USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, from its first beginnings to the present time; including chapters of newly-discovered, Vol. II > Part 75
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On the 4th or 5th of July Mrs. Katharine Gaylord and her three children-aged thirteen, eleven and seven years, respectively-fled from Wyoming. 'They rode two horses, and carried with them such provisions and small effects as, in their haste and terror, they could collect. They suffered incredible hardships before they reached their destination-Farmington West Farms (Bristol), Con- necticut. In the "Bill of Losses" printed in Chapter XIX the amount of loss sustained by the estate of Lieutenant Gaylord (stated in the name of his widow Katharine) is given as £158, 4s. Mrs. Kath- arine (Cole) Gaylord never returned to Wyoming, but spent the remainder of her days in Hartford County, Connecticut, where she died in 1840. In 1895 a monument was erected to her memory in the burial-ground at Burlington, Connecticut, by the members of Katharine Gaylord Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which body is named for her.
The children of Lieut. Aaron and Katharine (Cole) Gaylord were: (i) Lemuel, born February 14, 1765; fled with his mother and sisters to Connecticut in July, 1778; ten years later returned to Wyoming where he was appointed administrator of his father's estate; in 1791 was married to Sylvia, daughter of the Rev. Noah Murray of Luzerne County, and they settled at Plymouth, but later removed to Huntington Township; in 1793 they removed to the neighborhood of Tioga Point; in 1816 they removed to Ohio, and later to Illinois. (ii) Phebe, born November 19, 1767; married at Bristol, Connecticut, December 20, 1786, to Levi (born January 31, 1758, in Farmington, Connecticut), son of Theodore Frisbie; in 1800 they removed from Connecticut to what is now the township of Orwell, in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, where Levi Frisbie died October 5, 1842, and his wife Phebe died October 5, 1852. They were the parents of four sons and two daughters-Chauncey, Laura (mar- ried to Ira Bronson), Catherine (married to Abel Estabrook), Levi, Zebulon, and a son who died in infancy. (iii) Lorena, the youngest child of Lieut. Aaron Gaylord, was born about 1771; was mar- ried in 1799 to Lynde Phelps of Burlington, Connecticut, and became the mother of seven daughters.
As shown by the "Connecticut Historical Society's Collections" (IX : 246, and X : 25, 334), both Joseph Gaylord and his son (ii) Aaron served as soldiers during the French and Indian War. In the campaign of 1757 (see page 481, Vol. I) "Joseph Gaylord of Farmington" served seventeen days as a private in the company of Capt. Jonathan Pettibone, sent to the relief of Fort Edward; and in the cam- paign of 1758 he served from April 11 till November 14 as a private in the 10th Company (Josiah Lee of Farmington, Captain) of the 1st Connecticut Regiment, commanded by Col. Phineas Lyman. His son Aaron served from March 20 till December 3 in the campaign of 1762 (see page 482, Vol. I), as a private in the 7th Company (Eldad Lewis of Southington, Captain) of the 2d Connecticut Regiment, commanded by Col. Nathan Whiting.
For a more extended account of the Gaylord and Frisbie families see "The Harvey Book", pub- lished at Wilkes-Barre in 1899.
* JEREMIAH BLANCHARD, who was born in 1738, presumably in Rhode Island, came to Wyoming Valley for the first time in the latter part of April, or early in May, 1772-his name first appearing in the records of The Susquehanna Company in the "List of Settlers" prepared in May, 1772, and printed on page 732, ante. At that time he was a resident of Coventry, Kent County, Rhode Island. At Wilkes-Barre, May 27, 1772, Joseph Sprague sold to Jeremiah Blanchard, for £50, "one settling right in the township of Lackawanna, so called," and three days later Barnabas Cary, of that town- ship, conveyed to Jeremiah Blanchard, "of Susquehannah Township", "ye eighth meadow lot in Lack- awanna Township." The township of Lackawanna, thus referred to, was, about that time, formally named "Pittstown", later changed to Pittston. (See pages 727 and 730.) September 24, 1773, Daniel Adams conveyed to Jeremiah Blanchard, both of "Pittstown", Meadow Lot No. 31 in that township, the consideration being £15. (See pages 1,327 and 1,330 in "The Town Book of Wilkes Barre", described on page 27, Vol. I.)
