Connecticut Colony – Our Ancestors, Our Narratives

The Soule Line, A Narrative — Seven

This is Chapter Seven of seven. In this last narrative on the descendants of Pilgrim George Soule, we cover Generations Five and Six in America. Both of these generations carry the new family surname of Warner.

Preface

Our introduction to the Drinkwater name family goes back to the early 1970s, when first heard the name Mercy Drinkwater from our Grandmother Lulu Gore. Mercy was the 2x Great Grandmother to Lulu, and it was likely that Mercy’s first name evolved from an idea in Christian theology. The “seven lively virtues… are those opposite to the seven deadly sins. They are often enumerated as chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, kindness, patience, and humility.” (Wikipedia). We could see the name ‘Mercy’ falling right in line with that point-of-view. (1)

Just ask Homer Simpson which one has more fun.

However, we must admit a bit sheepishly that the ‘deadly sin’ part of our personalities cannot help but notice that when you say her name out loud, it sounds distinctly like you are either openly worrying about dehydration, or echoing the emergency response team from the Poison Control Center:
Mercy! Drink water!

So much… for lively virtue.

Woodbury, Connecticut Colony

Like our ancestors who founded the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, the settlers who founded Woodbury, Connecticut were also religious objectors. “The founders of Woodbury came from Stratford, Connecticut, in the early 1670s. Ancient Woodbury consisted of the present towns of Woodbury, Southbury, Roxbury, Bethlehem, most of Washington and parts of Middlebury and Oxford.

Two groups of settlers came from Stratford. The first, religious dissidents unhappy with the church in Stratford, was led by Woodbury’s first minister, the Reverend Zachariah Walker. The second, led by Deacon Samuel Sherman, had been given approval by the general court to purchase land from local Native Americans in order to establish a new settlement. Together, fifteen families (about fifty people), arrived in ancient Woodbury, known as ‘Pomperaug Plantation’, early in 1673.” (Wikipedia, Woodbury Connecticut)

“By the end of the eighteenth century Woodbury had developed as a thriving center of agricultural trade because of its proximity to the Housatonic River, which provided a major navigational route to the coast. A measure of Woodbury’s wealth was the large number of artisans and tradesmen such as millers, blacksmiths, wheelwrights and clothiers as well as tinsmiths, tanners, joiners and goldsmiths.” (The Old Woodbury Historical Society)

*Plan of the Colony of Connecticut in North America*, by Moses Park, 1766.
Mercy Drinkwater is from the area of the larger circle to the left; Eliphaz Warner, from the smaller circle to the right. (Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library).

One of the things about our Ancestral Grandmothers is the fact that not many records survive about these women. The eras that they lived in didn’t allow the creation of many meaningful records due to the customs of the time: things like civic records, inheritance laws, even Census data until about 1850… there just isn’t much there, or even that has survived. So it is with Mercy Drinkwater, especially as a young child.

We know when she was born, and that she was the youngest of 12 children from her father’s first wife. Her mother Elizabeth (Benedict) Drinkwater, died in 1749 when Mercy was about 15 months old. Her father William then remarried Susannah Washburn in 1751, when Mercy was about 3. Then in 1758, when Mercy was 10 years old, the records tell us that both William and her step-mother Susannah (Washburn) Drinkwater died.

So our primary question became, Who then raised Mercy for the next 10-11 years until she married? Was it her mother’s family the Benedicts? Or perhaps an older sister? How did she meet her husband, Eliphaz Warner? When exactly did they marry? We were not able to resolve these questions. We have looked everywhere and we don’t think that the marriage record has survived. We have to infer from what we know.

Mercy Drinkwater, born March 25, 1748, New Milford, Litchfield County, Connecticut Colony — died October 22, 1813, Sandgate, Bennington, Vermont. She was the daughter of William Drinkwater and Elizabeth Benedict.

Eliphaz Warner, born September 1, 1742, Middletown, Hartford* County, Connecticut Colony — died March 12, 1816, Sandgate, Bennington, Vermont. He was the son of Jabez Warner and Hannah Warner. He married Mercy Drinkwater by 1769, in an unknown location* in Connecticut; together they had seven children.

*We believe that the exact record for their marriage has been lost. This could be due to destruction caused by the church burning down, arson from conflicts with the Native Peoples, natural forces like a flood… Sometimes when the organizing government domain changes, records disappear through lack of oversight. Hartford County became Middlesex County in May 1785, being created from portions of Hartford County and New London County. Perhaps the record was lost then?

What we do know is this — it is highly probable is that they married in one of the three communities where their family members lived: Ridgefield, New Milford, or Woodbury. We just don’t know exactly where at this time. (2)

“This old map of Middlesex County, CT was commissioned in 1934 by the Connecticut League of Women Voters. S. Jerome Hoxie illustrated the map and it was printed by The Riverside Press in Mystic Connecticut.” (See footnotes).

Eliphaz and Mercy (Drinkwater) Warner Children

The first two children were born in Judea Parrish, Woodbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut Colony. “Before it became a separate town in 1779, and chose to name itself ‘Washington’, the area was known as ‘Judea’, and was part of Woodbury, Connecticut.” (Wikipedia, Judea Cemetery)

William S. Warner, born November 12, 1770 — died May 24, 1856, Sandgate, Bennington County, Vermont. He married first, (1798) Lucy Coan, in Woodbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut; they had 7 children. He married second, (circa 1816-17), Abigail Root; they had no children. He married third, (circa 1819) Prudence B. Nickerson, in Sandgate, Bennington, Vermont; they had 4 children. (We are descended from William and Prudence (Nickerson) Warner).
Dr. John Warner, born December 1772 — died September 4, 1839, Starkey, Yates County, New York. He married Mary DeWitt in October 1808.
Anna Warner, born 1773 in Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut Colony — died September 30, 1834, Sandgate, Bennington, Vermont. (Note: Anna may have been born in either Judea Parrish, Woodbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, or Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut. The records conflict on this detail).

By 1776 the family moved from Connecticut to Sandgate, Bennington County, The Vermont Republic (1771-1791), where the next four children were born .
Elizabeth Warner, born 1777 — died April 7, 1845, Salem, Washington County, New York. She married Joel Bassett, born Feb. 5, 1782 — died September 5, 1840, same location.
Hannah Warner, born 1783 — died October 13, 1818, Sandgate, Bennington County, Vermont.
Dr. James Warner, born 1785 — died February 21, 1813, Jericho, Chittenden County, Vermont.
Jabez Joseph Warner, born December 14, 1791 — died February 1, 1792 Sandgate, Bennington, County, Vermont.

A few years before they moved to the Vermont frontier, this document appears. It’s one of the few things with Mercy (Drinkwater) Warner’s name attached to it. Why was this document done in 1770, 12 years after her father William Drinkwater had died? We speculate that perhaps Mercy and her husband Eliphaz Warner wanted to make sure that any portion of his estate she was due, had been delivered? (3)

Administration papers from the estate of William Drinkwater, circa 1770.
From the Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999.

Colonel Seth Warner, a Distant Cousin

The Warner’s were a large family. And in those days, cousins married each other, which sometimes causes us to “fret and pull our hair out” when trying to figure out who is related to who… in this case our “cousinship” to Seth Warner is distant for us, but much closer to our Warner line during the 1760s and 1770s.

Seth Warner’s 2x Great-Grandfather, John Warner, Jr. was also the father of our 4x Great-Grandmother, Hannah (Warner) Warner.
She was married to her first cousin, Jabez Warner, our 4x Great-Grandfather.
Their son Eliphaz Warner, was our 3x Great Grandfather.

In 1754 Hannah and Jabez Warner moved to Woodbury, Litchfield, Connecticut Colony, a town next to Roxbury where lived Seth Warner and Ethan Allen, cousins via their Baker relatives. We can’t know how much they interacted some 150 years ago, but they were all of the same age and the adventuresome sort. At this time the state of Vermont did not exist yet. The area was called the New Hampshire Grants. It was a wild and unsettled area in the early 1760s. There were constant disputes between New York and New Hampshire as the Grants were being settled.

This print accompanied the narrative Seth Hubbell published in 1824 about his years spent struggling to establish a farm in the wilds of Vermont in 1789. (Image courtesy of the Vermont Historical Society).

Dr. Benjamin Warner, Seth’s father, moved his family to this area in 1763. We know that they settled in what is now Bennington, Vermont. But there is some evidence that Seth held property in a small section called Sandgate, about 20 miles north of Bennington. At this time, families from Roxbury, Woodbury, and other parts of Connecticut began moving into the New Hampshire Grants. The Hurds, the Hurlburts, the Bakers and the Allens settled throughout the area and eventually, the Eliphaz Warners settled in Sandgate.

Under-appreciated by History?
Seth Warner is famous in Vermont history through his activities with Ethan Allen of the Green Mountain Boys just prior to and during the Revolutionary War. However, we wonder if perhaps he has been under-appreciated by American historians in general. We learned, from a fascinating online article by writer Gene Procknow at All Things Liberty —

“The legendary stories of Ethan Allen and Vermont’s Green Mountain Boys have long been part of American folklore. Their heroically described exploits are fabled in many fictional accounts and in children’s books. Allen’s name is synonymously linked with the Green Mountain Boys as if he was their sole leader. However, while Allen receives the fame, there is a strong case that Seth Warner, a lesser-known member of the Green Mountain Boys, was the more impactful military leader during the American Revolution.

From left to right, the Colonel Seth Warner Monument in Bennington, Vermont.
Center: The flag of the Green Mountain Boys,
Right: *Green Mountain Rangers, 1776* by Lt. Charles M. Lefferts. (See footnotes).

During the revolution, Seth Warner emerged as the leader of the Green Mountain Boys. A day after Fort Ticonderoga fell [Allan’s victory], Warner led a contingent of the Green Mountain Boys in capturing British forces at Crown Point [Warner’s victory]. Both Warner and Ethan Allen traveled to Philadelphia to meet with the Continental Congress to obtain military pay for the Green Mountain Boys and to obtain permission to enlist a Green Mountain regiment in the Continental Army. They returned with both. [The Green Mountain Boys were then referred to as the Green Mountain Rangers, and Warner’s Regiment].

In July 1777, he ably commanded undersized rear guard units at the battle of Hubbarton, Vermont and rallied his troops to cement a patriot victory at Bennington* in August. British losses at these two battles weakened their invasion force, which aided the Continental Army victory at Saratoga in October. After the 1777 campaign, Warner continued leading his regiment despite declining health until the unit was disbanded on January 1, 1781.
* See the text, The Battle of Bennington below.

