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 early Wyoming Valley history, together with many biographical sketches and much genealogical material. Volume II > Part 19
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"Atherton, James -Home 22d.
Brokaw, John
-Home 19th. Ret. Dec. 15th. Bennet, Joshua-23d Oct.
Atherton, Asel
Belden, Ezra
Baker, John-Home 12th.
Carey, Eleazar-24th Oct. Crofford, William
Atherton, James-Jr. -Home 22d.
Beech, Amos
-Home 17-30 Oct.
Anguish, Jacob
Brown, David
Comstock, John
Bennet, Isaac
Bates, Caleb-4th Oct.
Home 11th. Ret. Dec. 15.
Cook, Reuben-Home 19th. Crooker, Joseph
Buck, William-Lieut.
* At Mill Creek.
+ See his name in the list on page 715.
Bennet, Thomas
715
Cole, Leonard
-Home 19th. Ret. Dec. 15. Colegrove, Jeremiah -4 Oct. Home 11. Cockran, Andrew-23 Oct., Wm. Reynolds' Right. Cary, Barnabas-24 Oct. Carey, Eleazar-Jr. - 24 Oct.
Cary, John-24 Oct. Depew, John Dorrance, John Dougherty, John
Dixon, Robert-31 Oct. Follet, Benjamin-Capt. Fish, Elisha
Fish, Jabez
Kentnor, George
Lyon, Asa .
Lake, Thomas-23 Oct.
McDonnor, John
Terry, Parshal-Jr.
Minard, George
Vincent, Cornelius
McClure, Thomas
Marvin, David-Capt.
Vannorman, Brink
French, Thomas-21 Oct.
French, Arthur - 25 Oct.
Frazier, John-27 Oct.
Green, Levi
Nisbitt, James
Woodward, Richard
Gardner, Peregreen
Nisbitt, Samuel
White, John
Goss, Philip
Osburn, John
Walworth, Thomas
-Home 18th. Ret. Dec. 20.
Osburn, Jacob-27 Oct.
Warner, William
Gore, Daniel
Peirce, Ezekiel-Maj. -Home 18th.
Williams, William-23 Oct.
West, Richard-24 Oct.
Gore, Asa
Parks, William Pettibone, Noah -Home 26th for 20 days.
Young, William
Gaylord, Samuel-Lieut. Gore, Silas
Post, Stephen
Vale, Ozias
Gore, Obadiah-Capt.
Peirce, Timothy
-Home 26th for 25 days.
Gordon, Thomas-28 Oct. Hopkins, Robert
Pearce, Timothy-Jr .* -31 Oct.
Young, David Yates, John-DDD. 18."
In an original "List of Settlers on the Susquehannah, December, 1771," made up by Zebulon Butler and Stephen Fuller, and now in the possession of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, are the following nineteen names which do not appear in the foregoing list for September. Zebulon Butler is marked as having gone home on Decem- ber 18th.
"Allen, Daniel-Dec. 1st. Buck, Philip-28th. Heffelfinger, Henry -Home 18th. Willcox, Eason
Clark, Benjamin-15th. Eveland, Frederick-15th.
Hopkins, William-15th.
Weeks, Jesse-Home 10th.
Forgason, John
Phillips, Frank-15th.
West, Eleazar-Dec. 1st.
Gore, Samuel-15th.
Perkins, John-15th.
Hollenback, Matthew-9th.
Ross, Daniel-15th.
Yale, Stephen -Home 13th."
At last the Wyoming settlement under the auspices of The Susque- hanna Company was beginning to flourish ; new settlers-inen, women and children-from Connecticut and elsewhere were coming to the val- ley nearly every week; town-meetings were being frequently held at Fort Wyoming, Wilkes-Barré, by the qualified "proprietors" of the whole
* This was Timothy Pearce originally of Pawling Valley, or Pawling's Precinct, Dutchess County, New York. He was a descendant of Nathan Pearce, Sr., who settled in Pawling about 1760. He traced his origin to John Pearce, a Welshman, who immigrated to America about 1660. At "Pawling's Pre- cinct," under date of September 3, 1771, James Starke wrote to "Captain Butler at Wilksborough on Susquehannah" as follows (see original letter in the possession of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society): * * "I have hired the bearer hereof, Timothy Pearce, to go on the same right for two months. * * At the end of two months I will come and take possession of it myself."
