Dave_DC on Family Tree Circles

I am trying to find the father of Amos REED, b. 15 Feb 1762 in Newton, MA [Rev War pension file]. Amos? mother was Phebe CAMPBELL (no good primary source for this surname, however). She m. John SAVAGE as her 2nd husband, on 2 Feb 1776 in Newton, MA. [MA Vitals to 1850]. Amos REED m. Hannah SLADE, dau. of James SLADE and Experience PARKER, 11 Sep 1782, in Blandford, Hampshire, MA. They had 13 children, most born in Blandford, but the last one or two apparently born during migration to Town of Russia, Herkimer Co., NY, where they lived for some 15 years before relocating to Jefferson Co., NY. Hannah died in Town of Clayton, Jefferson, NY, 23 Jan 1824. Amos m. second Thankful (SLADE) CASE, a sister of Hannah. He died 11 May 1847 in Clayton Center, Jefferson, NY. Gravestones for Amos and Hannah Reed are in Three Mile Creek cemetery, Town of Clayton, Jefferson, NY. Amos Reed?s siblings, if any, are unknown. Their children were (surname REED):

Archibald (Archa)
John Savage
Polley Mary
Amos Jr
Phebe
William
Rolon
Simeon Parker
Hannah
Betsy
Rolon (2nd) R.
James Slade
Thankful Purline

Here is additional information on Amos Reed, primarily from military and church records:

Revolutionary War Service and Pension Application

Amos Reed lived at Blandford, Massachusetts during the Revolution. He enlisted in the War as a private, and his name appears on Muster and Pay Roll of Capt. John Carpenter's Company of Guards, engaged 6 Oct 1779. Discharged 6 Jan 1780. Time of service three months. Company raised for three months from time of joining, stationed in East Springfield, Massachusetts.

Amos Reed (spelled Read) appears with rank of private on Muster and Pay Roll of Capt. Levi Ely's Company, Col. John Brown's Regt. Entered service 9 Aug 1780. Discharged 22 Oct 1780. Time of service two months, 21 days, incl. 7 days (140 miles) travel home. Regt. raised for three months.

Amos Reed appears in a return of 3 and 6 months men raised in Hampshire County, from (late) Col. Moseley's Regt. by order of Brig.-General Danerson (Danielson), date Hampshire County, Oct. 26, 1780. Town of Blandsford. Term, 3 months. Mustered by Lieut. Col. Timothy Robinson.

Amos Reed received a pension of $20 per annum during his life-time, "for services in the Revolutionary Army." His application was dated 11 Sep 1832. The grant was "given at the War Office of the United States this 12th day of November 1832," by John Robb, Acting Sec'y. of War, the pensioner then being aged 70 years. (D.A.R. Nat. No. 66,266).

From his declaration made in application for a pension:

"State of New York,
Jefferson County

On this eleventh day of September, 1832, personally appeared in open Court, before the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, in and for said County, now sitting, Amos Reed, a resident of Rutland in said County, aged 70 years, who being first duly sworn according to law, doth, on his oath, make the following declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress, passed June 7, 1832,

That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers, and served as herein stated:

In the year 1778, then living in Blandford [MA], was drafted for nine months or to pay thirty Dollars which sum he paid -- and on the first of October of the same year 1778 volunteered for three months in the company commanded by Capt. Carpenter of Brimfield -- Lieutenant Martin Smith of Westfield -- both of Massachusetts -- no colonel it being what was called a Captain's guard -- and was stationed at the Barracks on Gallows Hill, East Springfield, Massachusetts -- there was no other force there at that time -- was dismissed the first of January at Springfield -- no written discharge -- having served 3 months a private soldier in P Company

About the month of July 1779 at Blandford Mass. volunteered in the Company commanded by Capt. Ely -- Lieuts. Smith, Fowler and Stiles. Major Root, Colonel Brown's Regiment, Massachusetts State Troops -- for three months. Marched to Albany -- from there to the Mohawk River and was employed most of the time in different Forts on that River in small squads and guarding the Inhabitants against the Indians while they secured their crops -- On the 19th October our regt 200 in number was surprised by about 700 Torys & Indians under command of Sir John Johnston, B[utler] & B[rown] at Stone Roby --- Colonel Brown was killed and we [?retreated?] under Maj. Root into Stone Roby Fort -- 26 of the 40 composing the Company I was in were killed -- I was discharged the 20th day of October at the Fort but remained one day longer to assist in burying the dead .. In the year 1780 was with 6 or 8 others who were to furnish a continental soldier, which we did and paid $200 --

Was born in Newton, Massachusetts, Feby 15, 1762. Lived in Blandford, Mass. at the time he performed military service -- since the Revolution lived in Norway,[Herkimer Co.] NY 15 years -- Brownville, [Jefferson Co.] NY 10 years -- and now in Rutland. Has a record of his age in a Bible given him at 10 years old --- In the two periods above mentioned he faithfully served his country in the capacity of a private volunteer more than six months -- never received a written discharge -- has no documentary evidence --- knows of no witness.

