Roots Trek: 2nd new jersey regiment

Showing posts with label 2nd new jersey regiment. Show all posts

Monday, July 4, 2016

My Revolutionary War Patriots

O beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!

America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

-Katherine Lee Bates

On this day, July 4th, 2016, 240 years from the day the colonists declared their independence from Great Britain, I honor my seven ancestral Revolutionary War Patriots:

1 - 6th great-grandfather George Wisegarver, Private, Bedford County Militia. Buried on the Wisegarver Farm, moved to St. John Church, Cessna, Bedford County PA.

2 - 6th great-grandfather Johannes Frederick Reighard. Listed in Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots, Vol. 3. Buried in Mattas Farm Cemetery (now Hilltop Cemetery), Bedford County, PA.

Photo courtesy of findagrave.com, added by K. Love.

3 - 6th great-grandfather George Reininger, 2nd Class, 4th Battalion, City of Philadelphia Militia. Burial location unknown.

4 - 6th great-grandfather Thomas Blackburn, despite strict Quaker principles against bearing arms, acknowledged in a Quaker meeting on 4 Apr 1778 as having served in the Revolutionary War, probably under compulsory means as ordered through the Military Service Act of 17 March 1777. Buried in an unmarked grave in the Friends Cemetery north of Fishertown in Bedford County, PA.

5 - 5th great-grandfather Thomas Callihan, Private, 2nd New Jersey Regiment. Buried with his wife in a private burial ground located at the highest point of his former estate near Pleasantville, PA.

6 - 5th great-grandfather Conrad Haverstock, Lieutenant, York County Militia. Buried in Mount Eaton Lutheran Cemetery, Mount Eaton, Wayne County, OH.

Photo courtesy of findagrave.com, added by Don Haverstock

7 - 5th great-grandfather John Ickes, Lieutanant, York County Militia. Buried in Old Union Cemetery, Osterburg, Bedford County, PA

Honorable Mention:

8 - 6th and 7th great-grandfather John Blackburn, Jr. joined York County military forces against Indian uprisings prior to the Revolution despite strict Quaker principles against bearing arms. Presumed buried at the Quaker Burying Grounds at the Warrington Meeting House in Menallen Township, York (now Adams) County, PA.

All original content, images, commentary, etc. copyright © by Joy Denison 2015-2016. All rights reserved. All writings, poems, speeches, essays, images, scans, likenesses, etc. by Adam Ickes (b 1845) as well as personal histories, images, and all other content by all persons referenced and discussed within the pages and posts in this blog may not be copied, shared, or reproduced in any way without expressed permission by the owner unless included here from other referenced sources or are historical records already considered to be in the public domain.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Thomas Callihan - One More piece of History

If you remember, Thomas Callihan deserted on Apr 5, 1778 after leaving Valley Forge and marching to New Jersey, more specifically Haddonfield, per orders from George Washington. His commanding officer was Colonel Israel Shreve. Based on others in his regiment being taken prisoner on that day, I speculated that Thomas deserted because of a raid by the British. A quick google search for "2nd New Jersey Regiment Revolutionary War" turned this up on Wikipedia and several other sources:

"Through the spring of 1778, on detached duty and in cooperation with the Jersey Militia, the 2nd New Jersey gathered forage and supplies, and skirmished with the British and Loyalists for two months."

April 5th was, in fact, an important day in the history of the 2nd New Jersey. The account continues:

"On 4 and 5 April 1778, British forces repulsed Major Richard Howell and his troops from Billingsport, New Jersey. British troops attacked Swedesboro and marched on towards Haddonfield. Col. Israel Shreve evacuated from Haddonfield about 2 am Sunday morning, 5 April, and speed marched his troops to Mount Holly. Haddonfield was attacked, two Quaker houses were burned, and American rider Miles Sage was stabbed multiple times by British (but survived). British troops proceeded to Cooper's Ferry (present site of the New Jersey access of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge). A pitched battle ensued, with about 50 American troops (most of whom were part of Shreve's Regiment),led by Major William Ellis (Gloucester Militia). Orders had been given by Shreve (and sent by Miles Sage) to vacate upon the ignition of an alarm cannon. The cannon was never fired, and Ellis refused to retreat across the Cooper Creek Bridge. Many men were wounded, killed or captured. The British were furious about the lost opportunity to capture Shreve at Haddonfield but elated about the capture of the American picket at Cooper's Ferry (including a set of spy glasses given by Washington to spy upon the Philadelphia shore). Washington was furious at Shreve and never forgave him."

The Haddonfield skirmish of April 5, 1778 was recently reenacted.

www.facebook.com/FriendsOfTheIndianKingTavernMuseum

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Friday, June 17, 2016

Thomas Callihan Rewrite

I sent a link to my Thomas and Mary Callihan post to Robert Callihan who forwarded it on to Don Callihan. Both are founders, researchers, and major contributors to callihanfamilyresearch.org. And they're both really nice guys.

