In a small rural central Pennsylvania community stands an official Pennsylvania Historical Marker honoring the valor of seven brave patriots of that community who served in the Revolutionary War. The familiar gold and blue marker is just one of more than 2,000 historical markers located across the Commonwealth dating back from William Penn’s country home.
The marker was erected by the local pre-existing County Bicentennial Committee. Certainly, these seven names appear many times in the genealogical trees of countless Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) members and other thousands of their descendants. No doubt they were vetted by The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission at the time.
One of these men so honored was an American patriarch of my late husband’s family. The origin of this larger-than-life figure is well documented. His family was one of thousands of Prussian (German) families forced out of Europe as a result of a brewing conflict that spanned five continents. Prussia was experiencing French devastation which would involve many countries and would later be known as the Seven Year’s War. This war, initially fought over colonies in the New World, came to be known in America as the “French and Indian War.”
Along with his grandfather, this ancestor’s parents brought him (their seven-month-old infant), to the colonies. Their journey across the ocean began by leaving their home in the Rhine Valley in the territory of Wurttemberg. A common passage, which the family likely took, was from Wurttemberg down the Rhine River and then to Rotterdam Holland.
(Rotterdam was a preferred choice as merchants from that city had connections with other merchants in Philadelphia.)
From Rotterdam, the little family traveled to Cowes England, and bravely embarked from there on the long voyage to America. The manifest of the ship, “Two Brothers,” shows that they finally arrived in Philadelphia on September 15, 1752. Not venturing far from Philadelphia, nearby Hunterdon County New Jersey became this family’s home. The
emigrants would have 15 more children. Ultimately, the infant-turned likely Revolutionary War soldier, would relocate his own family to central PA where an abundance of excellent farmland was available.
Sometimes, finding leads about your Revolutionary War Patriot practically falls right into your lap, like finding an historical marker. But not so fast.
This man’s eligibility, previously validated as a Patriot by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), has been coded as “Future Applicants Must Provide Correct Service.” To date over 100 DAR members are listed as his descendants. The name of his brigade, the name of a friend serving side by side with him, his years of service, the locations of battles in which he fought were all part of the original submission for membership in NSDAR.
In 1993, however, NSDAR noticed a problem with his service and future applicants need to prove which service he provided. Subsequent evaluation of the proof of service may determine that the proof is not acceptable under today’s standards (examples: tombstone, obituary, undocumented genealogy or county history, family tradition); the service belongs
to another person of the same name; the residence of this person during the Revolution is inconsistent with the service, or multiple people have claimed the same service. The validation of his military service up until that time came from a highly esteemed and detailed book consisting of the history of the earliest settlers and leading citizens in his county. Apparently, no primary sources were submitted. Ultimately, this does not satisfy NSDAR’s present-day requirements. And rightfully so.
Countless efforts by his descendants to obtain documentation of his and his son’s service during the Revolutionary War have yielded nothing. The New Jersey State Archives was once said to have a record of him, a son, and his four brothers having served. The brigade name was part of the document submitted to DAR from local history. One brother, it was noted,
was subsequently killed. The subject was said to bear a recognizable facial scar as a result of one battle. Many years later, it was recalled by a relative during a centennial celebration in his county, that his military discharge papers were among displayed items. It has disappeared into obscurity, possibly hoarded by a proud descendent.
Over the years, queries to the State of New Jersey Archives, resulted in “no such record of his Revolutionary War service.” Likewise, they have no evidence that said brigade existed, nor of that of his friend who served beside him, nor of his commanding officer! Numerous leads have come up empty. So many of us, when inquiring about vital records previously
housed in vulnerable dusty buildings, have received the same reply: “Those records were lost in a fire.” In this case, there just aren’t any known records!
Records do show, however, that he moved the family from New Jersey to Pennsylvania and took up farming after the war. Much loved family lore remains, however. One favorite story recounted by his grandson related the said grandfather’s call to military service. Two men arrived at the family cabin to notify him of his required service with others from New Jersey. While gathering his belongings in preparation to leave with them to serve, his “wife cast bullets for his muzzle loading gun.” Upon his departure, she went into the field to finish the plowing he had begun with a team of oxen. Documents show that after the war he relocated his family to central Pennsylvania.
Later, he once again relocated his family from one county in Pennsylvania to another nearby. Temporarily taking with him his wife, a son, and a daughter who could assist him with his efforts to raise a new home, he utilized land “he was granted from his participation in the Revolutionary War.” (Again, no official record . . . yet.)
Shortly, he prepared to return to their previous residence to gather up his other children and take them to their new home. Before departing however, he got snowed in by a significant late fall snowstorm, leaving three youngsters stranded in their cabin with a crude bear skin as a door. Friendly “Indians” of that locale, of which there were many, provided food for the children until their father could rescue them. Today, one can find creeks and many other locations in that area bearing “Indian” names.
I uncovered documents where years after his death, his widow applied for a pension based on his military service. Thrice she was turned down. In one letter of application, she had a family friend attest that her husband did in fact serve. A second request was accompanied by testament by the local pastor. Even a lawyer’s subsequent verification did not alter the decision of those awarding pensions. Apparently, official documents did not substantiate her claim. One source suggests that he and his son were members of the militia in New Jersey and rotated from battlefield to farm and back to battlefield every six months. If true, this would not disqualify them as Patriots today. I have yet found no letters approving her application, however.
Descendants of this rejected Patriot have turned over every stone to find documents that would substantiate his service. Two books have been published by his progeny, each detail of which was thoroughly vetted. So far, nothing. One wonders if some relatives retained precious records of his service and they are stored in some long-forgotten trunk in a musty barn.
My daughter, considering applying for a supplemental Patriot’s recognition, had selected this ancestor, but hit a brick wall, like so many others before her. I recently called upon Barb Greeley, former Regent of the Gettysburg Chapter, NSDAR, current Registrar for the Chapter, as well as current Registrar for the Pennsylvania State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, (PSSDAR). Of those experts I’ve met who know the ins and outs of genealogical research, she’s the best! She provided me with several leads for sources that would ordinarily be quite obscure. How exciting would it be to find the elusive missing links that reveal his service to our country? I’ll share these leads with my daughter!
Until clues yield answers, his widow’s official status, however, will forever remain “no Patriot, no pension.”
What a delicious mystery.
Marian Singleton Witherow, Vice Regent
Gettysburg Chapter, NSDAR
March 22, 2021