fox, Martin V. Margeson, Thomas McElligott, George S. Raplee, Fred Stroup, Charles H. Weaver, Paul J. West- cott.
1889. Clark Bellis, Daniel H. Beyea, Patrick Cunning- ham, William Cresson, Charles Clark, Gardner B. Ellis, James H. Gamby, Ezra J. Horn, Arthur King, Harry Lipes, James H. Lord, Clay Miller, Emerson R. Meade, James T. Smith, George Titus, Jr., John Vail, Asa H. Wortman, Edward West.
The Military History of Yates County has now been car- ried down to the present time. Concerning what chapters future years may add thereto, it is idle to speculate. Per- chance we are still to enjoy a long period of peace; it may be that ere long the stirring annals of another war will en- gage the chronicler. However this may be, of one thing it is certain, and that is, that the conduct of the sons of Yates in the future will be such that they will never be ashamed to have it recalled in connection with the deeds of their illus- trious sires.
Amid civic corruption and devotion to the chase of the Almighty Dollar, both of which evils are so prevalent among the American people of to-day, it may seem that patriotism is dead. But let no one fear. When the need for action
151
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
comes, the young men of America will rush to the defence of their imperiled country with no less readiness than did the boys of '61.
When the next great contest comes, it will find all Ameri- cans united in devotion to one country and one flag. The days of civil strife are over and with it the spirit of section- alism is also dead. The fact that the South desires a foreign war in order to show her present devotion to that Union which she once sought to destroy is one of the encouraging signs of the times. The memories of our civil contest will soon divide Americans no more than the reminiscences of the wars of Cromwell divide the descendants of the Puri- tans and Cavaliers in England. Time is the mighty healer of all wounds. The blood shed in battle sinks into the earth ; the grass grows green over the slain; contemporary generations pass away, and soon naught remains but history.
Henceforth we shall know no North, no South, no East, no West, but shall all unite in devotion to the Star Spangled Banner. If anything shall menace " Old Glory," certain as the eternal hills it is that it will be deserted by not a single American.
Here we shall gather its cause to defend : Let patriots rally and wise counsels lend ; It still shall be the flag of the free, Emblem of sweet liberty.
APPENDIX.
I.
A HEROINE OF THE REVOLUTION.
TN the first chapter of this volume mention has been made of Eliphalet Hull, Seth Hull, and Cyrus Buell as being among the soldiers of the Revolution who settled in Yates County. The wife of Eliphalet Hull, who was also the mother-in-law of Cyrus Buell, is worthy of a somewhat extended notice for the part she took in the War for Independence. Her maiden name was Huldah Patchen. She was born in Connecticut, and was there married to Mr. Hull. They moved in 1771 to the country be- tween Ballston and Fort Edward in the then colony of New York, where they lived till after the Revolutionary War. Mr. Hull was largely en- gaged in that war, and in his absence his wife and children sometimes fled to the woods for safety from marauding bands of Indians and Tories. Mrs. Hull had one particular retreat at the root of an overturned tree, where, in a hollow filled with leaves, she, with her children's heads in her lap, slept many a night in the summer of 1777. In the fall of that year, on the approach of Burgoyne, with his Hessian and Indian allies, she loaded a cart with some goods and her youngest children, herself and the older ones walking, and driving the only remaining cow, and re- turned to the old home in Connecticut, stopping nights with hospitable farmers on the way. She and her children found homes with her own and her husband's parents until the close of the campaign.
Mrs. Hull was one of the heroines of the Revolution, and her exploits were many. On one occasion, when all the women and children were in Fort Edward and the Captain needed to send for additional troops, none but old men and boys being in the fort, she volunteered to go. Taking the Captain's horse and saddle, and in a man's overcoat and hat, she rode out in the dark night, through wind and rain, for the needed help. Cyrus Buell, then a lad of 14, but a soldier in the ranks, saw his future mother-in-law, for the first time, as she rode in at daybreak. Cyrus Buell was shortly afterwards taken prisoner by the British and Indians, but was ransomed from the latter by a British officer, who kept him three years at Quebec and Montreal, and wished to adopt him and take him to England, and only gave him up when peace was declared, when he re- turned to his family who had long mourned him as dead. When he was first taken prisoner the long line of captives was counted off, half to the British and half to the Indians, the dividing point falling between him- self and a young friend, from whom he parted, as he supposed, forever. Years afterwards he found that friend living on a farm beyond Seneca Lake.
153
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
Eliphalet Hull, with his wife and family, moved from their home near Ballston, and settled in Benton in 1792. There were nine children in the family, eight living to be old men and women. One of the sons, Eli- phalet Hull, Jr., was a soldier in the War of 1812, and married a daughter of the celebrated frontiersman, General Moses Van Campen. Mrs. Hull was a distinguished-looking woman in her younger days, having a tall, stately form, with brilliant black eyes. Her brother, Captain Daniel Patchen, commanded in the troop known as Washington's Body Guard. Her cousin, General Freegift Patchen, was once taken prisoner by the Indians under Brant, but was afterwards released. Mrs. Hull's wit was proverbial, and she was guilty of a pun upon her wedding day. She said she had been a Patchen all her life, but at last she was Hull. She had a remarkable memory, and of her life and experiences during the Revolu- tion she never wearied in telling. The last twenty-five years of her life were spent at the home of her grandson, David H. Buell, at Benton Cen- ter, where she died, September 3, 1839, at the age of 90 years.
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.