As shown by the memorandum made opposite the name of Timothy Pearce in the foregoing list. he arrived at Wilkes-Barre October 31, 1771. Subsequently he became an inhabitant of Pittston Township, and was residing there in 1776, '77 and '78, as is shown by the tax-lists for those years. Immediately after the battle of Wyoming he made his way back to Pawling.
Reynolds, Christopher Roberson, Thomas Stark, Aaron-23 Oct. Sprague, Joseph Satterly, William-Away 1. Smith, Timothy Smith, Abel-Went away 11. Returned Dec. 15.
Stewart, Lazarus-Jr. Stephens, John
-Home 19th. Ret. Dec. 15. Stephens, Eliphalet -Home 29th.
Jones, Crocker -Went home 11th.
St. John, Daniel
Sanford, David-4 Oct.
Staples, John-23 Oct.
Sawyer, John-23 Oct.
Stewart, William
Fenton, William Fuller, Stephen Farnum, Levi
Feezler, Henry -Home 25 Oct.
Feezler, Jacob
Marvin, Matthew
Matthews, Peter
Nelson, Martin
Wilder, Aaron
Weeks, Philip
-Home 19th. Ret. Dec. 15. Gore, Obadiah-Jr.
Weeks, Jonathan-27 Oct.
Goss, Nathaniel
Phillips, Nicholas
Yale, Enos
Harding, Stephen
Utter, Abraham
Utter, Moses
Silsberry, Elijah-27 Oct.
Vincent, Isaac
Valentine, William -7 Oct. to 27.
Hopson, Jordan Hopkins, Timothy -Home 25. Hotchkiss, Samuel Hibbard, Ebenezer -Went away 17. Hedsall, James
Hickman, Andrew-2d Oct. Hawkins, William-24 Oct. Johnson, Edward
Johnson, Hendrick - Home 19th.
716
settlement, at which affairs of common interest and public good were discussed and acted upon. In every respect the people showed that they were competent to defend themselves, and their footing seemed securely established. In the meantime, what were the Pennamites doing ? Let us betake ourselves to Philadelphia and learn.
October 4, 1771, President Hamilton transmitted to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut copies of the Articles of Capitulation of Fort Wyoming and of the depositions of Colonel Clayton and Captain Mor- ris, previously mentioned, and at the same time wrote a vigorous letter relative to "the disturbances and violent proceedings" of The Susque- hanna Company, "who have associated to themselves some of the most abandoned and profligate of our [Pennsylvania] people, such as are ac- cused, and indeed stand indicted, of capital crimes here." Continuing, President Hamilton wrote* :
"As the people concerned in these violent and even hostile measures, profess to act under the authority of your Government, and have made a capitulation expressly on be- half of the Government, I have thought it proper and expedient to send a messenger to your Honor, on purpose to know with certainty whether they have proceeded in any sort under your countenance or authority, or that of your Assembly." *
Connecticut had not yet "asserted its title" to the Wyoming region, and consequently Governor Trumbull cautiously replied to President Hamilton on October 14, 1771, as followst :
"The persons concerned in these Transactions have no order and directions from ine, or from the General Assembly, for their proceedings upon this occasion ; and I am very confident that the Assembly will never countenance any violent, much less hostile, measures in vindicating the right which The Susquehanna Company suppose they have to the lands in that part of the country, within the limits of the Charter of this Colony. *
* You will see that * * * the claimants under that Company *
complain that they were first attacked and ill treated by the people of your Province, when they meant only a peaceable possession of the lands they claim a title to, and wished to vindicate that title in due course of law." * *
At Philadelphia, October 8, 1771, the Provincial Council addressed to the Hon. Thomas Penn and John Penn, Esq., the following com- munication} :
"In our letter of August 20th we acquainted you of the unfavorable situation of your affairs at Wyoming, and that we had an intention of laying the matters before the Assembly, in hopes of their assistance. We did so, and now inclose you copies of our message and their answer ; by which you will perceive the uncertainty of succeeding in our application. We have despatched a messenger to the Governor of Connecticut to know whether that Government have given any countenance or authority to the proceed- ings of their people at Wyoming. If they should deny that they act under the authority of Government (as we conceive they will), it is thought it may favor the application we intend to make to the approaching Assembly. If they should avow their proceedings, it may be a proper foundation for an application at home .¿ Our intelligence from Wyo- ming is that their numbers have not increased, as expected ; that there is a disagreement between the New Englandmen and [Lazarus] Stewart's party, and that they are not preparing for a crop of Winter grain. From a view of what is past, we think it highly probable that nothing but the interposition of the King and Council can put an end to this troublesome and expensive business."