Seth Warner was the elected and recognized commander of the Green Mountain Boys during their entire service with the Continental Army, with Ethan Allen playing the important political roles of firebrand, publicist, and spokesperson. Clearly, the American cause benefited from Seth Warner’s military leadership, while Ethan Allen’s political leadership was critical to the formation of Vermont as a distinct, independent sovereign entity.” (All Things Liberty) (4)

Being Early to Bennington, Republic of Vermont

Even though Vermont is recognized as the 14th state of the United States, it was born out of a complicated mess of issues as to who had the right to live in that rural territory, and who had the right to govern it. Among the interested parties were (quite naturally) the Native Peoples, the French Government and their settlers, and the British Government and their settlers. Like a tide that kept washing in and out, people came in and went out. After the French were defeated in the French and Indian War, the rights to this area were given by the Treaty of Paris (in 1763), to the British.

Be that as it may, the New York Colony, and the Province of Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the Province of New Hampshire continued to squabble over who had the land rights to the territory. Much of this was due to the fact that the population of the area increased dramatically in a short period of less than 30 years. “In the 28 years from 1763 to 1791, the non-Indian population of ‘New Hampshire Grants’ rose from 300 to 85,000.

*Plan of Sandgate* (map), by Benning Wentworth, circa 1761.

New Hampshire’s [Colonial] governor, Benning Wentworth, [had] issued a series of 135 land grants between 1749 and 1764 called the New Hampshire Grants. Many of these were in a large valley on the west (or New York side) of the Green Mountains and only about forty miles from Albany. The town was laid out in 1749 and was settled after the war in 1761. The town was named Bennington for Wentworth. Ultimately, by 1754, Wentworth had granted lands for 15 towns. (Wikipedia, History of Vermont)

“The first settler in Sandgate was Reuben Thomas, who came from Woodbury, Connecticut. Congregational Church records show “1769, December 27th — Reuben Thomas Esqr. moved his family which was the first family into this town.” (Sandgate Vermont)

“In 1770, Ethan Allen—along with his brothers Ira and Levi, as well as Seth Warner—recruited an informal militia, the Green Mountain Boys, to protect the interests of the original New Hampshire settlers against the new migrants from New York. A significant standoff occurred at the Breakenridge farm in Bennington, when a sheriff from Albany arrived with a posse of 750 men to dispossess Breakenridge. The residents raised a body of about 300 armed men to resist. The Albany sheriff demanded Breakenridge, and was informed, ‘If you attempt it, you are a dead man.’ The sheriff returned to Albany.

In the summer of 1776, the first general convention of freemen of the New Hampshire Grants met in Dorset, Vermont, resolving ‘to take suitable measures to declare the New Hampshire Grants a free and independent district.’ On January 15, 1777, representatives of the New Hampshire Grants convened in Westminster and declared their land an independent republic, The Vermont Republic (from 1777 until 1791). Then in 1791, Vermont became a state.

*Vermont, from actual survey*, by Amos Doolittle and Mathew Carey, circa 1795. This map shows where the Warners were living in the small town of Sandgate, Vermont from 1776 onwards. (Image courtesy of the Library of Congress).

Observation: 1776 is the year when the Eliphaz Warner family moved from the Woodbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut area to Sandgate, Bennington, Vermont Republic. They moved right into the very thick of things.

On June 2, [1776] a second convention of 72 delegates met at Westminster, known as the ‘Westminster Convention’. At this meeting, the delegates adopted the name ‘Vermont’ on the suggestion of Dr. Thomas Young of Philadelphia, a supporter of the delegates who wrote a letter advising them on how to achieve statehood. [One month later…] On July 4, the Constitution of Vermont was drafted during a violent thunderstorm at the Windsor Tavern owned by Elijah West. It was adopted by the delegates on July 8 after four days of debate. This was the first written constitution in North America to provide for the abolition of slavery (for adults), suffrage [voting rights] for men who did not own land, and public schools.” (Wikipedia, History of Vermont) (5)

The first page of the original Constitution for Vermont, with a vintage postcard featuring the Old Constitution House, the former Windsor Tavern. (See footnotes).

Or This Night Molly Stark Sleeps a Widow!

“During the summer of 1777, the invading British army of General John Burgoyne slashed its way southward through the thick forest, from Quebec to the Hudson River, captured the strategic stronghold of Fort Ticonderoga, and drove the Continental Army into a desperate southward retreat. Raiding parties of British soldiers and native warriors freely attacked, pillaged and burned the frontier communities of the Champlain Valley and threatened all settlements to the south. The Vermont frontier collapsed in the face of the British invasion. The New Hampshire legislature, fearing an invasion from the west, mobilized the state’s militia under the command of General John Stark.

General Burgoyne received intelligence that large stores of horses, food and munitions were kept at Bennington, which was the largest community in the land grant area. He dispatched 2,600 troops, nearly a third of his army, to seize the colonial storehouse there, unaware that General Stark’s New Hampshire troops were then traversing the Green Mountains to join up at Bennington with the Vermont continental regiments commanded by Colonel Seth Warner, together with the local Vermont and western Massachusetts militia.

The combined American forces, under Stark’s command, attacked the British column at Hoosick, New York, just across the border from Bennington. General Stark reportedly challenged his troops to fight to the death, telling them ‘There are your enemies, the redcoats and the Tories. They are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow!’ ” (Wikipedia, History of Vermont) (6)

*Battle of Bennington*, 1777 by Alonzo Chappel. (Image courtesy of The Bennington Museum).

The Battle of Bennington

“The town is known in particular for the Battle of Bennington, which took place during the Revolutionary War. Although the battle took place approximately 12 miles (19 km) to the west in what is now the state of New York, an ammunition storage building located in Bennington was an important strategic target. On August 16, 1777, Gen. John Stark’s 1,500-strong New Hampshire Militia defeated 800 German (Hessian) mercenaries, local Loyalists, Canadians and Indians under the command of German Lt. Col. Friedrich Baum. German reinforcements under the command of Lt. Col. Heinrich von Breymann looked set to reverse the outcome, but were prevented by the arrival of Seth Warner’s Green Mountain Boys, the Vermont militia founded by Ethan Allen.” (Wikipedia, Bennington Vermont)

This illustration depicts Ethan Allen (pointing at the map) and the other leaders of the Green Mountain Boys, which included Seth Warner. (Image courtesy **Library of Congress)**.

The “all-day battle fought in intense summer heat, the army of Yankee farmers defeated the British, killing or capturing 900 soldiers. Burgoyne never recovered from this loss and eventually surrendered at Saratoga on October 17. (Wikipedia, History of Vermont)

During the War, Eliphaz Warner was called to serve in several instances. Shown below is one of the payroll records “for service done to guard the frontiers”. (7)

From the book, *Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783*,
by John E, Goodrich. “Payroll under Col. G. Warren’s Regiment under the command
of Capt. Gideon Ormsby”, pages: 76-77. (Image courtesy of the Library of Congress).
For other rosters, see the footnotes.

Time’s Arrow Points in One Direction

If anyone has spent any time glancing over census data, it quickly becomes clear that early censuses were simple, and later ones grew increasingly more complex. “Statistics show that as the Nation’s population grew and its demographics changed, so did the decennial* census evolve in order to measure that growth and change. As a result, no two censuses are exactly alike. To count a population of 3,329,326 in 1790, the census cost $44,377, utilized 1,650 enumerators, and culminated in one published volume totaling 56 pages. The 1990 Census counted a population of 248,709,873, cost $2.5 billion, and culminated in published census reports totaling 450,000 pages.”
*All of the following censuses are decennial, meaning they recur every ten years.

1790 —
“The census began on Monday, August 2, 1790, and was finished within 9 months, under the rules and directions established in an Act of Congress approved March 1, 1790. The 1790 population census was the First Decennial* Census of the United States.” (The National Archives)

The 1790 United States census for Sandgate, Vermont.

The 1790 census tells us that Eliphaz Warner had 8 people in his home, who were enumerated as follows (with our observations for people inserted):

3 men of 16 years & upwards, including heads of families: sons William, John, and father Eliphaz — Head of Family
- 1 boy under 16 years: son James
- 4 women including heads of families: daughters Anna, Elizabeth, Hannah, and mother Mercy

In 1798, Eliphaz and Mercy’s oldest son William Warner, married (1) Lucy Coan, daughter of Mulford and Elizabeth (Howd) Coan, in Woodbury, Litchfield, Connecticut. William returned to Woodbury for their marriage, and together she went with him to Sandgate, Vermont. They had seven children, who are interwoven throughout the following years of Census data shown below. (8)

For clarity, here is a list of their seven children:

Mary Warner, 1799 — 1859
William Warner, Jr., 1801—1890
Joseph Warner, 1803 — 1890
Lucina Warner, 1805 — 1874
Gaylord Coan Warner, 1808 — 1886
Benjamin Stone Warner, 1810 — 1893
John Warner, 1812 — 1889

From the Vermont Historical Society, this painting titled *Derby View*, 1939 by William Dean Fausett, was painted to portray what colonial era Vermont would have looked like.

A New Century Begins

1800 —
“The census began on Monday, August 4, 1800, and was finished within 9 months, under the rules and directions established in an Act of Congress approved February 28, 1800. The 1800 population census was the Second Decennial Census of the United States.”

The 1800 United States census for Sandgate, Vermont.

For the Eliphaz Warner family, there were 5 people living there, as follows:

1 boy 10 thru 15: son James
1 man 45 and over: Eliphaz — Head of Family
2 women 16 thru 25: daughters Hannah, Anna
1 female 45 and over: mother Mercy

This same 1800 census shows us that son William Warner is counted as a separate household. He is likely living nearby, if not next door. He had four people living in his home, enumerated as follows:
2 men 26 thru 44: William — Head of Family, and an (unknown male)
1 girl under 10: daughter Mary
1 woman 45 and over: mother Lucy Coan (William’s first wife)

Observation: As we analyzed the censuses, it became clear that these two families lived next door to each other and that their lives were all intertwined. Eliphaz always had William living nearby, and after Eliphaz was no more, William usually had a sibling, or one of his own children nearby.

1810 —
“The census began on Monday, August 6, 1810, and was finished within 9 months, under the rules and directions established in an Act of Congress approved March 26, 1810. The 1810 population census was the Third Decennial Census of the United States.”

The 1810 United States census for Sandgate, Vermont. Note that Eliphaz’s name is positioned below his son William’s name.

