Phillips Friday (continued from 9/04/2015)

While reading the information from Revolutionary Soldiers of Warren County, Pennsylvania, I spent some time looking up names of the officers who Esquire Phillips mentions in the report of his service. 

If you are a Revolutionary War buff or even just a good history student, you know who Col. Wm. Ledyard was.  If you are like me, you have forgotten if you ever knew.  Col. Wm. Ledyard was in command of Fort Trumbull and Fort Griswold in Connecticut when Fort Griswold was attacked and fell to the British under the command of Benedict Arnold. (Now, there is a name we all know). The Americans were far outnumbered according to American accounts of the battle. Ledyard and his poorly armed militia of 157 held off the British force of 800 for nearly an hour. According to one of the articles I read Ledyard ordered his men to cease firing and to lay down their arms after the British stormed Fort Griswold.  A Tory, Major Bromfield or Brownfield demanded to know who commanded the fort.  Ledyard replied "I did, sir, but you do now," and offered his sword.  The British officer took the sword and stabbed Ledyard to death. The date was September 6, 1781, in Groton. A massacre of the Americans followed, in which nearly 100 were killed or wounded   (Information found in Wikipedia) There is far more to this story, but I will let you do your own research if interested.

Esquire Phillips served under Col. Wm. Ledyard as his Waiter. Esquire writes, ".....served under Col. Ledyard at Fort Griswold 6 mos [sic].  I believe that Col. Ledyard commanded in the Fort across the river at New London and I was backwards and forward between the Forts, with Col. Ledyard frequently."

My guess gives me the estimate of spring of 1779 when Esquire was next discharged to go home. Later in 1779, he married Anna Gates. He says he was called back after the capture of Fort Griswold. He writes, "I helped at that time to take care of the sick and wounded also to bury the dead."

This Phillips line has certainly intrigued me. I have traveled in some of the areas where my husband's 4x Great Grandfather Esquire served in the Revolutionary War. If only I had known some of this information when my husband and I visited Groton, Connecticut a few years ago to see our son, the 5x great grandson of Esquire Phillips.  They both served their country in that location... just 200+ years apart.

Esquire Phillips - Friday's Feature

Who is Esquire Phillips, you ask?
From which side of the ancestral  tree is he?
Where did he live?
Did he have children?
Is he a direct line ancestor or a collateral?

Esquire Phillips is my husband's 4x great grandfather.
Esquire/ Elijah/ Celestia/ Minerva Jane/ Ina/ Doris/ Tom

He is Grandma Ina Augustus' great grandfather.
Do you suppose Ina's grandmother, Celestia, ever talked about her own grandfather, Esquire? Did she know him? Remember, Celestia, from Friday's Feature on August 14, 2015? Here is the review. Celestia...Friday's Feature 

Do you see how suddenly these 4x great or more grandparents take on a more personal connection. Let's assume that GGGrandma Celestia knew her grandfather. After all, they lived in the same area of Pennsylvania. She was approximately 19 when he died in 1848. Did he tell her about his Revolutionary War service? I never had many conversations with either of my grandfathers so I doubt Celestia did with hers either in the 1800's. Of course, I could be wrong. 

From a book called Revolutionary Soldiers of Warren County, Pennsylvania by Lucy M. Davis Cowen, I learned a little more about his service. Yes, it is a post to look forward to reading next Friday.

Aunt Fanny's Research

Fanny Marsh Grummons would be surprised that this descendent-in-law (did I just invent a word?) would be fascinated with her research. Fanny was the younger sister of my husband's great grandmother, Minerva Jane Marsh Reeder. I am sharing her research here in hopes that some distant cousin might connect.

Aunt Fanny (1873-1956) was doing her research in and probably before 1941. Several of her papers have that date on them. Even though I do not have any source citations of her research, I believe it to be accurate. Why? Aunt Fanny didn't have the advantage/disadvantage of the internet. She wasn't exposed to all the inaccuracies floating around in cyberspace.  For now, I will use her information for the Reeder/Marsh/Phillips/Ayers family tree.

Sometime in the future, when I have the opportunity to put a little more meat on the bones of these birth and death dates, I will look for more verification.  The first place I will start will be in a clue she left. Preston land records B. VII, page 26 details a land transaction of Ayer Phillips (1726) to his brother, Jonathan, of one-half the land which came from their grandfather Ayer.  Their mother's name was Esther Ayer, daughter of John Ayer,  of Stonington, Connecticut.  This is going to be a fun research project.