Late in 1772 or early in 1778 Jeremiah Blanchard brought his family to Wyoming, and they set- tled in that part of the township of Pittston which is now Jenkins Township, at a locality that has been commonly known for the past seventy years and more as "Port Blanchard." In 1775 and again in 1776 Jeremiah Blanchard was one of the Constables of the town of Westmoreland. In May, 1777- being then thirty-nine years of age-he was established and commissioned Captain of the 4th (or Pittston) Company of the 24th Regiment, succeeding Capt. Solomon Strong who had joined the Con- tinental army. Jeremiah Blanchard was married in 1768 to Abigail He died at his home in Pittston Township, May 26, 1807, aged sixty-nine years, and she died there September 20, 1807, aged sixty-three years.
Jeremiah Blanchard, Jr., only son of Capt. Jeremiah and Abigail Blanchard, was born in Novem- ber, 1763, presumably in Rhode Island, and was between nine and ten years of age when he came to Wyoming with his parents. In 1790 he was a private in the 4th Company (Daniel Gore, Captain) of the "1st Regiment of Militia in I,uzerne County", commanded by Lieut. Col. Matthias Hollenback. Some years later he became a Captain in the State militia. His wife was Martha (born
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ford,* Ensign. The 5th (or Hanover) Company was at Fort Wilkes- Barre, and its officers were : William McKerachan, t Captain; Roasel Franklin,# Lieutenant ; Titus Hinman, Ensign. The 6th (or Upper Wilkes-Barre) Company was at Fort Wilkes-Barré, and its officers were: Rezin Geer,§ Captain; Daniel Gore, || Lieutenant; John Hageman, En- sign. The 10th (or Huntington and Salem) Company was officered by
October 12, 1766). He died May 25, 1837, and his wife died July 26, 1844, and their remains lie in the old grave-yard at Port Blanchard. Three of their children were as follows: Jeremiah (married in Wilkes-Barre, Sunday, December 17, 1820, by Peter Winter, Esq., to Frances, daughter of "Ser- geant" Thomas Williams, a sketch of whom will be found in a subsequent chapter), John (born in 1800; married in Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Sunday, February 9, 1828, by Samuel Jameson, Esq., to Sarah, daughter of George Lazarus of Hanover Township; she was born in 1803 and died in 1892; John Blanchard died July 23, 1853), David (married October 9, 1828, to Lydia Sophronia, daughter of Salmon Lathrop, formerly of Sherbourne, New York)
The following paragraph is from an obituary of Capt. Jeremiah Blanchard, Jr., published at the time of his death in the Wyoming Republican and Farmer's Herald (Kingston, Pennsylvania). "Among the early settlers of the Valley there were few, if any, who had enjoyed the advantages of regular instruction in the various trades and professions, so necessary to the enjoyment of civilized life. Thus circumstanced, the daily wants of the people were peculiarly calculated to elicit native ingenuity and talent. Among the many whose skill and ingenuity the necessities and the wants of the settlers called into exercise, none was more useful than Captain Blanchard. He possessed quite a mechanical talent, and could turn his hand to the fabrication of most of the necessary implements in wood and iron for the use of settlers in a new country. His residence being at a distance from any practical physician, he was frequently called upon by his neighbors-who fully appreciated his native good sense and sound judgment-for counsel and advice in cases requiring medical aid. Hundreds can attest the skill with which, for many years, he kindly and gratuitously supplied the place of the surgeon in the letting of blood and in the extracting of teeth, among his afflicted neighbors." -