This Census tells us that Eliphaz had 5 people in his home, who were enumerated as follows (with our observations of whom inserted):

1 man 26 thru 44: son James (son John married, 1808 and lived in New York)
1 man 45 and over: father Eliphaz — Head of Family
2 women 26 thru 44: daughters Anna and Hannah (daughter Elizabeth married, 1808 and lived in New York)
1 woman 45 and over: mother Mercy

*Macdonough’s victory on Lake Champlain and defeat of the British Army at Plattsburg*
*by Genl. Macomb, Sept. 11 1814.* Hand colored engraving by Benjamin Tanner, circa 1816.
(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).

The 1810 Census is the last census that Eliphaz and Mercy appear in. From this point forward, all descriptions will only be about William Warner Sr.’s family. The 1810 Census further tells us that William Sr. had 9 people in his home, who were enumerated as follows (with our observations of whom inserted):

4 boys under 10: sons William Jr., Joseph, Gaylord, and Benjamin
1 man 26 thru 44: William Sr. — Head of Family
2 girls under 10: daughters Lucina, and (unknown girl)
1 girl: 10 thru 15: daughter Mary
1 woman 26 thru 44: mother Lucy Coan

When the War of 1812 broke out in the young United States, Vermont was mostly removed from the battle sites of the war. The closest battle was The Battle of Plattsburg, which took place at the northern end of Lake Champlain, not very far away in New York State. “A relatively small force of approximately 5,000 Americans, including 2,200 Vermont militiamen, defeated a formidable force of roughly 11,000 British sailors on Sept. 11, 1814. This battle ended the British Invasion from Canada.” (Vermont National Guard Museum) We have not located any records that confirm that this branch of the Warner family actually participated in this war.

Besides, William Warner Sr. had his hands quite full. There was a house abundant of young children, his parents were elderly, and it seems that his wife Lucy had her troubles also — Several members of this family died during this decade; all of them in Vermont. Son Dr. James Warner died February 21, 1813 in Jericho, Chittenden County and is buried there. Mercy (Drinkwater) Warner soon followed. She died in October 22, 1813 in Sandgate, Bennington County and is buried in the Sandgate Center Cemetary. Eliphaz Warner died March 12, 1816 in Sandgate and is buried near his wife Mercy. Daughter Hannah Warner died October 13, 1818 in Sandgate and is buried near her parents. (9)

This brings us to…

The Decade of Three Wives

William Warner Sr.’s first wife, Lucy Coan, who had come to Vermont with him from Connecticut, died on October 2, 1815. She is buried at Sandgate Center Cemetery.

William was a widower with young children. He remarried after 1815 to his second wife (2) Abagail (Root) Warner. She was born about 1784 (based on the age of 34 years listed on her death record). Abagail has left very few records. She died soon after they were married, on June 13, 1818; there were no children.

At age 25, (3) Prudence B. Nickerson entered the family when she married William Warner in 1819; they had 4 children, James Ward, Lucy Mercy, Ira Nickerson, and Mary Ann. Like Abagail Root before her, there are very few records of her life prior to when she married William Sr. We know she was born in 1794 supposedly in Massachusetts, although some documents identify her birth in Vermont. We also note that there was a 24 year age gap when they married – William was 49 at the time.

Together, they are our 3x Great Grandparents — we are descended from William and Prudence B. (Nickerson) Warner and their daughter Mary Ann Warner.

The 1820 United States census for Sandgate, Vermont for William Warner and his unmarried sister Anna Warner.

1820 —
“The census began on Monday, August 7, 1820, and was finished within 6 months, under the rules and directions established in an Act of Congress approved March 14, 1820. The 1820 population census was the Fourth Decennial Census of the United States.” The census tells us that 10 people are living there. William Sr.’s sister Anna never married and is living next door, probably in her parents home. She is listed separately on this census. (10)

2 boys under 10: sons Benjamin, John.
1 boy 10 to 15: son Gaylord
1 boy from 16 to 18: (unknown male)
2 men 16 to 25: sons Joseph, William Jr.
1 man 45 and upwards: William Sr. — Head of Family
1 girl from 10 to 15: daughter Lucina
1 girl/woman from 16 to 25: daughter Mary
1 woman 26 to 45: (step-mother) Prudence.

*Baaa-aaa-ah.* Who knew? Where are the trees?
(Image courtesy of the Vermont Historical Society).

A World Awash in Merino Sheep

William Warner Sr. was a farmer, but we don’t know if he raised sheep. If he needed any, he wouldn’t have needed to go very far. From the Vermont History Explorer, “Vermont’s landscape looks very different today than it did nearly 200 years ago. Many places that are now covered with trees were open fields. In the 1830s and 1840s, those fields were full of Merino sheep. Almost 1.7 million sheep lived in Vermont in 1840. At the same time, fewer than 300,000 people lived in the state. There were nearly six times more sheep than people in Vermont! These sheep produced almost 3.7 million pounds of wool.”

The 1830 United States census for Sandgate, Vermont.

1830 —
“The census began on Tuesday, June 1, 1830, and was finished within 6 months, under the rules and directions established in an Act of Congress approved March 23, 1830. The 1830 population census was the Fifth Decennial Census of the United States.” The census tells us that 9 people are living in the Warner home. William Sr.’s sister Anna is still living next door and is listed separately on this census.

1 boy under 5: son Ira (likely an infant)
1 boy 6 to 10: son James Ward
1 boy 15 to 20: sons, Benjamin or John
1 man 20 to 29: son Gaylord
1 man 50 to 59: William — Head of Family
1 girl under 5: (unknown girl)
2 girls 5 to 9: daughter Lucy Mercy, and (unknown girl)
1 woman 30 to 39: mother Prudence

This is the first census that begins counting the children that were born after Prudence and William Sr. married circa 1819. Their children were born in Sandgate, Bennington, Vermont.

*Townscape of Bennington; Landscape View of Old Bennington*, circa 1798, by Ralph Earl.
It is interesting to note how the landscape had changed from dense forest to open fields.
(Image courtesy of the Bennington Museum).

Son James Ward Warner was born September 26, 1820 — died October 25, 1908, in Kennewick, Benton, Washington. He married first (1) Jane Mary Walton in 1845 in Manchester, Vermont, they had 3 children, Sylvester C, 1842-1847 (possibly born before their marriage), Helen Agnes, 1848-1931 and James, born 1860 – ?. Jane died in 1854 in Wisconsin where they had moved; he married second (2) Anne Ross in 1856. She was born in 1826 in New York and died 1902 in Spokane, Washington; they had one son, William Abner, 1860 – 1912. It appears William Abner moved west to Washington State where his parents died and are buried in Spokane. He died in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California.

Daughter Lucy Mercy Warner was born May 2, 1823 — died November 14, 1879, Bennington, Bennington, Vermont. She married first in 1844 (1) Henry G. Stewart, 1806 – 1848; they had 1 daughter, Ellen 1845-1922. Ellen married Alexander Chapman in 1867 and they had two sons, George 1873 – ? and John, 1878 – 1938. After Henry Stewart’s death Lucy married second (2) Thomas Jefferson (TJ) Albro in 1859; they had 1 daughter, Theresa, 1860 – 1921. Theresa married Frank Henry Crawford in 1884 and they had 3 children, Randall who lived for 11 months in 1885, Buel, 1887 – 1958, and Alida “Lida” (Crawford) Beran, 1894 – 1945.

Son Ira Nickerson Warner was born May 20, 1830 — died March 6, 1877 in Aurora, DuPage, Illinois. By 1858 he married Julia Barrett, 1833 – ? ; they had 5 children, Charles D., 1859 – 1864, George A., 1864 – ?, Frederick A. 1866 – 1935, Ida Rowena, 1869 – 1943, and Lillian J., 1872 – 1899.

The 1840 United States census for Sandgate, Vermont.

1840 —
“The census began on Monday, June 1, 1840, and was finished within five months, under the rules and directions established in an Act of Congress approved March 3, 1839. The 1840 population census was the Sixth Decennial Census of the United States.” The census tells us that 7 people are living there. William’s oldest daughter Mary (Warner) Meeker is living next door, and is listed separately on this census.

1 boy 10 to 14: son Ira
1 boy 15 to 19: son James
1 man 60 to 69: William — Head of Family
1 girl 5 to 9: daughter Mary Ann
1 girl 15 to 19: daughter Lucy Mercy
1 woman 40 to 49: mother Prudence
1 woman 70 to 79: (unknown woman)

*Taking the census* *— after a sketch by Thomas Worth.* As published in Harper’s Weekly magazine, 1870. (Image courtesy of the Library of Congress).

In 1833, Prudence and William had their last child, a daughter, Mary Ann Warner. She was born on February 9, 1833 — died April 10, 1899 in South Russell, Geauga, Ohio. On February 2, 1856 she married Peter A. DeVoe; they had 2 children. They are our Great-Great-Grandparents — we are descended from Peter and Mary Ann. For the history of Peter and Mary Ann’s further lives together, please see: The DeVoe Line, A Narrative — Nine.

The 1850 United States census for Sandgate, Vermont.

1850 —
“The census began on Saturday, June 1, 1850, and was finished within 5 months, under the rules and directions established in an Act of Congress approved May 23, 1850. The 1850 population census was the Seventh Decennial Census of the United States.” The is the first Census where we see all members of the household listed.

Things seem to have quieted down a lot at the Warner home with just William and Prudence living there. In 1850, their daughter Mary Ann is living nearby in Sandgate, at her older sister Mary Meeker’s home, where her brother Ira is also residing. Mary Ann’s name is sometimes recorded as Ann, probably because (in this case) there were two people living there with the same name of Mary.

William Warner Sr. died on May 24, 1856. He is buried at Sandgate Center Cemetery, at which a remarkable number of Warner family members are also interred. Near William are his wives Lucy, and Abagail, some of his siblings, and several of his children. For his estate papers, please see the footnotes. (11)

Sometimes Life Is A Circle

From the 1830s through this pre Civil War period, seven of William Sr.’s eleven children, relocated from Vermont to the Connecticut Western Reserve of Ohio. This emigration included his youngest daughter Mary Ann (Warner) DeVoe and her husband, Peter A. DeVoe. William’s surviving wife Prudence moved there by 1870 and is buried near their daughter.

As we learned more about Mary Ann Warner’s history — we found that by 1855, she had already been residing in the town of Wilton in Saratoga County, New York for three years. She is working as a weaver at the nearby Saratoga Victory Manufacturing Company, in Victory Village. An ironic thing about her occupation, is the fact that the wool she was likely using to manufacture products, had likely been produced right in her old back yard in Bennington, Vermont. Like Mary Ann Warner at her loom — we ourselves also gather the threads, of family stories, and weave them into the warp and weft of a meaningful family narrative.