I heard back. It turns out I was just a tiny bit wrong.

Two things. Three, actually.

First, Don told me there's no evidence Thomas was born in Ireland. He could have been born in New Jersey for all we know! Well, if that's true, how come callihanfamilyresearch.org has him born in Northern Ireland?

screenshot from callihanfamily research.org

I knew I had seen that somewhere! Maybe someone else in their research group came to that conclusion and it ended up on the website. But whatever. Apparently, documented evidence is lacking and we may never know for sure.

Second, Don told me the Callihans weren't Quakers.

Well. . . he got me there.

Since virtually ALL of my other Bedford County Irish immigrants were Quakers, and Thomas' first Bedford County land purchase was right smack in the middle of Quaker Central (aka Fishertown), and some of the Callihans married Quakers, I apparently made an incorrect assumption.

Don speculated that they may have been Presbyterian or Methodist. Actually, not being affiliated with such a tight-knit religious group as were the Quakers could explain the affiliation at least some of them had with the Old Mock Church outside of Pleasantville. Thomas' son, Robert, was listed in a church record as being one of its trustees. And he and his wife are buried there. And my great-grandfather wrote about walking there with his grandmother to go to church.

So definitely not Quakers.

The last item concerned Thomas' service in the Revolutionary War. Did he serve or didn't he? I guess it could still be up for debate, but Don is convinced. He served. And deserted. After a little research of my own, and now that I know more than I did before, I would have to agree with him. And actually, the story is quite fascinating.

On Monday, 20 January 1806, Thomas put an ad in the Bedford Gazette.

photo found at callihanfamilyresearch.org

What do we learn from this? We know he had a brother named Jacob and a sister named Nancy. They were both living in Morris County New Jersey in 1778. It appears that Thomas had been living there as well, but left in 1778 and had not had any contact with them for 28 years. He was also letting them know he had relocated to Bedford County Pennsylvania because they would otherwise have no way knowing that.

So what was going on in 1778 that would draw Thomas away from his New Jersey family and not return? Well, when the places and the dates match up and there are no records that could point to anyone else by the same name, the evidence becomes pretty convincing.

According to Don, The Thomas "Callehen" or "Kallehan" listed in the records of the New Jersey 2nd Regiment was, in fact, OUR Thomas Callihan.

So he really could have been born in New Jersey???

Well, I found this myself, so. . . .

maybe. (Actually, with no dates assigned to this record other than a time span of 271 years, this tells us absolutely nothing. It's like it's totally compelling and completely useless all at the same time! And what's really fascinating is that as long as we don't know, it's exactly like that thing that happened with Schrodinger's cat. And that, my friends, is where science and genealogy come together.)

Back to Thomas. The available online records and the history books paint a pretty good picture as to where he was and what he was up against.

These two reproduced military records show that Thomas "Callehen" had enlisted as a Continental soldier on January 1, 1778 with the 2nd New Jersey Regiment. It was a part of George Washington's "Grand Army". He was 20 years old.

Thomas probably experienced tearful goodbyes as he left his family members and began marching along side any other new recruits to the place the 2nd New Jersey Regiment had been ordered to spend the winter. It was only about 80 miles from Morris County, NJ, but from what Thomas left behind it was probably a whole world away. I don't believe anything could have prepared him for what lie ahead. So where was the 2nd New Jersey Regiment in January of 1778?

Valley Forge.

If you forgot your American History (like I did) let me fill you in. Wikipedia puts it this way:

"Valley Forge was the military camp in southeastern Pennsylvania, approximately 20 miles (30 km) northwest of Philadelphia, where the American Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–78 during the American Revolutionary War. Starvation, disease, malnutrition, and exposure killed over 2,500 American soldiers by the end of February 1778."

Another historian wrote:

"Images of bloody footprints in the snow, soldiers huddled around lonely campfires, and Washington on his knees, praying that his army might survive often come to mind when people hear the words ‘Valley Forge.’

"Washington chose Valley Forge as the winter encampment for his 11,000 men along with approximately 500 women and children who accompanied them for several reasons. First, the lay of the land made Valley Forge a natural fortress. The army's camp sat high on a plateau at the top of a series of hills that protected it. The soldiers lived in huts built on the plateau and continued training on the parade ground at its center. Secondly, Valley Forge was far enough away from the rich farmland north of Philadelphia to prevent the army from becoming a burden on the local population. Lastly, Valley Forge was close enough to the occupied capital of Philadelphia for the Continental Army to keep an eye on the British and prevent any surprise attacks on settlements in the countryside. As Washington explained, if the army was farther away, then 'many of our friends would be exposed to all the miseries of the most insulting and wanton depredation.'