t TIMOTHY KEYES was originally of New Marlborough, Berkshire County, Massachussetts, from which place, presumably, he came to Wyoming Valley in April, or early in May, 1772. (See page 741.) He sold a half-right in the Susquehanna Purchase to Douglass and William Davidson at Wilkes-Barre, May 18, 1772 (not 1774, as erroneously printed in the note on page 908, ante), and shortly afterwards he became a proprietor in the township of New Providence (later named Providence) which had been ordered to be laid out at Capouse Meadows. (See page 770.) He was chosen Constable for this town- ship in December, 1772. At a meeting of the Wyoming settlers held in the fort at Wilkes-Barre in October, 1773, he was chosen Collector of Road Taxes in the room of Solomon Johnson. In October, 1775, he was established and commissioned Ensign of the 4th (or Pittston) Company in the 24th Reg- iment, and in May, 1777, was promoted Lieutenant of the same company. At that time he owned 113 acres of land in Providence which he had purchased June 9, 1777, from Col. John Durkee, to whom, "as a sufferer for a right in Kingston", the land had been granted. Lieutenant Keyes was with his company in Pittston Fort during the battle of Wyoming, and after the surrender of the fort he left the Valley. He returned some weeks later, however, and was at Wilkes-Barre in service in the detach- ment of militia under the command of Lieut. Col. Zebulon Butler, as described in Chapter XVI. In the Autumn of 1778 he was captured and put to death by Indians-as hereinafter more fully narrated. * JEREMIAH BICKFORD came to Wyoming Valley in 1774 or 1775. His name appears in the tax- lists of Hanover District, or Township, for the years 1776, 1777 and 1778; but early in the last-men- tioned year he removed to Pittston, and shortly afterwards was established and commissioned Ensign of the 4th Company. He had been a Sergeant in the Hanover company. He took part in the battle of Wyoming, and in attempting to escape from the field was killed. Miner (in his "History of Wyoming", page 225) gives the following account of his death: "At the river, near the [ Monacanock] Island, the scene was exceedingly distressing. A few swam over and escaped. Closely pressed, many were killed in the river. Sergeant [sic] Jeremiah Bickford, a very active man, was pursued by an Indian into the stream with a spear. Bickford faced him, struck the spear from his hand and dashed him under his feet, where he would have been drowned, but another savage rushed forward to his aid and ran his spear through Bickford's breast, who fell dead and floated away. A month afterward his body was found seven or eight miles below, much decayed, but was recognized by a silver brooch he wore, which, with a piece of the shirt with the spear hole, was preserved by his family for many years." Letters of administration upon the estate of Lieutenant Bickford were granted to his widow Mehetabel April 1, 1782, by the Probate Court of Westmoreland, Edward Spencer being surety.
t WILLIAM MCKERACHAN was a native. of Ireland, and in religious belief a Presbyterian. Not classically, but well, educated, he left Belfast in the Summer of 1764, a young man, to seek his fortune in America. Landing at Philadelphia he passed into Chester County, where, for a season, he taught school in Nantmeal. Thence he went into Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and later he removed to New Jersey, still engaged in school-teaching. The story of Wyoming Valley early attracted his attention, and in 1774 he removed to the Valley and settled in Hanover, at what is now the borough of Nanticoke. There he taught school for awhile, and then established a store-the first one in Hanover. He also purchased lands. He was not only esteemed by his neighbors, but was highly regarded by the commu- nity at large. Early in March, 1777, he was sent to the Continental Congress at Philadelphia on a bus- iness mission for the inhabitants of Westmoreland. He spent four days in going, four days in the city, and the same number of days in returning, and his original bill for his expenses, amounting to £11, 14s. 6d., is now preserved in the collections of The Wyoming Historical and Geological Society. He was the original and only Captain of the 5th (or Hanover) Company of the 24th Regiment, having been established and commissioned in October, 1775. In May, 1777, and again in May, 1778, he was appointed by the General Assembly of Connecticut and subsequently commissioned a Justice of the Peace in and for the county of Westmoreland. He fell on the battle-field of Wyoming, leaving neither wife nor descendants.