We are descended from two of the original Plymouth Pilgrim families, from the 1620 voyage
of the Mayflower. Both of these lines meet with our 2x Great Grandparents, through
the marriage of Peter A. DeVoe (for Edward Doty), and Mary Ann Warner (for George Soule).
Background image, *Isolation: The Mayflower Becalmed on a Moonlit Night*, by Montague Dawson.

With Generation Seven in America, the Warner family surname gives way to the surname of DeVoe. Mary Ann’s husband, Peter A. DeVoe, is a direct descendant of another Mayflower passenger, Pilgrim Edward Doty. Not only does this line of descent circle back to the Mayflower, but the DeVoe line traces its origins back to the same region of Holland where Pilgrim George Soule began his journey.

You can read about the DeVoe family, who have their own amazing history starting with, The DeVoe Line, A Narrative — One, Holland & Huguenots, and the Doty family, starting with, The Doty Line, A Narrative — One. (12)

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

Preface

(1) — one record

Seven virtues
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_virtues#:~:text=In%20Christian%20history%2C%20the%20seven,faith%2C%20hope%2C%20and%20charity.
Note: For the text.

Woodbury, Connecticut Colony

(2) — eleven records

Woodbury, Connecticut
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodbury,_Connecticut
Note: For the text.

The Old Woodbury Historical Society
History of Woodbury
https://www.owhs.org/history.html
Note: For the text.

Boston Public Library
Norman B. Levanthal Map & Education Center Collection
Plan of the Colony of Connecticut in North America
by Moses Park, 1766
https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:z603vt46p
Note: For the map image. “Moses Park, a surveyor from Preston, Connecticut, executed this map in 1766 with the assistance of Asa Spaulding of Norwalk and Samuel Mott of Preston.”

Mercy Drinkwater
in the Connecticut, U.S., Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
New Milford Vital Records 1712-1860
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1034/records/191129?tid=&pid=&queryId=65f6527a-b69f-4af3-8bf1-1576fb5d0bef&_phsrc=dRx1&_phstart=successSource
Book page: 76, Digital page: 74/232
Note: Listed as the 14th entry on the page.

Mercy Warner
in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/91584565
and
Mercy Drinkwater Warner
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16704122/mercy-warner
Note: For the data.

Eliphaz Warner
The Descendants of Andrew Warner (book)
Fourth Generation
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/15319/images/dvm_GenMono000758-00056-0?usePUB=true&_phsrc=dRx5&pId=104&backlabel=Return&queryId=0095c2f420af5ec55c6e85937768fa6e&rcstate=dvm_GenMono000758-00056-0:227,1330,361,1362;361,1329,481,1353;352,1361,477,1388;332,1395,456,1420;336,1428,458,1453;324,1462,456,1491;359,1493,479,1523;320,1561,446,1588;466,1625,594,1653;502,1743,709,1774;191,1793,321,1821;429,1868,578,1897;890,104,1041,127;729,413,857,443;426,602,641,631;177,649,307,678;179,771,308,799;681,761,831,791;650,803,804,832;980,878,1128,909;947,999,1099,1034;365,1195,488,1219;348,1229,469,1254
Book page: 98, Digital page: 107/184

Eliphaz Warner
in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/91584550?tid=&pid=&queryId=e60befba-7e73-4827-b3c5-efdd800afda8&_phsrc=PRY1&_phstart=successSource
and
Eliphaz Warner
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16704105/eliphaz-warner
Note: For the data.

Middletown, Connecticut
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middletown,_Connecticut
Note: For the data.

KNOWOL
Historical Map of Middlesex County, Connecticut
https://www.knowol.com/information/connecticut/middlesex-county-map/
Note: For the map image and caption.

The Eliphaz and Mercy Warner Children

(3) — eight records

Eliphaz Warner
The Descendants of Andrew Warner (book)
Fifth Generation
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/15319/images/dvm_GenMono000758-00084-0?usePUB=true&_phsrc=dRx4&pId=160&backlabel=Return&queryId=0095c2f420af5ec55c6e85937768fa6e&rcstate=dvm_GenMono000758-00084-0:268,488,490,523;500,489,714,516;183,529,337,564;336,529,493,563;903,649,1071,679;339,933,477,957;304,1033,420,1059;369,1066,492,1093;349,1398,468,1422;324,1431,444,1456;637,1560,835,1588;240,1603,419,1639;419,1602,573,1638;484,1763,633,1795;887,83,1037,105;314,159,435,183;378,193,499,216;379,226,495,250;349,292,473,316;328,358,449,382
Book page: 154, Digital page 163/184
Note: For his family records.

Judea Cemetery
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judea_Cemetery
Note: For the text.

William Drinkwater
in the Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999
Woodbury District > Probate Packets, Downs, C-Edmond, M, 1720-1880
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9049/images/007629576_00856?usePUB=true&_phsrc=VgH4&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=2465233
Digital page: 856/1417
Note: Case 1384 — Administration papers from the estate of William Drinkwater, circa 1770.

Colonel Seth Warner, a Distant Cousin

(4) — five records

Journal of The American Revolution
Seth Warner or Ethan Allen: Who Led the Green Mountain Boys?
by Gene Procknow
https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/05/seth-warner-or-ethan-allen-who-led-the-green-mountain-boys/
Note: For the text.

VT Digger, News and Culture
Then Again: Plagued by Ddversity, Wolcott’s First Settler Persevered
by Mark Bushnell
https://vtdigger.org/2018/09/09/plagued-adversity-wolcotts-first-settler-persevered/
Note: For the image.

The Historical Marker Database
Colonel Seth Warner
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=77023
Note: For the image, Photo 6 by Howard C. Ohlhous, October 24, 2008.

Flag of the Green Mountain Boys
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_Green_Mountain_Boys
Notes: Also known as the Stark Flag, this image is replica flag made by Amber Kincaid.

Uniforms of The American Revolution
Green Mountain Rangers, 1776
by Lt. Charles M. Lefferts, circa 1926
https://www.srcalifornia.com/uniforms/p24.htm
Note: For the image.

Being Early to Bennington (Vermont)

(5) — six records

History of Vermont
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Vermont
Note: For the text.

Library of Congress
Plan of Sandgate (map)
by Benning Wentworth, circa 1809
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3754s.ar087800/?r=-1.311,-0.37,3.622,1.808,0
Note: For the map image.

Sandgate Vermont
Early Settlers
https://www.sandgatevermont.com/settlers.php

Library of Congress
Vermont, from actual survey
by Amos Doolittle and Mathew Carey, circa 1795
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3750.ct000093/?r=-0.878,-0.069,2.756,1.376,0
Note: For the map image.

Vermont History Explorer
The Vermont Constitution
https://vermonthistoryexplorer.org/the-vermont-constitution
Note: For the image of page one of the Vermont Constitution.

Hip Postcard
Vermont WINDSOR Old Constitution House, Built 1777 — DB
United States — Vermont — Other, Postcard
https://www.hippostcard.com/listing/vermont-windsor-old-constitution-house-built-1777-db/33113359
Note: For the vintage postcard image.

Or This Night Molly Stark Sleeps a Widow!

(6) — one record

History of Vermont
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Vermont
Note: For the text.

The Battle of Bennington

(7) — eight records

Battle of Bennington, 1777 https://bennington.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/A4B796E5-ADE8-455B-8DF7-217237214000
by Alonzo Chappel.
Note: For the battle painting.

Bennington, Vermont
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bennington%2C_Vermont
Note: For the text.

Library of Congress
[Ethan Allen, 1738-1789, full-length portrait, standing,
before “the Green Mountain Boays in Council”, examining map]
digital file from b&w film copy neg.
https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3a47655/
Note: For the image.

History of Vermont
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Vermont
Note: For the text.

Library of Congress
Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War,
1775 to 1783
by John E, Goodrich, circa 1904
https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.rollsofsoldiersi01verm/?sp=7&r=-1.249,-0.065,3.497,1.718,0
Records from 3 sections as follows:
Shown with the Revolutionary War Subtitle Section.
— Col. G. Warren’s Regiment under command of Capt. Gideon Ormsby
Book pages: 76-77, Digital pages: 106-107/964

— Capt. Lemuel Bradley’s Company
Book page: 414, Digital pages: 444/964

— Capt. Richard Hurd’s Company in Col. Ira Allen’s Regiment
Book page: 457, Digital pages: 487/964

Time’s Arrow Points in One Direction

(8) — six records

STEM Fellowship
The Arrow of Time
https://live.stemfellowship.org/the-arrow-of-time/
Note: For the data.

Library of Congress
U.S. Census Connections: A Resource Guide
History of the U.S. Census
https://guides.loc.gov/census-connections/census-history
Note: For the text.

The National Archives
1790 Census Records
https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1790
Note: For the data.

Eliphas Warner
in the 1790 United States Federal Census
Vermont > Bennington > Sandgate
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5058/records/398650?tid=&pid=&queryId=98a8efe8-5fcc-4d84-9d21-54d2862efc2c&_phsrc=Qmi3&_phstart=successSource
Book page: 21, Digital page: 1 of 2
Note: For the data.

Vermont History
Vermont Historical Society Mounting a Major Exhibition:
“For The Love of Vermont: The Lyman Orton Collection”
Derby View by William Dean Fausett, circa 1939
https://vermonthistory.org/lyman-orton-for-the-love-of-vermont-art-exhibition
Note: For the paining by William Dean Fausett.

William Warner
in the North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61157/records/1807060
Note: For the data about his 1798 marriage to Lucy Coan.

A New Century Begins

(9) — twelve records

The National Archives
1800 Census Records
https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1800
Note: For the data.

Eliphaz Warner
in the 1800 United States Federal Census
Vermont > Bennington > Sandgate
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7590/records/517748?tid=&pid=&queryId=4786d902-5d82-43a8-b238-b7cf626d86d1&_phsrc=Qmi4&_phstart=successSource

The National Archives
1810 Census Records
https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1810?_ga=2.101688962.2084972955.1741276218-755645739.1741276218
Note: For the data.