He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a Pension or Annuity except the present; and declares that his name is not on the Pension Roll of the Agency of any State.

Sworn to, and subscribed, the day and year aforesaid.

P. Burchard, Clerk
Amos Reed

===================

Amos Reed and his family appear to have removed to Herkimer Co., NY shortly after 1800. They are enumerated in the 1810 U.S. census in the Town of Russia (which was split off from the Town of Norway as Union on 7 Apr 1806 and renamed Russia on 6 Apr 1808.) G. A. Hardin's history of Herkimer County states that Amos Reed was the first supervisor of the Town of Russia, serving from 1807-1810, and again in 1812. One might assume he would have been resident in the area for at least a year or two prior to being chosen for such a position. The records of the Russia Union Church list the marriage of his daughter Polley to Truman BARKER, although the date of the marriage is not given. [A reasonable estimate for the date would be 1805, when Polley would have been about 19 years old.]

In abstracts of wills, administrations and guardianships in New York State, 1787 - 1835, we find on page 65 of Letters Administration Book D the following entry: "Adm of the estate of John Savage, late of Town of Norway, Co. Herkimer, died intestate. Granted to Phebe Savage & Amos Reed ... as admins. Seal Sixth March 1807." From this we see that Amos' mother and step-father migrated with him from Newton and Blandford in MA to central New York state.

Amos and Hannah (Slade) Reed were among the people who constituted the beginning of the Elm Flats Baptist Church on 10 Mar 1820. Elm Flats was just north of Depauville in what is now the Town of Clayton, Jefferson County, NY. On 30 Oct 1820 the church met at the school house and chose Amos Reed to be Moderator and Clerk. On 24 Jan 1823 Amos Reed was chosen as one of two deacons. On 23 Aug 1825, the church "Voted to relinquish Brother Amos Reed as clerk." On 27 Dec 1827 "The church thought it proper to choose a deacon in place of Brother Reed who had moved away." However, on 21 Sep 1844 and again on 12 Dec 1844 "Father Reed at Covenant meeting."

Amos Reed apparently also lived in the Towns of Rutland and Brownville in Jefferson County, NY. And he lived for a time in the household of his son Amos Reed Jr in the Town of Mexico, Oswego County, where he was enumerated as a Revolutionary War veteran in the 1840 U.S. census. Town of Orleans, Jefferson Co, NY records list an Amos Reed as the first supervisor of that town. This was probably the same Amos Reed. [Hough's history of Jefferson County, NY also lists an Amos Reed as the first supervisor of Town of Orleans, from 1822 to 1823.]

In his pension application, Amos Reed states that he has a record of his date of birth in "a Bible given him at 10 years old." Assuming such Bible actually existed, its present condition and whereabouts are unknown. Why would a boy be given a Bible with a record of his age in it at age 10? Perhaps this event marks the death of Amos' father, in which case it would have occurred around 1772.

The question is "who was Amos' father?" I have seen some undocumented and most likely just plain wrong information on the web, but never any documented proof of who his father was. Can you help?

Dave Simonds

I'm trying to find the parents of Martha LEWIS, b. not earlier than abt 1765, possibly in Mohawk, Herkimer Co., NY. She m. abt 1799, probably in or near Mohawk, NY, Lt. Bodwell LADD, a Revolutionary War veteran who served from Methuen, MA. Martha was his 2nd wife; the first was Katey LOVEWELL of Methuen, MA. Martha died 22 Oct 1812 (unverified), place unknown, prob. Herkimer Co., NY. Place of burial unknown. I have not found Martha yet in the records of central New York state, but from what I have seen on this surname in that area, her family could be of Dutch or German origin, not necessarily English.

Bodwell LADD appears in the 1825 NYS census for Town of Alexandria, Jefferson Co., NY. Appearing on the same page of this census are Caleb, Matthew and Michael LEWIS, their relation to Martha LEWIS, if any, unknown. Children of Lt. Bodwell LADD and wife Martha, presumably all born in Herkimer or Madison Co., NY: Mary ?Polly? (1799), Bodwell Jr (1801), Achsah (1805), and Harriet (1809). It's not known if Martha had a previous husband, which raises the question whether LEWIS is actually her maiden surname. Bodwell LADD d. 15 Oct 1829 in Theresa, Jefferson Co., NY and is buried there.

Martha LEWIS is currently the last link in my matrilineal (mother's mother's ... mother) line. So finding her ancestry is important for interpreting my mtDNA tests (currently awaiting FGS test results from FamilyTreeDNA). So far the line looks like this:

Ethel BRETSCH m. Roderick SIMONDS
Geneva GEORGE m. Earl BRETSCH
Lillian SYKES m. Frederick GEORGE
Mary TIMMERMAN m. Lewis SYKES
Elizabeth TERPENING m. Ezra TIMMERMAN
Mary LADD m. Valentine TERPENING
Martha LEWIS m. Bodwell LADD (as his second wife)

That gets me back to 1765 or so -- not that far. I had kind of put Martha on the back burner years ago. But the increasing interest in genetic genealogy, and the chance that it might help me find her origins, has moved her front and center again. Can anyone help me find her parents?