# See a subsequent chapter for a sketch of his life.
& REZIN GEER was born in 1788 at Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, a member of one of the oldest families of that town. He came to Wyoming with his wife and one child in 1774, and settled in that part of Wilkes-Barre which is now the township of Plains. Having been elected in the Summer of 1775 Captain of the militia company which had then been organized in upper Wilkes-Barre, he was established in that office by the General Assembly, and duly commissioned, when (in October, 1775) the company mentioned was designated as the 6th Company of the 24th Regiment. He fell in the battle of Wyoming, and was survived by his wife and three sons, the eldest son being only five years of age. The family returned to Connecticut, but a number of years later the sons settled in what is now Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. One of these sons-Capt. Jeremiah Geer-died about 1840; and in June, 1845, Stephen Geer of Brooklyn, Susquehanna County, was the only survivor of the family. Il See page 835.
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John Franklin, * Captain ; Stoddard Bowen,t Lieutenant; Nathaniel Goss,1 Ensign. The extract from the writings of Captain Franklin, on page 994, explains the whereabouts of the members of this company on July 2d. The officers of the "1st Alarm List Company" were: James Bidlack, Sr., § Captain; Lebbeus Tubbs, || Lieutenant; John Comstock, T
* For a portrait of Captain FRANKLIN, and a sketch of his life, see a subsequent chapter.
t STODDARD BOWEN was living in Ashford, Windham County, Connecticut, when, January 31, 1776, he entered into an agreement with Joshua Reed of Windham "to go on and settle" certain lands belong- ing to Reed in the township of Salem, in Westmoreland. Salem had been laid out, and accepted by the "Committee of Settlers", in May, 1773. It was located on the right bank of the Susquehanna, some eight miles below the Valley of Wyoming. (See map facing page 468.) Stoddard Bowen, together with Aaron Bowen-presumably his brother-came to Wyoming some time in 1776, and they settled first in Hanover (see their names in the Hanover tax-lists for 1777 and 1778); but early in the Spring of 1778 Stoddard Bowen removed to Salem. A few weeks later he was established and commissioned Lieutenant of the 10th Company of the 24th Regiment. As previously mentioned he and three or four of the men of his company reached Forty Fort just in time to march out with the militia to the battle- field, upon which he and at least one of his men (Silas Harvey) fell a few hours later. Their names appear in the list of the slain on the Wyoming Monument.
# NATHANIEL Goss was the son of Philip Goss, Sr., of Becket, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and as early as the Summer of 1769 Nathaniel Goss and either his father or his brother Philip (it was, undoubtedly, the father) were in Wyoming Valley. (See lists on pages 497 and 509.) Philip Goss, Sr., was the father of the following-named children: Solomon, Comfort, David, Nathaniel, Sarah (who became the wife of Enos Seward, Jr., of Granville, Massachusetts) and Philip (who was born in 1746; was married to Hannah , who died March 15, 1834, aged eighty years; he died in Hunting- ton Township, Luzerne County, October 25, 1833). April 17, 1770, William Walsworth of Beekman's Precinct, Dutchess County, New York, conveyed "to Philip Goss, [ Sr. ], of Becket, Massachusetts, and Francis Gillow of Goshen, Orange County, New York", one right in the Susquehanna Purchase to which he was entitled as "one of the first forty settlers there." Nathaniel Goss was at Fort Durkee, Wilkes-Barre, in May, 1770 (see page 649), and in the list of Susquehanna proprietors made up in June, 1770 (see page 658), the names of Philip and Nathaniel appear. Philip Goss was a member of the party commanded by Capt. Zebulon Butler which came to Wilkes-Barre in July, 1771, to besiege the Penna- mites in Fort Wyoming. Nathaniel Goss joined the party a few weeks later. (See pages 694 and 702.) Prior to March, 1772, Philip Goss had become a proprietor in the township of Plymouth, and was a member of the "Settlers' Committee" for that township. In March or April, 1772, he was sent express to Connecticut on business for the settlers-as is shown by an original paper now in the possession of The Wyoming Historical and Geological Society. From 1772 till 1776 Philip Goss, Sr., and his family resided in the township of Plymouth.