Macdonough’s Victory on Lake Champlain and Defeat of the British Army
at Plattsburg by Genl. Macomb, Sept. 11 1814.
Engraverː Benjamin Tanner, after painting by Hugh Reinagle, circa 1816
File:Macdonough’s victory on Lake Champlain and defeat of the British Army at Plattsburg by Genl. Macomb, Sept. 11 1814 (cropped).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Macdonough’s_victory_on_Lake_Champlain_and_defeat_of_the_British_Army_at_Plattsburg_by_Genl._Macomb,_Sept._11_1814_(cropped).jpg
Note: For the engraved war image.

1810 United States Federal Census
Vermont > Bennington > Sandgate
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7613/records/613235?tid=&pid=&queryId=e72c38ad-6cba-40d7-8668-722546e89da1&_phsrc=LaX10&_phstart=successSource
Note: Digital page: 5/7
Note 1: For the data.
Note 2: We found this under the name of another community member: Stephen Scinter because it found not appear in searches using either Warner family name.

Vermont National Guard
Home > Museum > > History > Wars > War Of 1812
Museum > > History > Wars > War Of 1812 https://vt.public.ng.mil/Museum/History/Wars/War-of-1812/#:~:text=A relatively small force of,the British Invasion from Canada. Note: For the text.”>https://vt.public.ng.mil/Museum/History/Wars/War-of-1812/#:~:text=A relatively small force of,the British Invasion from Canada.
Note: For the text.

Dr. James Warner
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15098846/james-warner
Note: For her death record in 1813.

Hannah Warner
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16704110/hannah-warner
Note: For her death record in 1818.

The Decade of Three Wives

(10) — ten records

Pinterest
Birds’ Nests (illustrations)
by Carl F. Gronemann
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/7951736837238337/
Notes: For the nest images.

Lucy Warner
in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/91584559 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16704116/lucy-warner
and
Lucy Coan Warner
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16704116/lucy-warner?_gl=1*qogcgg*_gcl_au*MTgzMjczMjIxLjE3NDE0NDY3MzA.*_ga*MTQ0MTY4ODk1OS4xNzQxNDQ2NzMw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MmMwNGE4ZTItNTkwOC00ZGIwLWFjMmItZWZiMjgxMTllMWVlLjIuMS4xNzQxNDU2ODEyLjU5LjAuMA..
Note: For the death data.

203 William Warner
The Descendants of Andrew Warner (book)
Sixth Generation
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/15319/images/dvm_GenMono000758-00134-0?usePUB=true&_phsrc=mYH3&pId=260&backlabel=Return&queryId=38e8346280d3fd1c8363358237de551d&rcstate=dvm_GenMono000758-00134-0%3A172%2C1481%2C285%2C1510%3B285%2C1481%2C417%2C1509%3B667%2C1482%2C770%2C1515%3B581%2C1522%2C679%2C1551%3B915%2C1683%2C1009%2C1716%3B714%2C413%2C802%2C442%3B338%2C1152%2C476%2C1180%3B727%2C1250%2C809%2C1274%3B548%2C1281%2C636%2C1314%3B791%2C1280%2C892%2C1314
Book page: 254, Digital page: 263/814
Note: For the Lucy Coan marriage data.

Abaigail Warner
in the Vermont, U.S., Vital Records, 1720-1908
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/4661/records/475913?tid=&pid=&queryId=4f4a50a5-af4e-4843-8b1b-e00c55e93578&_phsrc=mYH31&_phstart=successSource
and
Abigail Warner
in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/91584543
and
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16704098/abigail-warner
Note: For the data.

Prudence Nickerson
in the North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000
W > Warner > The descendants of Andrew Warner
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61157/records/1810112
Book page: 254, Digital page: 262/812
Note: For her marriage information.

The National Archives
1820 Census Records
https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1820?_ga=2.45009575.2084972955.1741276218-755645739.1741276218
Note: For the data.

William Warner
in the 1820 United States Federal Census
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7734/records/166385?tid=&pid=&queryId=6f327c11-f22f-48ff-a316-60e1b9de1f93&_phsrc=unJ1&_phstart=successSource
Digital page: 1/6
Note: For the data.

A World Awash in Merino Sheep

(11) — twenty one records

Vermont History Explorer
Sheep in Vermont
https://vermonthistoryexplorer.org/sheep-in-vermont
Note: For the text.

The National Archives
1830 Census Records
https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1830?_ga=2.68161170.2084972955.1741276218-755645739.1741276218
Note: For the data.

Wm Warner
in the 1830 United States Federal Census
Vermont > Bennington > Sandgate
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8058/records/781387?tid=&pid=&queryId=f25c311a-c9c4-4a64-bab4-cdb98f9bf760&_phsrc=unJ7&_phstart=successSource
Digital page: 1/12
Note: For the data.

Townscape of Bennington; Landscape View of Old Bennington, circa 1798
by Ralph Earl
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_of_Bennington,_by_Ralph_Earl_(1798).jpg
Note: For the landscape image.

James Ward Warner
https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/L69H-5CC
Note: For the data.

Lucy Mercy Warner
https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/LZ6N-QJX
Note: For the data.

Ira N Warner
Pension – United States, General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJD5-MLYG?lang=en
Notes: For the data. James Warner was the beneficiary of his brother Ira’s military pension? We find this curious because he and Julia were married in 1860 at beginning of Civil War.

Ira Nickerson Warner
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/39675687/ira-n-warner
Note 1: For the data. His death date on his tombstone is incorrect.
Note 2: Posted at the findagrave website:
“Civil War Soldier – Source The Beacon News Online, May 13, 2005.
Ira Nickerson Warner, born in Sandgate, VT 20 May 1830 was the son of William Warner and Prudence Nickerson. He enlisted 29 July 1862; mustered in 1 September 1862 as Private, Company E, 10th Vermont Infantry. He was wounded May 10, 1864 in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia, the second major engagement in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign; 30,000 soldiers lost their lives during this battle that lasted 14 days. Source: U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865. In 1865 he married Julia ___ and had a son Fred born in 1866. He died in 1877 of typhoid pneumonia in Aurora, Kane, IL.”

Library of Congress
Taking the census — after sketch by Thomas Worth, circa 1870.
https://www.loc.gov/item/93510014/
Note: For the illustration.

The National Archives
1840 Census Records
https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1840?_ga=2.46571940.2084972955.1741276218-755645739.1741276218
Note: For the data.

Wm Warner
in the 1840 United States Federal Census
Sandgate > Bennington > Vermont
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8057/records/3433594?tid=&pid=&queryId=e99fa725-5ecf-4b6d-a915-76171699b658&_phsrc=unJ9&_phstart=successSource
Digital page: 9/15
Note: For the data.

The National Archives
1850 Census Records
https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1850?_ga=2.43385638.2084972955.1741276218-755645739.1741276218
Note: For the data.

William Warner
in the 1850 United States Federal Census
Sandgate > Bennington > Vermont
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/records/1138454?tid=&pid=&queryId=586edbac-fa8d-451e-b15b-03df2333af9c&_phsrc=unJ11&_phstart=successSource
Digital page: 3/21
Note: For the data, entry lines 13 and 14.

Mary Hecker [Meeker]
in the 1850 United States Federal Census
Vermont > Bennington > Sandgate
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/records/1138439?tid=&pid=&queryId=672895b9-401b-4f6a-963d-4078278551fd&_phsrc=nVv10&_phstart=successSource
Digital page: 2/21, entry lines 40 to 42.
Note: Her married surname is Meeker, but in this file it is incorrectly recorded as Hecker.

William Warner
in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/91584571
and
William Warner
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16704128/william-warner
Note: For the data.

William Warner Sr 1770-1856
https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/85459977/person/44522992343/media/da5e28d8-21ce-479f-bba0-208da4f29196?queryId=41c505ab-9453-432d-bce5-448937b1d2c9&searchContextTreeId=&searchContextPersonId=&_phsrc=unJ4&_phstart=successSource
Note: For his photographic portrait. It is linked to this file: https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/85459977/person/44522992343/facts

William Warner
in the Vermont, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1749-1999
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9084/records/1048224
Note 1: For the documents.
Note 2: There are 10 documents in this set of estate papers, organized as Will, administration papers, guardianship papers, and order papers.

Prudence B Warner
in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/70522415?tid=&pid=&queryId=a898bdda-9ee5-4082-b05b-37c14c260542&_phsrc=Qok1&_phstart=successSource
and
Prudence B Nickerson Warner
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/97254137/prudence-b-warner
Note: For the data.

Sometimes Life Is A Circle

(12) — two records

Warp and weft
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warp_and_weft
Note: For the data.

Isolation: The Mayflower becalmed on a moonlit night
by Montague Dawson, (British, 1890-1973)
https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Isolation–The-Mayflower-becalmed-on-a-m/FD8D6C1A6976C620
Note: For the image of the Mayflower painting.

The Soule Line, A Narrative — Six

This is Chapter Six of seven. The Drinkwater surname continues in this Generation Four in America, with the marriage to both the Benedict, and Washburn families.

We have been in the area of the Province of Massachusetts ever since George Soule set foot on Plymouth Rock. In this chapter we finally get out of town and make our way to some new places. Unlike the previous generation of the Drinkwater family, where it was difficult to understand why they moved around so much, this generation stayed anchored in one area of the Connecticut Colony. They also left many interesting records.

*Carte De La Nouvelle Angleterre Nouvelle Yorck et Pensilvanie*,
by Jacques Nicholas Bellin, circa 1757. (Image courtesy of Barry Lawrence Ruderman
Antique Maps, Inc).

Most of the life of our 5x Great Grandfather William Drinkwater had been lived in the half century previous to when this elegant looking map was made. The westward migration of this branch of the family, from the communities near Plymouth County, Massachusetts — all the way across to the western edge of Connecticut Colony — had them moving toward areas which were still thought of as the frontier.

With Rods Belaboured…

“New-York, December 27th 1733 — We hear from Ridgeﬁeld, near the County of Westchester, that one William Drinkwater, late an inhabitant there, proving quarrelsome with his Neighbours and abusive to his Wife, the good Women of the Place took the Matter into Consideration and laid hold of an Opportunity to get him tied to a Cart, and there with Rods belaboured him on his Back, till, in striving to get away, he pulled one of his Arms out of joint, and then they unti’d him.

Mr. Drinkwater complained to sundrie Magistrates of this useage, but all he got by it was to be Laughed at. Whereupon he moved to New-Milford where we hear he proves a good Neighbour and a loveing Husband. A remarkable reformation arising from the Justice of the good Women!

