My 64 ~ Researching My 4th Great Grandparents : Allison Libby and Sarah Dam

My 4th great grandfather, Allison Libby, was born in Gorham, Maine, on April 6, 1755. He was the 3rd great grandson of John Libby, "The Immigrant," who arrived on the eastern shores from England in the 1630's. 

John Libby (1602-1682) Memorial Stone, Scarborough, Maine

He was the 2nd son of Allison Libby and Sarah Skillings, one of 11 children born to them. At the age of 21, Allison enlisted at Scarborough, for a term of 3 years, in the Revolutionary War, with the rank of Private. He served in Captain Samuel Thoms' Company, in the 15th Massachusetts Regiment, commanded by Col. Benjamin Tupper.  He was discharged on December 13, 1779.

A little over a year later, on February 15, 1781, in Scarborough, Allison took Sarah Dam as his bride. Sarah was born in Gorham on December 12, 1760, the daughter of John Dam and Abigail Libby. As described in The Libby Family in America,":

"After the war, he became one of the first settlers of the northern part of Gorham. The removal took place in February. There was no road from Scarborough to Gorham Corner, nor to Saccarappa. His only route was by Stroudwater Village. From Stroudwater he went back to Saccarappa, thence by a logging road into Windham, crossed the river on the ice at Horse-beef falls, and then by another logging road, with all his possessions loaded upon an ox-sled, reached his lonely home." 

Together, Allison and Sarah Libby had 13 children, the first three in Scarborough, and the rest in Gorham. Following Allison's death, in 1825, Sarah married for the second time widower Daniel Small, another veteran of the Revolutionary War. He is buried in what is now an apple orchard on the Shaving Hill Road, in Limington, Maine.

Allison and Sarah Libby are buried in the North Street Cemetery, in Gorham, Maine.

Allison Libby's Grave, North Street Cemetery, Gorham, Maine

Sarah Libby's Grave, North Street Cemetery, Gorham, Maine

Most Maine Libby descendants pride themselves on knowing their "Libby number." This number is based on a numbering system devised by the author of "The Libby Family in America," Charles T. Libby. His explanation reads thus:

Following this system, my own number is 10-5-4-2-4-2-5-5-1-1.

John the Immigrant

David - 10th child of John

John - 5th child of David

Allison I - 4th child of John

Allison II - 2nd child of Allison (1733-1813)

Allison III - 4th child of Allison (1755-1816)

Harriet - 2nd child of Allison (1787-1869)

Clarence - 5th child of Harriet

Howard - 5th child of Clarence

Richard - 1st child of Howard

Me - 1st child of Richard

Allison Libby is a Patriot in the DAR's Genealogical Research System (GRS), Ancestor #A070199. Now that I am a Daughter, I plan to add him as one of my supplementals.

Sources:

Ancestry.com, Maine, Birth Records, 1621-1922 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Ancestry.com, Maine State Archives; Cultural Building, 84 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0084; Pre 1892 Delayed Returns; Roll #: 66

Ancestry.com, Maine Revolutionary War Bounty Applications, 1835-36 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000), Ancestry.com.

Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012), Ancestry.com

Libby, Charles Thornton. The Libby Family in America, 1602-1881 (Portland, B. Thurston and Co., 1881), p. 167.

"Maine, Veterans Cemetery Records, 1676-1918", index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KXQ8-QQZ : accessed 14 Aug 2014), Allison Libby, 1806.

“Revolutionary War Service Records,” database and images, Fold3 (www.fold3.com/image/17719508/ : accessed 13 April 2016); service of Allison Libby (Capt. Samuel Thoms’ Co., in the 15th Battalion of Massachusetts Bay Forces commanded by Col. Benjamin Tupper, Revolutionary War); citing Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, compiled 1894 - ca. 1912, documenting the period 1775 - 1784, Record Group 93, National Archives, Washington, D.C.