In 1775 the township of Huntington was laid out under the auspices of The Susquehanna Company (see map facing page 468), and its location was within the bounds of what, by vote of the inhabitants of Westmoreland, was entitled "Plymouth District." (See page 794.) During 1775 and 1776 there were very few inhabitants in Huntington, but some time during the latter year the number was increased by the removal thither of Philip Goss, Sr., and his family, who settled near what is now known as Huntington Mills. The names of Philip Goss, Sr., Philip Goss, Jr., Nathaniel Goss and Sol- omon Goss appear in the tax-lists of Plymouth District (which included Huntington and Salem) for the years 1776, 1777 and 1778. Nathaniel Goss, some time after settling in Huntington, built a grist-mill on a small stream which flowed into Huntington Creek. He was established and commissioned Ensign of the 10th Company of the 24th Regiment in May, 1778, and he was one of those who marched with Captain Franklin to Forty Fort in the following July, under the circumstances herein described. Philip Goss, Sr., died in Huntington in the latter part of 1779, and letters of administration upon his estate were granted to Nathaniel Goss by the Probate Court of Westmoreland January 18, 1780-Capt. John Franklin being surety on a bond of £1,000. An inventory of the estate-made up by Obadiah Gore and John Jenkins, Jr., appraisers-was filed the same day. It amounted to £575, 1sh. 8d., "counting 25 Continental dollars for one silver dollar." The original inventory is now in the collections of The Wyoming Historical and Geological Society. According to the assessment-list of Huntington Township for the year 1796 Nathaniel Goss and Philip Goss (Jr.) were the only tax-payers of that surname who were then living in the township.
§ JAMES BIDLACK, SR., was a native of Connecticut, and presumably of Windham County, in which county he was living in 1750 when, on February 14th, he was married in the parish of Canada, in the town of Windham, to Mehetabel Durkee (born February 14, 1731), a younger sister of John Durkee, subsequently the founder and namer of Wilkes-Barre. (See page 481, Vol. I.) James and Mehetabel (Durkee) Bidlack settled in Canterbury, Windham County, where all their children were born. In the campaign of 1758, during the French and Indian War, James Bidlack served as a private in the 7th Company (Benjamin Lee of Plainfield, Captain, and Benedict Satterlee, Second Lieutenant) of the 3d Connecticut Regiment, commanded by Col. Eleazar Fitch. When the 3d Company was mustered at Fort Edward (see next to the last paragraph on page 635, ante), October 19, 1758, James Bidlack was noted as "Sick in Hospital." (See "Connecticut Historical Society's Collections," X : 64.)
James Bidlack, Sr, first came to Wyoming Valley in the Spring of 1770, and, as shown by the affi- davit of Nathan Ogden printed on page 649, was one of the New England party occupying Fort Durkee in April and May of that year. As one of the first body of settlers to dispossess the Pennamites and occupy the Valley under the auspices of The Susquehanna Company, James Bidlack, Sr., was admitted a proprietor in Wilkes-Barre; and at the first drawing of lots in the town-plot in June, 1770, he drew Lot No. 33. (See pages 655 and 662.) Subsequently, owing to his absence from the Valley in 1771, and his failure to assist in regaining possession of it from the Pennamites, he lost his "right" in Wilkes- Barre. He returned to Wyoming in April or May, 1772 (see page 732), and at Wilkes-Barre, October 3, 1772, signed the memorial printed on page 751. Between the last-mentioned date and May 24, 1774, he drew certain lots in Plymouth on his "right", and erecting a house there brought his family on from Connecticut.
James Bidlack, Sr., was established and commissioned Lieutenant of the 1st Alarm List Company in May, 1777, and was promoted Captain in the following October. (See pages 921 and 948.) During the battle of Wyoming he commanded the slender garrison (consisting chiefly of old men and boys) of Shawnee Fort. He fled from the Valley after the battle and massacre, but returned in the following August and was in service at Wilkes-Barre in the detachment commanded by Lieut. Col. Zebulon But- ler, as more fully related in Chapter XVI. A band of Indians sneaked into the sparsely inhabited set- tlement in Plymouth, March 21, 1779, captured Captain Bidlack, and carried him off to Canada, where he was detained a prisoner until August, 1782, when he was liberated. He reached his home in Ply- mouth the 10th of the following September. His wife Mehetabel having died about this time, or a few years later, he was married (2d) to Mrs. Esther (Laurence) Ransom, the widow of Capt. Samuel Ran- som. (See page 895.) She died in Norfolk, Connecticut, in August, 1794, and Captain Bidlack died in
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Plymouth about 1810. Capt. James and Mehetabel (Durkee) Bidlack were the parents of the following- named children: (i) James, (ii) Stephen, (iii) Sarah (married, Ist, to Stephen Abbott, and 2d, to Asa Abbott, as mentioned on page 718), (iv) Benjamin, (v) Shubal, (vi) Philemon.