—John Peter Zenger, The New-York Weekly Journal, Dec. 31, 1733”

Comment: Word must have travelled fast! As we all know, gossip can move like a whirlwind. — Ridgefield was a small town in the western side of Fairfield County, Connecticut. It is currently across the state line from Westchester County, New York. Everybody knows that marriages have ups and downs, but obviously they must have had a way of working things out — they had 12 children. (In those days it took time for stories to reach and get published in a newspaper.) (Please see the footnotes). (1)

*Colonial Grist Mill*, photograph by Paul Ward.

Having Been Put Through The Mill

From the book, Two Centuries Of New Milford, Connecticut: “William settled in New Milford about 1730 [likely circa 1732] where some of his family became Quakers… [and] on Apr 20, 1730, William bought land from Zachariah Ferris where he built a Gristmill. The mill was located on the East Aspetuck, near or at the site of the present paper mill. He sold the mill to Nathan Terrill in March 1735. William was a prominent, active citizen, but died in 1758, leaving a large family.”

Having a grist mill allows William to be in the know about goings on in the community. “Aside of the ingenuity, the grist mill was also a social hub, of such importance that it turns out our language still reflects its impact. For example, if a number of people were looking to have their grains milled, a line would form. Unlike today’s supermarkets, where you just quietly stand in line and perhaps spy on the shopping cart of the stranger in front of you, this would have been a situation in which people knew each other. Those lines would result in ‘milling about’ while they gossiped, which is still referred to as a ‘rumor mill.’

Meanwhile, inside the grist mill, the floor would have been covered with a hay like material, referred to as thresh. A piece of wood at the doorway would help keep the thresh in place, which you’d stand on when you crossed the ‘threshold’.” (Hidden New England)

William’s younger brother John was also living in the area in the mid-1730s. “John Drinkwater, came from Rhode Island, and bought of Wm. Drinkwater, 10 acres of ‘near Little Mount Tom, with a dwelling-house on it,’ March 30, 1735, and sold the same to John Sherwood, July 5, 1736, and removed from the town so far as known.” (History of the Towns of New Milford and Bridgewater, Connecticut, 1703-1882) (2)

*Plan of the Colony of Connecticut in North America*,
by Moses Park, 1766. (Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library).

There’s Many Trees In That Orchard!

Some of our ancestors stepped right up and took the Genesis 1:28 Biblical commandment to “be fruitful and multiply” quite seriously.

William Drinkwater, born about 1701 in Touisset (an area of) Swansea, Bristol, PMB — died circa 1758 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut Colony, age 57. He married first Elizabeth Benedict, December 18, 1728 in New Milford, Connecticut Colony; they had 12 children. She was born January 17, 1704 in Ridgefield, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony — died July 2, 1749, in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut Colony, age 45.

Excerpted from *History of the Towns of New Milford and Bridgewater, Connecticut, 1703-1882*
by Samuel Orcutt, circa 1882. Note: Despite all of these children, the list is still missing daughter Sarah, born February 18, 1737. There were 16 children in total.

***Also please note:*** We have corrected mistakes, updated spelling, birthdates, etc. from records of both Ridgefield, and New Milford, Connecticut — which varies from what is shown in the book image above. See footnotes).

On May 10, 1666 Fairfield County was established by an act of the Connecticut General Court along with Hartford County, New Haven County, and New London County; which were the first four Connecticut counties. On October 9, 1751 Litchfield County was created by an act of the Connecticut General Court from land belonging to Fairfield, New Haven, and Hartford counties.

William and Elizabeth’s children were born in both counties. Births for the first two, Thomas and John Drinkwater, are recorded in the town of Ridgefield, Fairfield County:

Thomas Drinkwater*, born November 3, 1729 —died November 3, 1755
John Drinkwater*, born July 3, 1731 —died September 8, 1755

Births for Elizabeth (3) through Mercy (12) are recorded in the town of New Milford, Litchfield County:
Elizabeth Drinkwater, born April 2, 1733 — married John Beeman, May 1755
Hanah Drinkwater, born August 11, 1734
Mary Drinkwater, born February 5, 1735/6
Abigail Drinkwater, born March 15, 1736
Sarah Drinkwater, born February 18, 1738 — married Stephen Ferriss, August 27, 1771
Jerusha Drinkwater, born June 16, 1740 — married Gamaliel Hurlbut, February 19, 1758
William Drinkwater, Jr., born May 3, 1742
Samuel Drinkwater, born June 27, 1744 — married Olive Gray, July 27, 1769
Ann Drinkwater, born June 11, 1746
Mercy Drinkwater, born March 25, 1748 — died October 22, 1813 in Sandgate, Bennington, Vermont. She married Eliphaz Warner, in 1769. (We are descended from Mercy and Eliphaz).

*Both died in the French and Indian War; see subtitle The French and Indian War below for more information

*A New England Dame school in old colonial times, 1713* by Artist unknown.
(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).

After the death of William Drinkwater’s wife Elizabeth (Benedict) Drinkwater, He married second Susanna Washburn, March 14, 1751; they had 4 children. The youngest four children were born in the town of New Milford, in Litchfield, County.

Ebenezer Drinkwater, born December 25, 1751
Joannah Drinkwater, July 26, 1753
Thomas Drinkwater, born January 13, 1756
Ann Drinkwater, born May 17 or 19, 1758.

William’s second wife Susanna died at a young age in in 1758. We don’t know what happened, but in that era it could have been something from a long list of troubles. For example, just a couple of years earlier in 1755-56, “Epidemics of smallpox and measles strike in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania. The population, both of settlers and Native peoples, is already weakened by the measles epidemic when the smallpox outbreak occurs.” (3)

The beginnings of the town of New Milford and the church
are so intermingled that they are inseparable.
What occurred to the church occurred to the town . . . Towns were considered the basic structure for protection of individuals
and the central part of that structure came from a church and
the teachings of its minister.
Ross Detwiler,
The Whole Story History Of The First Congregational Church

The Separatists’ Church of New Milford

We noted several times in our research of New Milford town records, that William Drinkwater was quite involved in both the civic affairs and goings-on with the local church. Considering that he had acquired a reputation for disreputable behavior when he was a younger man, this was quite a change of character. Here’s an example entry: “On Apr 11, 1731, the Separatist Church voted to take out part of the women’s seats in the Meetinghouse. Nathaniel Bostwick, Ebenezer Fisk and William Drinkwater were selected to do the work. William was among 35 members of the Separatist’s Church who became influential leaders.” (History of the Towns of New Milford and Bridgewater…)

We wanted to understand more about his transformation, which led us to a larger understanding of what church life meant to our ancestors in colonial New England. No matter where you lived, it always began with the Meeting House. From an 1891 issue of The Atlantic magazine, writer Alice Morse Earle, wrote:

“When the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth, they at once assigned a Lord’s Day meeting-place for the Separatist church, — “a timber fort both strong and comely, with flat roof and battlements; ” and to this fort, every Sunday, the men and women walked reverently, three in a row, and in it they worshiped until they built for themselves a meeting-house in 1648.

As soon as each successive outlying settlement was located and established, the new community built a house for the purpose of assembling therein for the public worship of God; this house was called a meeting-house. Cotton Mather saith distinctly that he “found no just ground in Scripture to apply such a trope as church to a house for public assembly.” The church, in the Puritan’s way of thinking, worshiped in the meeting-house, and he was as bitterly opposed to calling this edifice a church as he was to calling the Sabbath Sunday. His favorite term for that day was the Lord’s Day.

The settlers were eager and glad to build their meeting-houses; for these houses of God were to them the visible sign of the establishment of that theocracy which they had left their fair homes and had come to New England to create and perpetuate. But lest some future settlements should be slow or indifferent about doing their duty promptly, it was enacted in 1675 that a meeting-house should be erected in every town in the colony; and if the people failed to do so at once, the magistrates were empowered to build it, and to charge the cost of its erection to the town. The number of members necessary to establish a separate church was very distinctly given in the Platform of Church Discipline : “ A church ought not to be of greater number than can ordinarilie meet convenientlie in one place, nor ordinarilie fewer than may conveniently carry on church-work.” Each church was quite independent in its work and government, and had absolute power to admit, expel, control, and censure its members.”

So we were a bit confused to read this: “The beginning of the influences which were largely the cause of the formation and existence of the Separatists’ Church, in New Milford, were started and propagated by the idea of compelling people to obey the regulations of a legal church, while still pretending that the gospel taught the spirit of freedom and kindness. This occurred in a town vote in 1745, upon the question of settling a minister, the Rev. Noah Wells. The proceedings were such on that occasion as to lead thirty-five influential men to pledge themselves against that action, and to induce two of the leaders to pledge themselves to prosecute the matter in the county court if the decision of the meeting should be carried out in the settlement of Mr. Wells. These leaders, Joseph Ruggles and William Drinkwater, afterwards became strong men in starting, sustaining, and upholding the Separate Church. They were men of decided ability, means, and public influence, although they did not long remain in the town.” (History of the Towns of New Milford and Bridgewater…)

There again. It had been stated two times: Separatists’ Church and the Separate Church — but what were they separating from? We knew that the Quakers had built their own Meeting House in town in 1741, so was this related to that, or was there some other schism going on?

What was going on requires some explanation about the Connecticut Colony in that era. “Other religions may have made inroads in 18th-century Connecticut, but Puritanism, now known as Congregationalism, remained the faith of the ruling elite, and the Congregational Church remained the established church of the colony. The majority of the population remained Congregationalist. Like their Puritan forebears, Congregationalists believed that governments existed for the benefit of the people, and that governors needed to rule according the will of God.” (Connecticut History.org)

Furthermore, “The original colonies along the Connecticut River and in New Haven were established by separatist Puritans who were connected with the Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies. They held Calvinist religious beliefs similar to the English Puritans, but they maintained that their congregations needed to be separated from the English state church. They had immigrated to New England during the Great Migration. In the middle of the 18th century, the government restricted voting rights with a property qualification and a church membership requirement. (Wikipedia, Connecticut Colony)

So after learning all about the Congregationalist viewpoint of that era, this passage suddenly made sense: “KINDNESS, used as an element of power, instead of law, would have saved the Church and the world millions of men, treasure, and great honor, and would have elevated the human race far beyond anything as yet attained. While law is not to be discarded, yet it is proper to recognize the fact that it has been used, in a vast majority of cases, in the Church and out of it, as a matter of will, to gratify the anger and dictatorial feelings of men.” (History of the Towns of New Milford and Bridgewater…)

Summary: The gist of it is this — the State had made a law that crossed a line and determined who could be a member of a church. In other words, the beliefs that had brought the earlier generations of Puritans to America were being eroded, by the State sticking its nose into church matters. Connecting the ideas of voting rights and property ownership, to the right of personal religious worship as one saw fit — People did not like this development at all.

