My 64 ~ Researching My 4th Great Grandparents : William Prior and Elizabeth Ellis

My fourth great grandfather, William Prior, was born in Enfield, Connecticut, on September 24, 1761. His father, Ebenezer, first married Hannah Simons in 1737, and had 10 children with her. Hannah likely died after their last child was born in 1754 (perhaps in childbirth), and five years later he married Catherine Simons, possibly a sister of his first wife. William was the second child of Ebenezer and Catherine, and their oldest son.

Until May 1749, the town of Enfield was part of Hampshire County, Massachusetts.

At the age of 16, William enlisted on November 8, 1777 in the Revolutionary War. A private, he served in Capt. Joseph Walker's Company, Col. Samuel B. Webb's Regiment of the 9th Connecticut Line. At the time of his enlistment, Colonel Webb was a prisoner of war, and the regiment was commanded by a Major Hunter. William affirmed in his affidavit dated April 30, 1818 that he was in the battle at Rhode Island.

Following his discharge on November 8, 1780, he married Elizabeth "Betsey" Ellis, the daughter of Samuel Ellis and Zilpah Hammond. They were married in Chester, in Hampden County, Massachusetts on December 7, 1782. Betsey was born around 1757 in Becket, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

By the 1790 U.S. Census, the Priors were living in Cambridge, Vermont, in present-day Lamoille County. Except for a brief period around the time of the 1810 U.S. Census, when they lived in Franklin, Vermont, they lived in Cambridge.

They had six children:

Daniel, b. 1785 in Chester, Mass.

Zilpah, b. 1787 in Chester, Mass.

Catey/Catherine, b. 1789 in Cambridge, Vt.

William, Jr., b. 1792 probably in Cambridge, Vt.

Alvah, b. 1797, probably in Cambridge, Vt.

and

Amanda, b. 1805 in Cambridge, Vt.^*

* Amanda Prior would marry Robert Griswold in 1822, the son of another 4th great grandfather of mine, Benjamin Griswold.

His "Certification of Pensioner's Estate and Income" in 1820, lists the following personal property:

1 potash kettle $10.00

1 5-pail kettle damaged 1.00

1 pail-full pot 2.00

1 dish kettle 1.25

1 spider 1.25

1 tea kettle 1.00

1 fire shovel 1.00

1 fire tongs 1.50

1 earthen platter .70

10 earthen plates .50

3 earthen bowls .25

as well as "a lease of forty-five acres of land with a log house"

He further stated that "I am by occupation a farmer but am some what[sic] infirm in consequence of a tumor on my thigh, that my wife Elizabeth is aged sixty years but almost a cripple."

Elizabeth Prior's Widow's Pension application states that William died on January 4, 1837, while staying with their son, in Westport, Essex County, New York. They had apparently moved to Westport about two years prior to William's death. Affidavits in the pension file from sons Daniel and Alvah, and his brother Heman, state that Elizabeth was "removed" to Vermont following his death, but there is no mention of where William was buried.

The only evidence of his body being returned to Vermont for burial is an article in the St. Albans (Vt.) Daily Messenger, entitled "Revolutionary Soldiers: A list of the names of the men who fought for independence and who are buried in Vermont," dated August 19, 1905. In the paragraph for Franklin County, his name does appear.

Elizabeth lived another 11 years, but her final resting place is also unknown.

P.S. I have not been able to find him in the DAR database of Patriots (even using alternative spellings of Pryor, Prier, and Pryer) so if I manage to submit him as one of my supplementals, I would be the only Daughter.

Sources:

1790 US Census; Census Place: Cambridge, Chittenden, Vermont; Series: M637; Roll: 12; Page: 150; Image: 129; Family History Library Film: 0568152.

1800 US Census; Census Place: Cambridge, Franklin, Vermont; Series: M32; Roll: 51; Page: 420; Image: 237; Family History Library Film: 218688.

1810 US Census; Census Place: Fairfield, Franklin, Vermont; Roll: 64; Page: 648; Image: 00577; Family History Library Film: 0218668.

1820 US Census; Census Place: Cambridge, Franklin, Vermont; Page: 29; NARA Roll: M33_127; Image: 183.

1830 US Census; Census Place: Cambridge, Franklin, Vermont; Series: M19; Roll: 183; Page: 58; Family History Library Film: 0027449.

1840 U.S. Census; Census Place: Cambridge, Lamoille, Vermont; Roll: 543; Page: 32; Image: 73; Family History Library Film: 0027440.

Allen, Francis Olcutt, History of Enfield, Connecticut, 2 vols. (Lancaster, Pa.: Wickersham Printing Co., 1900).

Ancestry.com. Revolutionary War Pensioner Census, 1841 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

Ancestry.com. U.S. Pensioners, 1818-1872 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.

Ancestry.com. U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Ancestry.com. Vermont, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1860 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.

Ancestry.com. Vermont Pensioners, 1835 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1998.

Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. Massachusetts, Marriages, 1633-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

Elizabeth Prior, widow’s pension application no. W18783, for service of William Prior (Pvt., Capt. Joseph Walker's Company, Col. Samuel B. Webb's Regiment of the 9th Connecticut Line, 1777-1780), Record Group 15, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2010).

“Revolutionary War Service Records,” database and images, Fold3 (www.fold3.com/image/16834359/ : accessed 13 April 2016); service of William Prior (Capt. Joseph Walker’s Co., in the 9th Connecticut Regiment commanded by Col. Samuel B. Webb, 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.

St. Albans Daily Messenger.  Vermont, St. Albans.  online images.  www.genealogybank.com.

Western Massachusetts Families in 1790. (Original Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2012. (From various authors, Helen S. Ullmann, FASG, ed.).

My 64 ~ Researching My 4th Great Grandparents : Taking Sides During the American Revolution

     When you grow up in New England, the American Revolution is all around you. Historic sites appear at left and right, field trips from school include museums and exhibits glorifying the struggles and battles of the war, and school assignments invariably include literature and histories depicting famous soldiers and generals.

     It never entered my consciousness, before I began my genealogical research, that my ancestors included individuals and families who sided with England and its King. My 4th great grandfathers, however, include both Patriots and Loyalists, It was, in fact, a deep and complex dilemma for many, often resulting in the uprooting of families, and their resettlement in distant lands. My 4th great grandfather Thomas Bustin migrated from North Carolina, fought with Burgoyne in New York, and was among those evacuated onto one of many ships bound for Saint John, in Canada. My 4th great grandfather Hugh Cowperthwaite, a Quaker, grew up in New Jersey, and also found himself compelled to move to Canada, in support of the Crown.

     Three of my 4th great grandfathers fought for independence in the Revolutionary War, Allison Libby II (15th Massachusetts Regiment), Benjamin Griswold (Massachusetts Continental Line), and William Prior (Connecticut Continental Line). Two more of my 4th great grandfathers supported the Patriot cause, however, without engaging in actual combat.

     Deacon Thomas Cross, living in Gorham, Maine, was a member of Gorham's Committee to Hire Soldiers.

     Moses Seavey, of Rye, New Hampshire, was a signatory of that colony's Association Test. His father-in-law, my 4th great grandmother Huldah Locke's father, Elijah Locke, signed as well. The Association Test, also known as the Patriot Test, was written by the New Hampshire Committee of Safety. In Rye, it began:

WE, the Subscribers, do hereby solemnly engage, and promise, that we will to the utmost of our Power, at Risque of our Lives and Fortunes, with ARMS, oppose the Hostile Proceedings of the British Fleets, and Armies, against the United American COLONIES.

     The Test referred to a resolution passed by the Continental Congress on March 14, 1776, which called for two actions: the signatures of every adult male who was willing to take arms against the British, and the names of all who refused to sign. Their signature indicated their obligation to oppose the "hostile proceedings" of the British fleets and armies. The returns of such documents (there were others, like Maryland's List of Associators and New York's Signers of the Association) gave the signers of the Declaration of Independence assurance that their acts would be sanctioned and sustained by the citizens of the country. Town officers in New Hampshire were requested to obtain these signatures, who in turn sometimes selected a local "Committee of Safety," to carry out this order. Only white males above 21 years of age ("lunatics, idiots, and negroes excepted") were asked to sign this document. Not everyone qualified to sign agreed to do so, and not all of those who refused to sign were considered "Tories."

     There are numerous signers of Rye's Association Test with the surnames Seavey, Locke, Foss, and Philbrick, which I am sure figure in my family tree somewhere, so this document may lead me forward in my continuing genealogical research.

     Four of my 4th great grandfathers appear in the Daughters of the American Revolution's Genealogical Research System:

4th Great Grandfather     Ancestor Number

Moses Seavey                  A101196

Allison Libby II                  A070199

Thomas Cross                  A028166

Benjamin Griswold           A048653

A fifth 4th great grandfather, William Prior, is not in the DAR's GRS, but his complete Revolutionary War service record and pension file are available at Fold3.com

Sources:

Allen, Francis Olcott, History of Enfield Connecticut, Vol. 2 of 3. (Lancaster, Penn.: Lankersham Printing Co., 1900)

Daughters of the American Revolution. "GRC National Index." Database. DAR Library. (http://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search_adb/default.cfm)

Genealogy & History of New Hampshire (http://www.nh.searchroots.com/glossary.html)

New Hampshire Revolutionary War Association Test, Town of Rye. (http://www.newhorizonsgenealogicalservices.com/new-hampshire-genealogy/association-test/rye.htm)

Parsons, Langdon B. History of the Town of Rye, New Hampshire, from its discovery and settlement to December 31, 1903. (Concord, New Hampshire: Rumford Printing Co., 1905)

Revolutionary Soldiers. A List of the Names of the Men Who Fought for Independence, and Who Are Buried in Vermont. St Albans Daily Messenger (Saint Albans, Vermont), Saturday, August 19, 1905, p.2, (via Genealogybank.com)