July 15, 1771, Richard Penn (mentioned in the note on page 560, Vol. I) was commissioned Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, and some weeks later he set sail from England for Philadelphia, where he arrived about the 14th of October. On the 16th of October his com- inission was read in public and he assumed the office to which he had been appointed. The next day he issued a proclamation announcing his appointment, etc., to the office of Lieutenant Governor, and setting
* See "Pennsylvania Colonial Records," IX : 777. t See ibid., X : 3.
# For the original, see "No. 135" of the "Penn Manuscripts," previously described.
¿ To the King and his Council.
717
forth that the Hon. Thomas Penn and John Penn, Esq., were "the true and absolute Proprietaries and Governors-in-Chief of the Province." On the following day he sent to the General Assembly an address, in which he recommended the adoption of measures for the suppression of "the riotous settlers at Wyoming." He said, among other things* :
"I am sorry to be under the necessity at my first arrival among you to apply for your assistance. * *
** It is a matter of public notoriety that those daring offenders Lazarus Stewart and his accomplices, with a number of adherents, expelled our people from their settlements at Wyoming. * * It is more than probable that, encouraged by their late success, they may extend their possessions to other parts of the Province."
From the Pennsylvania Packet, published at Philadelphia, Monday, November 4, 1771, we glean the following :
"An Oyer and Terminer was held in this city on Monday last [October 28th], when an indictment was read against WILLIAM SPEEDY, for the murder of Captain Ogden .¡ The counsellors for the King were Andrew Allen and James Tilghman, Esquires. Those for the defendant were John Rosst and Edward Biddle (of Reading), Esquires. The examination and pleas lasted until nearly six o'clock in the evening, when the jury retired and in half an hour returned with their verdict, 'Not guilty.' Their Honors, the Judges, then passed sentence upon the culprit, to wit : That he should give security in £1,000 for his good behavior for a year-himself in £500, and two free- holders in £250 each."
Speedy procured bail in due time and was set at liberty, but in- stead of repairing to Wyoming he returned to the West Branch of the Susquehanna (whence he had come to Wilkes-Barré in 1770), and there we shall meet him again before we reach the end of this chapter.
On page 1,054 of "The Town Book of Wilkes Barre" mentioned on page 27, ante) we find the following original minutes of a town-meeting held at Fort Wyoming.
"Att a meeting of ye Inhabitants of ye townships at wyoming in wilksbury Legally warned & Held December 7th, 1771-Capt. Zebn Butler was chosen Moderator for this meeting.
"Voted, That this company is to take in settlers on ye following considerations : That those that take up a settling Right in Lackawanas shall pay to this company Forty Dollars, and those that take a Right in Wilksbury or Plymouth shall pay Fifty Dollars ; & those that take a right in Kingstown|| shall pay 60 dollars-all for ye use of this Com- pany. Ye above dollars not to be paid untill it is determined that ye land belongs to ye Susquehannah Purchasers, and ye money to be on interest from ye first day of July next till paid.
"Voted, That Capt. Butler and Capt. Fuller is appointed by this Copy a Conitee to take bonds, in ye behalf of the Compy , of those settlers that shall be admitted, &c."
At a town-meeting held December 17, 1771,T it was "Voted, That Joseplı Sprague, ** John Frazier, Timothy Pearce, Jr., tt Stephen Hard- ing, Caleb Bates * * [and others named] have each a settling right in ye township of Lackaworna. That Capt. Stephen Fullertt be ad-
* See "Pennsylvania Colonial Records," X : 2. t See pages 679 and 682.
Į Of Easton, Pennsylvania. Admitted to the Bar of Luzerne County as a non-resident attorney about 1797. See Chapter XXXII.
§ Lackawanna Township, mentioned on this page and on page 677, was the original name of Pitts- town (later Pittston) Township. It seems to have borne the name "Lackawanna" from 1769 till late in the Spring of 1772.
" This is the first time, either in the records of The Susquehanna Company or of the settlers at Wyo- ming, that the name "Kingstown" isapplied to the township in question. Previously it is always referred to as "The Forty Township."
[ See page 1,055 of "The Town Book of Wilkes Barre"-previously mentioned.