It was as if the State was dictating who had appropriate, approved spirituality, and who did not. (Just like back in the English State Church which they had all left behind). In the same manner that the Pilgrims had once been called Separatists — the Separatists’ Church in New Milford was then conceived. (4)

Four Sons, and the French and Indian War

The William Drinkwater family had four sons who served in The French and Indian War, even though much of the action for that conflict took place far away from where they lived in Connecticut. The two oldest sons, Thomas and John, both died in battles in 1755. The two younger sons, William Jr. and Samuel, served from 1759 until 1762 in various capacities.

Sons John and Thomas—
Both of these sons were serving at Fort Edward, located on a bend in the Hudson River, at Lake George in the Province of New York. (In the present day, this is Washington County, New York).

At 24 years old, John died at the Battle of Lake George, serving under Captain Banjamin Hinman. It was “fought on 8 September 1755, in the north of the Province of New York, as part of a campaign by the British to expel the French from North America…The battle consisted of three separate phases and ended in victory for the British and their allies.”

Thomas, aged 25, is recorded as dying on November 3, 1755, also at Fort Edward under Captain Samuel Demmik. Based upon our research it seems he died either from wounds incurred in the earlier Battle of Lake George, or in skirmishes which occurred after that confrontation.

*A Prospective Plan of the Battle Fought near Lake George on the 8th of September 1755*, by Thomas Johnston. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum).

Sons Willam Jr. and Samuel —
We observed in the Rolls of the Connecticut Men in The French and Indian War, that son William, who was born in 1742, was involved in the 1759 Campaign of Connecticut Forces, and served from April 1 through December 1, 1759 (for 6 months). “In the Tenth Company of the Second Regiment (Colonel Nathaniel Whiting’s) commanded by Captain Gideon Stoddard, the name of William Drinkwater appears. There are some [family] tales of Bill Drinkwater, of Stephen Terrell, and Thomas Drinkwater, but they are so indefinite that all which can be gleaned from them is that these men went as far as Quebec, and were in the battle on the Heights of Abraham, and, possibly, in some of the others.” (Two Centuries Of New Milford, Connecticut — 2 Centuries…)

*“A View of the Taking of Quebec”*, September 13, 1759. Published by Laurie and Whittle, 1759.
This engraving shows the three stages of the battle: the British disembarking,
scaling the cliff and the battle. (Image courtesy of the Library and Archives Canada).

“The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (French: Bataille des Plaines d’Abraham, Première bataille de Québec), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years’ War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe the North American theatre). The battle, which began on 13 September 1759, was fought on a plateau by the British Army and Royal Navy against the French Army, just outside the walls of Quebec City… The battle involved fewer than 10,000 troops in total, but proved to be a deciding moment in the conflict between France and Britain over the fate of New France, influencing the later creation of Canada.” (Wikipedia)

From the same Connecticut Rolls book, we saw records that William and his younger brother Samuel (born 1744) were listed in the muster roll for the Connecticut Forces for the Campaign of 1761. They were in Captain Archibald McNeill’s Eleventh Company, recorded in June 1761.

Then, this book lists them again the next year as part of the muster roll of Captain Archibald McNeill’s Ninth Company, recorded June 1762.
William was enlisted from: March 27 until December 3, for slightly over eight months; Samuel,for a few days more, from: March 22 until December 3. (5)

*The Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec, December 31, 1775*, by John Trumbull,
circa 1786. (Image courtesy of Yale University Art Gallery).

Two Sons, and the Revolutionary War

Wiliam Drinkwater Jr. was apparently quite the Patriot. Not only did he serve in the French and Indian War, but he “was a private in the Continental Army. He was in Captain Starr’s Company when he was captured near Montreal Sept 25.” (2 Centuries…) This had to be in the months leading up to what is now called the Battle of Quebec. “Shortly after the American Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, a small enterprising force led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured the key [strategically important] Fort Ticonderoga on May 10. Arnold followed up the capture with a raid on Fort Saint-Jean not far from Montreal, alarming the British leadership there.

The Battle of Quebec (French: Bataille de Québec) was fought on December 31, 1775, between American Continental Army forces and the British defenders of Quebec City early in the American Revolutionary War. The battle was the first major defeat of the war for the Americans, and it came with heavy losses. General Richard Montgomery was killed, Benedict Arnold was wounded, and Daniel Morgan and more than 400 men were taken prisoner.” (Wikipedia)

Two Centuries Of New Milford, Connecticut continues, “William was captured and after being confined for a number of weeks in the Sugar House, prisoners were taken to the prison ship Dutton. Two hundred were transported to Milford and put ashore. Twenty were dead before the ship arrived and 20 more died soon after. All 40 are buried in a graveyard there.

Of the 12 men of New Milford, only four returned – Roger Blaisdell, David Buell, William Drinkwater and Lyman Noble. Through friends in Milford, they were able to secure a horse, and thus worked their way back to New Milford, reaching there about March 1777.” (6)

“Many of the residents who lost their homes were offered the choice of money or an equivalent value of land from the half-million acres owned by Connecticut in what is now part of Ohio. Many took the property in what came to be called ‘the Fire Lands’ and never returned.”

The Burning of the Towns of Danbury, and Fairfield

Yet, he continued to serve even after his ordeal. “Capt. Bostwick appeared as a leader in the Danbury alarm. [The burning of Danbury, Connecticut Continental Army military supply depots by the British forces]. With him were John Terrell and David Buell and Bill Drinkwater. The group from Capt. Bostwick’s company was camped four days in the Danbury alarm.

The following story regarding this little band is extant: The British had commenced their retreat from Danbury by way of Ridgefield and our men were following them up very earnestly, pressing close to a grenadier regiment which was the rear guard of the head force. John Terrell, William Noble, Bill Drinkwater and David Buell rushed together up one side of the famous Ridgefield Hill, while the grenadiers [a soldier armed with grenades] were still on the other side. Men who crossed the Delaware with Capt Bostwick of New Milford, Dec. 25, 1776, and were in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, included William.” (2 Centuries…)

Where was Samuel Drinkwater?
We were wondering why there was no apparent military records for Samuel Drinkwater during the Revolutionary War in Connecticut. The answer was unexpected, and it turns out that the records were in New York, not Connecticut. From WikiTree we learned, “Samuel Drinkwater, the 3rd generation of this surname found in early America and a descendant of Thomas Drinkwater, changed the family name to DeWaters after the Revolutionary War. He, and his wife’s family, were Loyalists. Loyalists were punished by the Patriots and some fled to England or Canada. Loyalists were not allowed to own land and some had their lands confiscated, and some were jailed.” (WikiTree)

We were able to confirm his Loyalist behavior based on the “Minutes of the Committee and of the First Commission for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies in the State of New York” which documents every detail. (See the footnotes). When we thought about it, the French and Indian War he had served in earlier, was a war fought to protect British interests in America. Samuel eventually ended up in Michigan where his son Amos purchased land for him to live on.

Samuel’s behavior was in contrast to that of his brother William. Despite that, William Jr. still got into much trouble by being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people. The same “Minutes of the Committee…” book explains — it seems that he was with a group of people one evening, and a couple of them were disaffected people which means Loyalist. This was reported, and he got in trouble for it, but he went through the interrogation process, and voluntarily took the “Oath of Allegiance to this State” and was then released. That was in April 1777.

His has many records in the system, quite a few indicating that he was sick, excused, or on furlough. We suspect that he may have gotten ill while he was on the prison ship Dutton. One record notes him as deserting (with an evident question mark ?), in April of 1779, after a little more than two years of service. Other records indicate that he was discharged from service on January 1, 1780. We are not exactly sure what happened there — perhaps he had had quite enough, thank you. He may have ended up raising a family in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, but again, we just don’t know. (7)

William Drinkwater, Late of New Milford

When William Drinkwater Sr. died, as was customary at the time, his estate needed to be inventoried and his debts settled. William and both of his wives are buried in the Northville Cemetery, New Milford, Litchfield County, Connecticut.

Inventory documents from the Probate of William Drinkwater’s estate.

The next chapter is our final chapter in the Soule line. We begin in the Connecticut Colony with William Drainkwater’s daughter Mercy, who is the matriarch of Generation Five in America, with a new family line. (8)

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

With Rods Belaboured…

(1) — five records

Barry Lawrence Ruderman
Antique Maps, Inc.
Carte De La Nouvelle Angleterre Nouvelle Yorck et Pensilvanie
by Jacques Nicholas Bellin, circa 1757
https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/97868/carte-de-la-nouvelle-angleterre-nouvelle-yorck-et-pensilvan-bellin
Note: For the map image.

We initially found this newspaper excerpt attached to this file:
William Drinkwater
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/147201109/william-drinkwater
Note: For the newspaper story by John Peter Zenger, The New-York Weekly Journal, Dec. 31, 1733.

However, the original newspaper story was excerpted two more times in the next two centuries, once in Lippincott’s Magazine, circa 1876 and once more in the The Hudson Valley Review, circa 2016 (see footnotes below). The newspaper publisher, John Peter Zenger became an important historical figure in the cause for freedom of the press in the United States:
The New York Weekly Journal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Weekly_Journal

Lippincott’s Magazine of Popular Literature And Science
February, 1876., Vol. XVII.
Our Monthly Gossip > Our Early Newspapers
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/13154/13154-h/13154-h.htm
Note: This publication does not have page numbers; proceed to [pg 261].

The Hudson Valley Review, Spring 2016
Charivari on the Hudson:
Misrule, Disorder, and Festive Play, 1750-1900
by Thomas S. Wermuth
https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/hrvr-2016/64294627#15
Book page: 46, Digital page: 57/137
Note: This version starts to stray from the original details.

Having Been Put Through The Mill

(2) — three records

PX Pixels
Colonial Grist Mill
by Paul Ward
https://pixels.com/featured/colonial-grist-mill-paul-ward.html
Note: For the mill image.

Two Centuries Of New Milford, Connecticut
An Account Of The Bi-Centennial Celebration Of The Founding Of The Town Held June 15, 16, 17 And 18, 1907, With A Number Of Historical Articles And Reminiscences
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49048/49048-h/49048-h.htm
Notes: For the text.

Hidden New England
New England’s Grist Mills: Not Run-of-the-mill Historic Buildings
by Jay Bell
https://www.newenglandgoodlife.com/hidden-new-england/new-englands-grist-mills-not-run-of-the-mill-historic-buildings
Note: For the text.

There’s Many Trees In That Orchard!