"Washington hoped that his officers and soldiers, with "one heart" and "one mind," would surmount the troubles that lay ahead of them. The lack of proper clothing was a significant problem. While Washington knew most of his men were fit for duty, he calculated that at least a third of them had no shoes. Many did not have a decent coat to protect against the constant rain that plagued the camp.

"Washington ordered his soldiers to build wooden huts for themselves, twelve by twelve feet each, and then search the countryside for straw to use as bedding. He hoped this would keep them warm since there were not enough blankets for everyone. Even worse, his quartermaster reported that he had just twenty-five barrels of flour and only a little salt pork to feed the entire army.

"Promising to 'share in the hardship' and 'partake of every inconvenience,' Washington moved with his closest aides into a two-story stone house near Valley Forge Creek. He spent much of his time writing to Congress, demanding more supplies for his men, while defending himself against charges of incompetence and dictatorial ambitions." (http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/valley-forge/)

Washington's headquarters at Valley Forge (photo by Rob Shenk)

Throughout the winter of 1777-78 many men took furloughs, died, and deserted. From the book "What Can't Brave Americans Endure" The New Jersey Infantry at the Valley Forge Encampment by Joseph Lee Boyle we read, "Many men left the Army in January 1778 as their terms of service were up. For the next few months few new enlistments appeared." Thomas would have been one of those new enlistments, arriving just prior to mid February, the hardest time for the troops. Food shortages were so severe, Boyle wrote, that Washington wrote to the President of Congress that if something was not done immediately "this Army would dissolve".

Payroll for January

Payroll for February

Extra pay awarded the troops by act of Congress
mid February due to their extreme hardship

Image of the actual Muster Roll for the 2nd New Jersey, February 1778. Thomas "Callehen" is #21.

The above image cropped and photoshopped

Piecing together a timeline, Boyle referenced a letter written by General George Washington to Colonel Israel Shreve, the 2nd New Jersey commanding officer. On March 19th Washington ordered them to leave Valley Forge and "march immediately" for New Jersey out of concern for British raiding parties.

So here's what we know so far. Thomas enlisted on January 1st. He was at Valley Forge sometime after January 1st and stayed until shortly after March 19th when his unit shipped out due to potential British raiding parties.

And then this happened:

If you're wondering what the chicken scratch is between "Casualties" and "Apl, 5, 1778", it's "Desd", which stands for "Deserted".

Why would he endure the immense suffering of Valley Forge and then on the 5th of April, 2 weeks after he marched out of there, decide to run? Well, I think there's more to the story. I found one more record:

Muster Roll, 2nd New Jersey, June 12, 1778

On the June 12th Muster Roll, Thomas "Kellehan" is #41. Following his name is a symbol for "deserted" and the date, "5 April".

But a closer look at some of the other names on the same muster roll might give us a little more insight as to what was going on. #'s 28-32 were all taken prisoner on the 5th of April, the exact same day Thomas deserted.

#33 was also taken prisoner on April 5th.

I think it's likely that on the 5th of April, 1778, as the New Jersey 2nd marched toward New Jersey from Valley Forge (or they may have already arrived), they did meet up with a British raiding party. As a result, several US patriots were taken prisoner. Thomas, however, managed to escape his enemies' grasp.

So why didn't he go back? Of course, we'll never know. But maybe because...people were trying to kill him?? Or, as he compared the deplorable living conditions he was provided by his own military to what he could only imagine the enemy would subject him to, he couldn't allow himself to take the chance of ever becoming a prisoner of war. There's also a good possibility that as he ran to escape the enemy on that fateful day in April he got lost and couldn't make his way back to his division. In any case, whatever the actual scenario, I want to think the best of him. I want to believe he did his best. He endured as much as he could.

Or perhaps, just maybe, God had a different plan for him.

He probably couldn't go back home and admit personal defeat. I would imagine his entire family presumed him dead unless somehow, at some time, they received word that he was a deserter after less than 14 weeks of military service. Some of them might have rather heard he died.

Sadly, the shame of desertion could have held him prisoner his entire life.

If by any chance I could talk to you,

Thomas Callihan,

5th great-grandfather of mine,

right now,

today,

in person,

I would say to you

without hesitation,

"I love you.

I'm proud of you.

Thank you for doing your best.

Thank you for following your heart.

There's no shame in that."

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Thomas Callihan and Mary Proctor

I'm not going to go into too much detail about Thomas and Mary as there is a fascinating, well-researched website dedicated to Thomas and Mary Callihan and their descendants at callihanfamilyresearch.org. To access the wealth of information they have there you need to create a user name and password to log in, but it is completely free. And completely worth it.

Suffice it to say that Thomas Callihan was an Irish Quaker immigrant from Ireland who, as far as we know, came to the US in the 1770s. According to the hand-carved inscription on his headstone he would have been born in 1757. Mary Proctor, probably born about 1754, was also a Quaker, though probably from England. More than likely, they met through their mutual affiliation with the Quakers. They were affiliated with the Menallen Meeting prior to Bedford County having their own congregation.