** May 27, 1772, Joseph Sprague (then of Wilkes-Barré) conveyed to Jeremiah Blanchard of Coventry, Kent County, Rhode Island, for £50, his settling right in "the townshipof Lackawanna, so called." May 30, 1772, Barnabas Cary, of Lackawanna Township, conveyed "ye 8th Meadow Lot in Lackawanna Town- ship" to Jeremiah Blanchard.
tt See note on page 715.
## STEPHEN FULLER, (JR.), the son of Stephen Fuller, Sr., was born about 1716 in the north-eastern section of the town of Windham, then in Hartford, but later in Windham, County, Connecticut ; which section (including what was known as "Windham Village," as distinguished from "Windham Green," mentioned on page 249, Vol. I). was erected about the year 1717 into the parish of Canada, and in 1786 into that of Hampton. From May, 1750, to May, 1762, Stephen Fuller, Sr., was annually appointed and com- missioned by the General Assembly of Connecticut one of the Justices of the Peace in and for the county of Windham. In May, 1739, Stephen Fuller, Jr., was established and commissioned by the General As-
718
mitted [permitted?] to purchase a settling right in ye township 40, provided he puts on an Able bodyed man on said right and doe duty equal to ye rest of ye setlers, &c." The same action was taken with reference to Capt. Caleb Bates.
The following is a verbatim copy of the minutes of a town-meeting recorded on page 1,056 of "The Town Book of Wilkes Barre," previ- ously mentioned.
"Att a meeting of ye Inhabitants Now att wyoming Legally warned and Held in Wilksbury January ye 13th 1772-Capt. Fuller was chosen moderator for sd. meeting &c. Mr. John Perkins was chosen Clerk &c. Voted, That their shall be Built a good Block house at ye East end of ye fort for ye guard to keep in and to place ye cannon in. Voted, That Capt. Fuller, Capt. Bates, Timothy Smith, Danl. Gore & Mr. Allen are appointed as overseers to see sd. House is Built according to sd. vote of ye Company. Voted, That Timothy Smith* is added in as a Comtee man with Capt. Butler & Capt. Fuller to admit
sembly Ensign of the 3d Company, or Train-band. of the militia in the town of Windham ; and in May, 1749, he was appointed and commissioned Captain of the same company. Captain Fuller was one of the grantees named in the Indian deed of July, 1754 (see page 272, Vol. I), being the owner of one right in the Susquehanna Purchase. January 6, 1762, he sold half of that right to his brother-in-law, Joseph Abbott of Pomfret, Connecticut. Captain Fuller came to Wyoming in May, 1769, in the company of settlers led by Major Durkee-as described on page 487-and he seems to have been. from the first, a man of importance and influence among his fellow settlers, and his name is mentioned frequently in these pages.
Having been admitted a proprietor in the township of Wilkes-Barre Captain Fuller drew Lot No. 16 in the town-plot in June, 1770 (see page 662, ante), and at the same time, or later, he drew Lot No. 11 in the "First Division, or Meadow, Lots, "Lot No. 20 in the "Third Division, or Back, Lots," and Lot No. 40 in the "Fourth Division, or Five-Acre, Lots." In 1773 he acquired from Thomas Weeks Lot No. 17 in the town-plot and from Solonion Avery Meadow Lot No. 12-which last-mentioned lot Captain Fuller "manned by his son John Fuller, agreeably to the regulations of The Susquehanna Company." February 24, 1774, Captain Fuller conveyed to his daughter Abigail ( Fuller) Bidlack, "in consideration of natural love and affection," Lot No. 17 in the town-plot. (December 15, 1797, Mrs. Bidlack-then the wife of Col. John Franklin-conveyed this lot to Nathan Palmer.) June 15, 1782, Captain Fuller conveyed thirty-two square perches of Lot No. 16, at its southern corner, to Messrs. Matthias Hollenback and John Hageman, and two months later he conveyed the remainder of the lot to his son John Fuller. In 1787 Matthias Hollen- back acquired the title to the whole lot, by purchasing the respective interests of John Hageman and John Fuller. Captain Fuller also owned lands in Plymouth, originally drawn by him as one of the pro- prietors of that township. These lands, aggregating about 270 acres, with some improvements, he sold April 12, 1780, for £1,500 to Benjamin Harvey, the present writer's great-great-grandfather. In October, 1775, Stephen Fuller was appointed and commissioned Captain of the First, or Lower, Wilkes-Barre Com- pany in the 24th Regiment, Connecticut Militia. (See Chapter XII.) He was in Wyoming in July, 1778, and undoubtedly took part in the battle of Wyoming. (See, in Chapter XVI, his name in the list of militia under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Butler.) In 1780 and 1781 Captain Fuller was the heaviest tax- payer in the town of Westmoreland.
