Eden Johnson: Revolutionary War patriot, Battles in Canada and New York

 

Introduction

      This is my fourth year writing a blogpost around July 4th for an ancestor who served in the Revolutionary War. 

      This year, I am selecting Eden Johnson, one of my 4th great-grandfathers, on my mother's paternal side.  

      He fought in Canada, New York and New Hampshire in conjunction with Vermont militia, New York militia and Continental troops.

Early Life

      Very little is known about Eden Johnson's early life! Several Ancestry trees state that his parents were Captain John Douglas Johnson and Phyllis Pellet. And yet I do not see Eden listed as their son in either the Family History of the Cleveland family or the DAR/SAR applications. John and Phyllis married in 1756 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut.

      Likewise, we do not know any of the siblings of Eden Johnson. Although military records do suggest that he may have had a brother John. 

      Eden Johnson was born between 1750 and 1759. Some sources say that he was born in Connecticut, some in Vermont and some in New York. Since Vermont was not one of the original colonies, a birth in the Vermont of today would actually be a birth in the New Hampshire or New York of the time. Some sources indicate that Eden was born in Whitehall, New York, about 9 miles from today's Vermont border.

    

Revolutionary War Service 

      At this time, no one has submitted a DAR or SAR application for Eden Johnson.

Canada campaign with the Vermont militia

      According to the History of Prescott County by Cyrus Thomas, Eden lived in New Hampshire as a youth and espoused the cause of his country in the Revolutionary struggle. He was one of those that followed Richard Montgomery to Quebec. 

      The invasion of Quebec was the first major initiative by the Continental Army. Its purpose was to gain military control of the British Province of Quebec, thereby limiting Britain's ability to furnish manpower and weapons from that area to fight against the colonists. In addition, the colonists were hoping to convince French-speaking Canadians to join the revolution on the side of the colonists. Montgomery defeated the British forces at Fort St. Johns and Montreal, but died in the battle to take Quebec City on December 31, 1775.

      There is a muster roll and list of names, which appear to be closely related, based on their adjacency in the Ancestry records, which I am assuming reflects the order in the records held by the National Archives.

Ancestry; U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783

      In addition, this sheet states that there is 1 muster roll from January 1776 and 1 list from February 1776. The next document in the records is the muster roll displayed below, and the document after that is the list of men at Montreal on February 26, 1776.

 

      The muster roll, apparently from January 1776, is for Captain Gideon Brownson's Company in Colonel Seth Warner's Regiment.  This list includes Edin Jonston, John Jonston, as well as Samuel Stuart. All 3 enlisted January 16. John Johnson is noted as "inlisted into the Regt of Colo Porter, April 19". (Samuel Stuart and Eden Johnson married sisters. See Marriage and Family section in this post.)

Ancestry; U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783

The above document must relate to the Canada campaign. Beauport, referenced in the entry for Robert Averal, is immediately adjacent to Quebec City. And Colonel Porter saw action during the invasion of Canada.

      The next document is a list of Captain Gideon Brownson's Company in Montreal on February 26, 1776. This list includes 'Edin Jonson' and 'John Jonson'. (It also includes Samuel Stuart.) This appears to be a list associated with the muster roll displayed above.

      Both of the above records (muster roll and list) are associated with the Vermont militia in compiled records.    

New York militia

      Eden Johnson also appears to have served in the New York militia. According to "New York in the Revolution as Colony and State, Volumes I and II",  "Edon" Johnson served as an enlisted man in 1776 in the Sixteenth Regiment in Albany, New York. A William Johnson is also listed! They were serving under Colonels John Blair and Lewis Van Woert. (There are other Johnsons listed in other Albany County militias, but Johnson is such a common name that it is difficult to know how to interpret the presence of a name. A John and Joshua Johnson served in the 14th Regiment of Albany County. A William, John and George Johnson served in the 3rd Regiment of Albany County.)

Continental Troops

      Subsequent records are for Eden's Revolutionary War service in the Continental Troops. He had 4 periods of service from 23 October 1776 - 15 July 1778. He was serving as a corporal in Seth Warner's regiment, in Captain Jeremiah Burroughs' Company.

Ancestry; U.S., Compiled Revolutionary War Military Service Records

      Evidently, he was appointed corporal on January 16, 1777. (Or this may have been the date of his initial enlistment.) He enlisted for the duration of the war. During this first period, he was on command at Skenesboro, located on Lake Champlain. Today, Skenesboro is known as Whitehall and is located in New York. 

      This information is based on an original muster roll dated 14 June 1777. The muster roll includes 32 privates, 3 sergeants, 3 corporals and a drummer. Also listed on the roster is a John Johnson, private, who enlisted 25 January 1777 for the duration of the war. Below are extracts from this muster roll.

Ancestry; U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783

 

Ancestry; U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783

      At this time, he was stationed at Saratoga. The battles of Saratoga were on September 19 and October 7, 1777. The Americans won a decisive victory, which encouraged France to support the colonists. 

      This is based on a muster roll dated 10 November 1777. "Edan" Johnson is still a corporal, but only one other corporal is listed, and he, Joel Prindle, was taken prisoner July 7th. John Johnson is listed in the muster roll, but he deserted 9 August 1777. Of the 36 privates listed, 3 were sick, 3 were furloughed, 5 were take prisoner, 3 were killed and 8 deserted! So only 14 were present and active. See the defection record below for John Johnson.

Ancestry; U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783

    

 

Ancestry; U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783

      Although the muster roll was created at Bennington (today in Vermont), Eden was on command in Albany. Albany was a critical center during the war due its location on the Hudson River. 