Thomas first shows up in the Bedford County tax rolls in 1785. His first Bedford County residence was near the Quaker community of Fishertown, He later sold that tract of land and purchased land near Pleasantville. (Farmers and land owners would often buy and sell adjoining tracts of land for whatever reasons they had at the time, so the acreage at both locations would vary depending on his most recent land transaction.)

Whether or not Thomas served in the Revolutionary War and for how long is a little complicated. Maybe he did (or maybe someone else did with the same name), and maybe he actually deserted. We know that the Quakers were completely against taking up arms, so the conflict of interest between loyalty to God and obligations to country would certainly create a lot of cognitive dissonance. We do believe he signed the required "Oath of Allegiance" and we know he paid "supply tax" which helped to fund the war. According to the DAR, a law was passed 13 June 1777 which required all men over the age of 18 to sign an Oath of Allegiance, rejecting allegiance to King George. All signers and those citizens who paid the 'Supply Tax,' which was levied to fund the war effort are credited with Patriotic Service. So, as far as I'm concerned, Thomas Callihan was a patriot indeed.

Thomas and Mary had at least 8 children. One of their children, a son, died in childhood and another son died at age 24. The rest lived into their 70s and 80s.

The Callihan plantation was located on what is now Oldham Road, northwest of Pleasantville. Their log home was described as having an exterior staircase which led to the second floor and a seperate outside bake house. A huge walnut tree stood next to the home which subsequently died. It was owned and occupied by members of the Callihan family for 75 years.

1861 map showing the location of the Callihan homestead

According to subsequent owners of the property, the rock foundation for the
original Callihan log home was located where the red barn now stands.

Thomas and Mary are buried on the highest point of their land behind Robby Ickes' house, almost a half a mile from their log home . I wrote about Robby taking us up to the grave site here.

The burial location is at the top of this hill.

The fence was erected probably during the mid 1900s, more than 100 years after their deaths.

Thomas Callihan's handcarved headstone. Deciphering it can be a little tricky, but keeping
in mind the backwards "4", he died 3 April 1841 at the age of 84 years and 3 days.

Mary died two years before Thomas on 30 January 1839 at the age of 85.

Here is his will:

This is from the County records. (His original handwritten
will can be seen at callihanfamilyresearch.org,)

In the name of God Amen I Thomas Callahan of St. Clair township in the County of Bedford and State of Pennsylvania being advanced in age and knowing the uncertainty of time here, but of sound mind memory and understanding thinks best to make and publish that my last will and testament in manner and form following; viz Principally and first of all I commend my immortal soul into the hands of God who gave it and my body to Earth to be buried in a decent Christian like manner at the discretion of my Executors herein after named; and as to such worldly estate as it hath pleased God to bless me with in this life, I give and dispose of in the following manner to wit, I give and bequeath unto my wife Mary one horse creture at her choice and two cows at her choice and five sheep and two hogs out of my stock; and two beds and bedding thereunto belonging and one beaureau and as much of my kitchen furniture as she may think necessary; and it is my will that my plantation whereon I now live shall be rented to the highest bidder at public venue during my wife’s natural life or widow hood and the renter shall furnish my widow with hay and grain as much shall be necessary for the support of her and her stock out of rent and the grains to be delivered in the bushel and the hay in the barn and it is my will that my widow shall have the house wherein I now live during her natural life or widowhood and it is my will that the remainder of the rent shall be equally divided among my four children namely John, Thomas, Robert and Jacob and further it is my will that at the expiration of nine months after my widows decease that my Executors advertise and sell at public venue and convey all my right title claim and demand of the tract of land wherein I now live and likewise my small tract adjoining the before mentioned Plantation or tract of land and when the price thereof shall be collected it is my will that it shall be equally divided amongst my four children namely John, Thomas, Robert and Jacob and it is my will that my Executors pay to my Daughter Elizabeth Oldham and my sons William Callahan the sums of two dollars each they bring provided heretofore. I do further request my Executors at a suitable time after my decease to advertise and sell all my personal property not herein before bequeathed or otherwise disposed of and after the money shall be collected and all debts & incidental expenses paid that they then pay what shall be remaining to my four children namely John, Thomas, Robert, and Jacob each to have an equal share, and lastly I nominate constitute and appoint my friends Anthony Blackburn and James More to be my Executors of my last will and testament hereby revoking all other wills legacies and bequests heretofore made and declaring this and no other to be my last will and Testament.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this sixth day of April one thousand eight hundred and thirty Signed sealed published and declared by the said Testater as his last will and Testament in the presence of us, who in his presence and at his request, have subscribed as witnesses Amos Penrose Samuel Penrose

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