Capt. Stephen Fuller was married in Canada parish, in the town of Windham, October 17, 1751, to Mary (born July 6, 1732), second daughter and fifth child of Philip and Abigail ( Bickford) Abbott of Wind- ham. (For a sketch of the Abbott family see page 721.) About 1783 or '84 Captain Fuller and his wife and other members of their family removed to Sheshequin-theu in Tioga Township, Luzerne County, and now in Athens Township, Bradford County-Pennsylvania, where Mrs. Fuller died May 5, 1803. Captain Fuller died at Athens (formerly Tioga Point) in the Spring of 1813.
The Rev. Dr. Craft, in his "History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania," says (page 365): "Capt. Stephen Fuller came to Sheshequin with Captain Spalding in 1783. * * * Stephen Fuller lived on Lot No. 16, Wilkes-Barré. He became quite a speculator in lands under the Counecticut title. Besides receiv- ing a large grant as compensation for his losses from the Pennamites, he was the owner of another town- ship and part owner of several others. In one of his deeds he is described as a mason by trade." March 1, 1795, The Susquehanna Company granted to Captain Fuller a township named "Fullersville." It com- prehended parts of the present townships of Burlington, Franklin and Barclay in Bradford County, Penn- sylvania, and Towanda Creek flowed through it. (See the map facing page 468, Volume I.)
Some of the children of Capt. Stephen and Mary ( Abbott) Fuller were as follows : (i) Abigail, born in 1752; married (Ist) in 1772 to James Bidlack, Jr., and (2d) to Col. John Franklin. (See subsequent chapters for sketches of these two men.) She died at Athens, Pennsylvania, January 31, 1834. (ii) Stephen, born about 1753 ; married about 1775 to Sarah Bidlack (born 1756), sister of James Bidlack, Jr., mentioned above. Stephen Fuller, Jr., who, as early as 1776, at least, was an inhabitant of Kingston Township, was killed at the battle of Wyoming, and was survived by his wife and one daughter-Polly (born about 1776), who, prior to June, 1799, was married to Judge Ebenezer Griffin, Jr., of Hampton, Windham County, Con- necticut. Mrs. Sarah (Bidlack) Fuller was married (2d) February 7, 1782, to Asa Abbott, born May 25, 1756. (See sketch of the Abbott family.) She died January 31, 1837, having survived her husband. (iii) John, came to Wyoming with his father in 1770 or '71. In 1780 he was a private in Capt. Jolin Franklin's company in the Continental, or United States, service at the Wyoming Post. His name is in the assess- ment list of Tioga Township, Luzerne, now Bradford. County, Pennsylvania, for 1796. (iv) Thomas, killed at the battle of Wyoming. (v) A daughter, who was married at Wilkes Barre, January 2, 1782, to Gideon Baldwin. (vi) Reuben, born about 1763. He was living with his father at Wilkes-Barre in 1781, and later. His name is in the assessment list of Tioga Township-previously mentioned-for 1796.
* TIMOTHY SMITH was born at Voluntown, Windham County, Connecticut, April 28, 1740, the third child of John and Phebe ( Peirce) Smith, mentioned in the note on page 410, Vol. I. He was one of the original Connecticut settlers at Mill Creek, in Wyoming Val- Timothy Towith ley, in 1762 and '63 (see page 404, Vol, I), and was probably there at the time of the massacre in October, 1763. In Febru- ary, 1769, he was one of the "First Forty" settlers, and in that year was twice taken a prisoner to Easton and committed to the jail there by the Pennamites. He was one of those who Facsimile of his signature writ- ten in 1774. escaped from the jail in September, 1769, and for whose re- capture a reward was issued. (See pages 473, 476, 478 and 514, Vol. I.) After his hasty departure from Easton, between sun- set and sunrise, Timothy Smith lost no time in making his way to Voluntown, where he remained until March, 1770, when he returned to Wyoming with the rein- forcements led ill by Major Durkee. (See page 646.)
When the lands of Kingston, or the "Forty," Township were allotted to the proprietors thereof in the Spring of 1772, Timothy Smith drew "House Lot No. 2, Lots numbered 7 and 18, Second Division, and Lot
719
setlers on ye forfited Rites and to take Bonds in behalf of ye company, &c. Voted, That Asa Lyon is intitled to a setling right in ye township of Plymouth provided he puts on an able Bodyed man, &c. Voted, That Philip Buck be admitted in as a settler and to hold a settling right for Mr. William Stewart."