(i) James Bidlack (or James Bidlack, Jr., as he was called) was born in Canterbury, Connecticut, in 1751, and was married in the parish of Canada, in the town of Windham, Connecticut, April 30, 1772, to Abigail Fuller, mentioned on page 718, ante. In the latter part of 1773 they removed to Wilkes-Barre, where, in February, 1774 (as noted on page 718), Mrs. Bidlack's father conveyed to her Lot No. 17 in the town-plot. There James and Abigail Bidlack took up their residence. In January. 1778, James Bidlack, Jr., was established and commissioned Captain of the 1st (or Lower Wilkes-Barre) Company of the 24th Regiment. At the battle of Wyoming he commanded his company, which was in the right wing of the American line. He fell mortally wounded at the head of his men, was seized by the savages, thrown among the burning logs of Wintermute's Fort, held there by pitch-forks, and tortured till he died. Only eight men of his company escaped from the field of slaughter.
Letters of administration upon the estate of Capt. James Bidlack, Jr., were granted by the Probate Court of Westmoreland to Mrs. Abigail Bidlack, November 25, 1778, Daniel Downing becoming surety on a bond for £500. Capt. John Franklin and Lemuel Whiteman appraised the estate, and the original inventory (in the handwriting of Captain Franklin), dated October 29, 1780, and duly recorded by Oba- diah Gore, Clerk of the Probate Court, is now in the collections of The Wyoming Historical and Geo- logical Society. The items in the inventory are as follows: "One feather bed and one Pillow & Boul- ster, £3 18s .; one woollen coverlit, 16s .; one woollen coverlit, 10s .; one Tow Coverlit, 10s .; one Bed- tick-old, 6s .; one old Woollen sheet, 2s .; one Pr. of old Linnen sheets, 8s .; Three Pillow Cases-old, 3s. 6d .; Three Table Cloths, 14s .; One Linnen Coat -- old, 3s. 6d .; 1 Pr. of Leather Breeches, 18s .; One old Linnen Shirt, 5s .; One old Beaver hat, 6s .; One small Trunk, 4s .; One old Sword, 4s .; One large Iron Pot, one small dto., 15s .; 2 Pewter Platters, 7 Plates and one small Bason, 18s .; 1 Block-tin Tea Pot, 2s. 3d .; 1 Looking Glass, 4s. 6d .; 1 Spinning Wheel, 10s .; one small Pale, 1s .; 1 Cooper Axe and 2 Crooked Shaves-have been burnt-8s .; one Glass Bottle and one Candlestick, 2s. [Total] £12, 3s. 9d." About 1786 the widow Abigail (Fuller) Bidlack was married to Col. (formerly Capt.) John Frank- lin, as his second wife. She died at Athens, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, January 31, 1834.
The children of Capt. James and Abigail (Fuller) Bidlack were as follows: (1) Stephen, born in Connecticut January 5, 1773; married March 28, 1793, to Lois, ninth child of Capt. Samuel and Esther (Laurence) Ransom. (See page 895.) (2) Sally, became the wife of Franklin Chitsey, and settled in New York. (3) Hetty, became the wife of William Patrick; settled first at Wysox, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, and then removed to Michigan. (4) James (a posthumous child), born September 22, 1778; married in 1803 to Esther (born May 16, 1787), daughter of Daniel Moore, a native of Ireland; settled in Sheshequin, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, where he was accidentally killed April 30, 1828, while loading a raft; survived by his wife (who died August 28, 1863) and nine children.
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