(3) — fourteen records

William Drinkwater
in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/122023930?tid=&pid=&queryId=4843a9fd-46f5-46ab-9c74-022e2410976d&_phsrc=qwN1&_phstart=successSource
and
William Drinkwater
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/147201109/william-drinkwater
Note: For the data.

William Drinkwater
in the Connecticut, U.S., Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
New Milford Vital Records 1712-1860
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1062/records/191143
Book page: 76, Digital page: 74/232
Note: For marriage 1.

Elizabeth Drinkwater
in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/122024145
and
Elizabeth Benedict Drinkwater
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/147201356/elizabeth-drinkwater
Note: For the text.

History of the Towns of New Milford and Bridgewater, Connecticut, 1703-1882
Genealogies (chapter)
by Samuel Orcutt, circa 1882
https://archive.org/details/ldpd_11727486_000/page/16/mode/2up
Book page: 692-693, Digital page: 724-725/943
Note: For the text.

Susanah Washburn
in the Connecticut, U.S., Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) New Milford Vital Records 1712-1860
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1062/records/186662?tid=&pid=&queryId=5d790e3c-e896-4e69-844c-f5687b26d2ed&_phsrc=Puk2&_phstart=successSource
Book page: 221, Digital page:219/232
Note: For marriage 2.

Susanna Drinkwater
in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/122023247
and
Susanna Washburn Drinkwater
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/147200354/susanna-drinkwater
Note: For the data.

To account for the births, deaths and marriages of the Drinkwater children from these two families, we created a chart based upon Family Search files, explaining below how to link to the actual files.

Family Search, Birth — Connecticut, Births and Christenings, 1649-1906, Film # 007833261
Browse the film #007833261, at: https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/film/007833261?i=0
Enter file link number in upper left corner box: ___ of 7181. Here is an example: The oldest son Thomas Drinkwater, born in 1758. Type in file number 2795 (of 7181) and you will see his actual birth record. This numerical entry leads to this —
A blue bus the appears around your file. Click on this blue box and the file pops up.
All Drinkwater family links from then housed under this url: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3F-K385-7?i=2939&lang=en&cc=2843390

1729	Thomas	2795	Birth
1755	Thomas	2976	Death
1731	John	2961	Birth
1755	John	2962	Death
1733	Elizabeth	2951	Birth
1755	Elizabeth	2953	Marriage
1734	Hanah	2955	Birth
1735/46	Mary	2963	Birth
1736	Abigail
1738	Sarah	2972	Birth
1771	Sarah	2974	Marriage
1740	Jerusha	2958	Birth
1758	Jerusha	2959	Marriage
1742	William Jr.	2983	Birth
1744	Samuel	2969 / 2970	Birth
1769	Samuel	2971	Marriage
1746	Ann
1748	Mercy	2965	Birth
Unknown	Mercy	Other file link	Marriage
1748	Mercy	Other file link	Death
1751	Ebenezer	2947 / 2949	Birth
1753	Johannah	2960	Birth
1756	Thomas	2977	Birth
1758	Ann	2940	Birth

A New England Dame school in old colonial times, 1713
by Artist unknown, Engraving. (Bettman Archive)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dame_School.jpeg
Note: For the image.

NIH > NLM, Native Voices
1755–56: Smallpox sweeps through northern British colonies
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices/timeline/223.html
Note: For the text.

The Separatists’ Church of New Milford

(4) — eight records

Church History — The Whole Story History Of The First Congregational Church
New Milford, Connecticut
by Ross Detwiler, originally published November, 1983
revised 2001 and 2016
https://nmchurch.org/long-history/
Note: For the text.

History of the Towns of New Milford and Bridgewater, Connecticut, 1703-1882
Chapter VI. A Meeting-House and the North Purchase, 1716-1731
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/14676/images/dvm_LocHist003746-00063-0?usePUB=true&_phsrc=KMS3&pId=108&backlabel=Return&queryId=9c7228bee4240813c3a8238a9c32f67b&rcstate=dvm_LocHist003746-00038-1:285,940,575,978;1104,1012,1291,1051;1308,2571,1597,2610;1084,3234,1269,3273;1558,3365,1680,3408;103,940,286,978
Book page: 98 Digital page: 109/943
Note: For the text.

The Atlantic
The New England Meeting-House
by Alice Morse Earle
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1891/02/the-new-england-meeting-house/633979/
Note 1: This is not a typo. This is the February 1891 issue.
Note 2: For the text.

The First New Haven Meeting House, New Haven Colony, c. 1690
by Artist unknown
File:The First New Haven Meeting House, New Haven Colony restored.jpg
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_First_New_Haven_Meeting_House,_New_Haven_Colony_restored.jpg
Note: For the image.

Connecticut History.org
The Importance of Being Puritan: Church and State in Colonial Connecticut
https://connecticuthistory.org/the-importance-of-being-puritan-church-and-state-in-colonial-connecticut/
Note: For the text.

Wikipedia
Connecticut Colony
Religion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_Colony
Note: For the text.History of the Towns of New Milford and Bridgewater, Connecticut, 1703-1882

Pinterest
Early American Church Spires Vintage Print Meeting Houses | Etsy
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/331014641364220283/
Note: For the image.

History of the Towns of New Milford and Bridgewater, Connecticut, 1703-1882
Chapter XII, Church Of The Separates, 1753—1812
by Samuel Orcutt, circa 1882
https://archive.org/details/ldpd_11727486_000/page/16/mode/2up
Book page: 191 >, Digital page: 222 > (222/1014)
Note: For the text.

Four Sons, and the French and Indian War

(5) — six records

A Prospective Plan of the Battle Fought near Lake George on the 8th of September 1755, by Thomas Johnston
File:A Prospective Plan of the Battle Fought near Lake George on the 8th of September 1755-saam 1966.48.82.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Prospective_Plan_of_the_Battle_Fought_near_Lake_George_on_the_8th_of_September_1755-saam_1966.48.82.jpg
Note: For this image.

Collection of The Connecticut Historical Society, Volume X, circa 1905
Rolls of Connecticut Men in The French and Indian War, 1755-1762, Volume II, 175801762, Appendixes 1755-1764
File:Collections of the Connecticut historical society (IA collectionsofcon00conn).pdf
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Collections_of_the_Connecticut_historical_society_(IA_collectionsofcon00conn).pdf
Note: Pages 142, 280, and 338-339.

Bird’s-eye-view of New Milford, Connecticut, 1906, by Hughes & Bailey, circa 1906.
(Image courtesy of the Library of Congress).

(2 Centuries…)
Two Centuries Of New Milford, Connecticut
An Account Of The Bi-Centennial Celebration Of The Founding Of The Town Held June 15, 16, 17 And 18, 1907, With A Number Of Historical Articles And Reminiscences
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49048/49048-h/49048-h.htm
Note 1: For the text.
Note 2: This book does not have page numbers. Refer to footnote number on the right-hand side of the page {33} and {34}.

The Canadian Encyclopedia
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of-the-plains-of-abraham
Note: For the image, “A View of the Taking of Quebec”, September 13, 1759.

Battle of the Plains of Abraham
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Plains_of_Abraham
Note: For the text.

Capt Archibald McNeill Jr.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67585021/archibald-mcneill
Note: For his correct surname spelling.

Two Sons, and the Revolutionary War

(6) — three records

The Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec, December 31, 1775,
by John Trumbull, circa 1786.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Death_of_General_Montgomery_in_the_Attack_on_Quebec_December_31_1775.jpeg
Note: For this image.

British Merchant east indiaman ‘Dutton’ (1763)
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=29454
Note 1: The ship nationality is Great Britain, and it was operated by the East India Company until is was utilized to hold prisoners of war.
Note 2: Found in the comments — “Posted by Tom Hogan on Monday 14th of June 2021 12:45, This ship apparently held American prisoners at New York in 1776. In their pension applications, Pvt. Roswell Becket and Pvt. Enoch Greenwood, both taken at Fort Washington, reported being held for a time aboard the Dutton. The ship may have been in the Transport Service and was used as a prison after the large influx of captives from Fort Washington arrived in November 1776.”
Note: For the data about timeframe and country origin.

The Burning of the Towns of Danbury, and Fairfield

(7) — seven records

Connecticut History.org
The Burning of Danbury
https://connecticuthistory.org/the-burning-of-danbury/
Note: For reference.

Connecticut History.org
British Burn Fairfield – Today in History: July 7
https://connecticuthistory.org/british-burn-fairfield/
Note: For text and the woodcut illustration.

WikiTree
Drinkwater Name Study
Drinkwater Name Changed, Drinkwater > Dewalter
DeWaters
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Drinkwater_Name_Study
Note 1: “Samuel (Drinkwater, the 3rd generation of this surname found in early America and a descendant of Thomas Drinkwater, changed the family name to DeWaters after the Revolutionary War. He, and his wife’s family, were Loyalists. Loyalists were punished by the Patriots and some fled to England or Canada. Loyalists were not allowed to own land and some had their lands confiscated, and some were jailed.”

Minutes of the Committee and of the First Commission for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies in the State of New York, December 11, 1776-September 23, 1778, with collateral documents : to which is added Minutes of the Council of appointment, state of New York, April 2, 1778-May 3, 1779
by New York (State). Commissioners for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies
https://archive.org/details/minutesofcommitt571newy/page/288/mode/2up

William Drinkwater
in the U.S., Compiled Revolutionary War Military Service Records, 1775-1783
Connecticut > Seventh Regiment > D
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1309/records/440757?tid=&pid=&queryId=9a3bc703-5e28-4bb9-9d44-e4caaae3c054&_phsrc=Qwp1&_phstart=successSource
Digital page: 1409/1879
and
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1309/records/440757?tid=&pid=&queryId=0e9420b9-85e2-45cf-8d6b-6f3652956042&_phsrc=Qwp5&_phstart=successSource
Digital page: 1452/1879
and
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1309/records/440754?tid=&pid=&queryId=a04db6c4-0211-4b51-a0f3-d866cf058fdf&_phsrc=Qwp3&_phstart=successSource
Digital page: 1410/1879
Note: For the data.

William Drinkwater, Late of New Milford

(8) — one record

William Drinkwater
in the Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999
Woodbury District > Probate Packets, Downs, C-Edmond, M, 1720-1880
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9049/records/2465233?tid=&pid=&queryId=2aca2ddd-03e3-4f17-b65e-830efbf1bc7c&_phsrc=VgH4&_phstart=successSource
Digital page: 850-857/1417
Note: Case 1384