The following (see the original now in the collections of the Wyo- ming Historical and Geological Society) is a copy of one of the bonds given by certain settlers in 1772 in pursuance of the resolutions adopted by the proprietor-settlers at the town-meetings held December 11, 1771, and January 13, 1772.
"KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS that I PEREGREEN GARDNER* of Wilks- bury in Susquehannah Purchase am holden and stand firmly Bound unto ZEBULON BUT- LER, STEPHEN FULLER & TIMOTHY SMITH and to ye rest of ye Comtee of setlers on ye Susquehannah Purchase in ye full & Just sum of Thirty pounds Lawfull mony of New England to be paid unto them ye sd Zebulon Butler, Stephen Fuller, Timothy Smith & to their Heirs, Execors or adminors or assigns to ye which payment well & truly to be made & Done I bind myself my Heirs, Execuors & adminors Firmly by these presents. Signed with my Hand & sealed with my seal this 11th Day of February A. D. 1772 & in ye 12th year of ye Reign of our Sovereign Lord George ye 3rd King &c :
"THE CONDITION of ye above written obligation is such that whereas ye Company of Setlers on ye Susquehannah Lands at wyoming in ye Susquehannah purchase so called, did at their meeting legally warned & held at ye fort in wilksbury on sd Land on ye 7th Day of December 1771 vote that all ye New Setlers that Had Not Been at any former Cost to obtain setling Rights in sd Purchase untill that time, shall pay to Zebulon Butler, Stephen Fuller, & Timothy Smith, Comtee appointed by sd Company to take sd Bonds for ye use and Benefitt of sd setlers, ye several sum or sums for each settling Right as was then voted by sd Company (viz. ) for one setling Right in ye township of wilksbury ye sum of Fifty Dollars &c : & whereas ye above Bounden PEREGREEN GARDNER did on ye 31st Day of January 1772 make application to sd Company at their meeting on sd 31st Day of January 1772 for a setling Right in ye township of Wilksbury on ye conditions above sd which was then granted & voted by sd Company at ye time above sd &c.
No. 21, Third Division." Shortly after the drawing of these lots Forty Fort (see Chapter XIII) was erected by the settlers in Kingston a few rods north of Timothy Smith's "House Lot"-which lot contained a little more than two acres, and lay not far from the bank of the river, within the present limits of the borough of Forty Fort. In the Spring of 1772 Mr. Smith took up his residence in Kingston, and dwelt there until his death-which occurred in the Spring of 1776, in the thirty-seventh year of his age. He was a man of considerable influence among the Wyoming settlers, and was held in high regard by them. His name appears frequently in the following pages.
Timothy Smith was married in Connecticut in 1758, in the nineteenth year of his life. Owing to the loss and destruction of family and other records, it is now impossible to state where and to whom he was married. His wife died in 1760, or '61, leaving one child-Benjamin Smith, born in 1759, presumably at Voluntown.
Benjamin Smith, abovenamed, was reared in the home of his paternal grandparents in Connecticut. August 1, 1779, at the age of twenty years, he enlisted as a private in the 2d Regiment, Connecticut Line, in the Continental service. This regiment was raised in 1777, and was recruited at large throughout the State. In 1779 new levies were made to fill up the depleted ranks, and men were enlisted for short terms. During the time that Benjamin Smith was a member of this regiment Zebulon Butler was its Colonel, but he was absent on detached service, in command of the Wyoming Post. The regiment served on the east side of the Hudson River, in General Heath's wing of the army, during the operations of 1779, and spent the Winter of 1779-'80 at Morristown, New Jersey, where Benjamin Smith was discharged from the service January 15, 1780, his term of enlistment having expired. The 1st Regiment, Connecticut Line, originally commanded by Col. Jedidiah Huntington, and after March, 1778, by Col. Josiah Starr, was raised in and after January, 1777, mainly in the counties of New London and Windham. In 1780 the ranks of this regi- ment were filled up with new men, enlisted for short terms. Benjamin Smith, who had returned from the army in New Jersey to his home in Voluntown, enlisted July 15, 1780, in the 1st Regiment, and served with it along the Hudson during the Summer. The regiment went into Winter quarters early in the Autumn at Camp "Connecticut Village" (see page 486), and there Benjamin Smith was discharged Decem- ber 15, 1780-his term of service having expired.
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