Dave Simonds

For reasons a little different than the usual, a couple research partners and I have been trying for about a year now to find the origins of Revolutionary War soldier Joseph SIMONS. Based on testimony given during his application for a pension, we believe he was born Jun 1761 - Mar 1762. And since he enlisted from Colebrook, Litchfield Co., CT, he was probably born there or nearby. He died 14 Mar 1840 in NY, probably Broome, Delaware or Chenango Co., and is probably buried in what was the Bixby cemetery (now destroyed but fortunately his epitaph recorded beforehand). From his pension file, it's clear he had a first wife who was not mentioned by name, but unknown if he had any children with her. This marriage would have taken place sometime 1780-1814. He married as his second wife Susan _?_ (MOULTON) about 1815. Their children, all born in NY, were Lott C. (ca 1816), James F. (1818) and Elijah "Eli" L. (ca 1819), and probably Benjamin (May 1823) and Joseph (1825). They tended to settle in the Delaware Co. area of New York and the Sayre/Waverly area of PA. Of course, some of the later generations moved westward. But no one seems to know who Joseph's parents were.

Now, Joseph SIMONS is not my ancestor. But early in 2010 I was contacted by a person with the surname SIMONDS, who is a descendant of Joseph SIMONS. I also spell my surname SIMONDS. And it turns out that purely by accident we both did Y-DNA testing with Ancestry.com, and amazingly, we are a 100% perfect match on 46 markers. Ancestry says our most recent common ancestor is one generation away, i.e., we are brothers. But we're not; we are (I think) just one of those 1/100 or 1/1000 exceptional cases of two men whose Y-DNA makes them appear more closely related than they actually are. I do believe we are related, however, and that may be key in helping my research partners (one of whom is the guy who took the Y-DNA test at Ancestry) break through this brick wall of Joseph SIMONS' origins.

I have subsequently retested with ftDNA (Y-DNA67). The results compared fine with Ancestry's results, on all markers that could be compared. My partners have not retested yet, but at least one of them may in the near future.

I think I have a pretty good paper trail of my own SIMONDS/SIMONS ancestry, as follows:

William SIMONS, b c1659 ?Salem MA?, d 1738 Enfield CT, m Sarah HADLOCK
John SIMONS, b 24 Jan 1694/5 Enfield CT, m Sarah GEER
Paul SIMONS, b 11 Sep 1729 Enfield CT, m Mary ISHAM
Paul Geer SIMONS, b 18 Feb 1762 Willington CT, m Pamela OLCOTT
Rodney SIMONS, b 6 Dec 1794 East Hartford CT, m (1) ?Mary? SMITH
William F SIMONS, b 28 Sep 1822 Canada, m Helen M KENYON
George SIMONDS, b 26 Jun 1856 Theresa,Jefferson,NY, m Florence SPRAGUE
Floyd SIMONDS, b 15 Aug 1888 Theresa,Jefferson,NY, m Lucina HAGAN
Roderick K. SIMONDS,(living) m Ethel BRETSCH,(living)
David R. SIMONDS, b 1950

William SIMONS of Enfield, CT had 5 sons. One of them, James, married as his first wife Dorcas FOSTER, and they had at least 9 children. Among those children are a James, an Eli, and two more named Hezekiah and William. In Colebrook records, we find references to men named Eli SIMONS, Hezekiah SIMONS and William SIMONS. They were in the right place at the right time pretty much to have been Joseph's father, but no records have been found linking these men to him, or to old William SIMONS of Enfield, CT for that matter.

Of course, this is not the only possibility. There are more Joseph SIMONS around than you might imagine, some of them contemporary with "our" Joseph, and even living in the same areas. Apart from the possibility that we might be barking up the wrong tree, one of my research partners thinks something "irregular" may have gone on between our two lines, causing our nearest common ancestor to be much closer than William of Enfield, CT. Or that there may have been an undocumented adoption, with the same effect.

I am truly baffled, but for the present time, am sticking to my theory that William SIMONS of Enfield, CT is our common ancestor, and all we have to do is connect Joseph the Revolutionary War soldier to William through probably two generations ... although it's proving much easier said than done.

I'll be putting my case before the experts of the NEHGS in a couple of weeks, when I attend their annual research tour in Salt Lake City. I hope they can help. But I eagerly welcome comments or suggestions from anyone who reads this, and of course if you happen to know the origins of Joseph Simons, Revolutionary soldier from Colebrook, CT, well then you just might become my favorite person ever!

Dave Simonds