      This is based on a muster roll dated 20 April 1778. "Edon" Johnson is still a corporal and the second corporal, Joel "Pringle", was returned from captivity December 17, after about 5 months as a prisoner. John Johnson is no longer listed in the muster roll! A private named Solomon Hine? was also listed as on command to Albany.

Ancestry; U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783

      

      Although the muster roll was created at Fort Stark, Eden is noted as being on scout.

      This is based on a muster roll dated 15 July 1778. "Edon" Johnson is still a corporal and 2 other corporals are listed. Joel "Pringle" deserted May 29.  Elisha Notes, not mentioned previously, is on command to Bennington.  Both Joel and Elisha were appointed corporals 26 October 1776, so Eden was the last appointed of the 3 corporals... Also on scout is Timothy Pringle, a sergeant.
  

   

Marriage and Family

      This information is unfortunately sketchy!   

      According to the History of  the counties of Argenteuil, Quebec, and Prescott, Ontario by Cyrus Thomas, Eden Johnson lived in New Hampshire. After the Revolutionary War, he married a Miss "Abott", the daughter of a captain in the British service. He lived for a while in New Hampshire before moving to Canada. He left four children, including sons William, Chauncey and Eden Abbot and one unnamed daughter.   

      According to History of Addison County Vermont by H. P. Smith, Eden Johnson and Samuel Stewart, who married sisters, moved from Skenesboro (now Whitehall), New York, to the wilderness land of Pocock (now Bristol, Vermont) in early June 1786. They came with their wives, the 2 Johnson children and Samuel's son Chauncey. Eden Johnson only lived in Bristol for a few years and then moved to Plattsburgh, New York, and from there to Canada.

      The history of Vermont is curious, though! In 1777, the territory known as New Hampshire Grants declared itself independent. First, it called itself the Republic of New Connecticut and six months later,  it called itself the Republic of Vermont. It could not be admitted to the Union of the 13 states because New York claimed the land. After Vermont and New York finished their negotiations, Vermont was admitted as the 14th state in 1791.

      I think there is very compelling evidence that Eden's wife was named Eunice and Eunice's sister was Elizabeth, who married Samuel Stewart. Eunice's parents were likely John Abbott and Sarah Baker, although it appears that John was a patriot and did NOT serve for the British. Both Eunice and her sister Elizabeth named their first-born sons Chauncey. John and Sarah Abbott had a son Chauncey who died at 17 years of age from a falling tree. So his sisters were honoring their brother's memory!

      According to the 1790 census, Eden Johnson lived in Bristol, Addison County, Vermont. There were 3 males and 4 females in the house. The males were Eden Johnson, son Chauncey and son William. The daughters are mysteries. 

      

       The best tentative children list for Eden Johnson and Eunice Abbott is:

Chauncey, born about 1782. 

unknown girl, born about 1784.

unknown girl, born about 1786.

William, born about 1787-1789.

unknown girl, born about 1790.

Eden Abbott, born about 1796.

      By 1791, Eden and his family had moved to Plattsburgh, New York, situated on Lake Champlain. In May 1791, Eden bought 100 acres in Plattsburgh from Nathaniel Platt for 130 pounds. Also, according to New York genealogical records, Eden Johnson was residing in Plattsburgh in 1794.

      

Life in Canada

      On September 23, 1794, Eden Johnson made a declaration as an alien at St. John's in Quebec. He stated that he was a farmer and that he resided in Plattsburgh for the preceding six months. He came to Canada via Lake Champlain and was "in quest of a Black man belonging to Nathaniel Platt Esquire."

      It is not clear to me whether Eden returned to New York after this. We know that his son, Eden Abbott Johnson, was born in 1796 and was supposedly the first white child born in Hawkesbury, which is in the Prescott County, Ontario, of today.

      We also know that Eden Johnson owned the land where The White Inn, a historical building, was later built. He bought this land from Nathaniel Treadwell. The land is east of L'Orignal, on the Ottawa River.

      On November 4, 1809, Eden was drowned when he broke through the ice on the Ottawa River while chasing a deer.

      The death date of Eden's wife Eunice is not clear, but it seems likely that she outlived him.

Maps

Google Maps, probable battle sites in "Canada", for Eden Johnson. 

      

      These sites include St. John (Saint-Jean-sur_Richelieu), Montreal and Quebec City. Military records show his presence in Montreal. 

Google maps, battle sites in the colonies, for Eden Johnson.

      Battle sites, from south to north, include Albany, Saratoga and Whitehall, all in New York. On the east is Fort Stark, which is in today's New Castle, New Hampshire.

Google maps, residences of Eden Johnson

       Residences, from south to north, which is the direction he travelled, were Whitehall New York, Bristol Vermont, Plattsburgh New York and L'Orignal/Hawkesbury in Ontario Canada.

Sources

Abbott, Leuel Abijah. "Descendants of George Abbott, of Rowley, Mass...."; Boston: T. R. Marvin & son, 1906, pp. 205-213.

https://archive.org/details/descendantsofgeo01abbo/page/204/mode/2up

American Revolutionary War 1775 to 1783; "The Invasion of Quebec"; RevolutionaryWar.us; 2017.

https://revolutionarywar.us/campaigns/1775-1776-invasion-quebec/

Ancestry.com. New York, Genealogical Records, 1675-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

      Original data: Selected Extracts from Landholders of Northeastern New York 1739-1802; Author: Bowman, Fred Q.; Publication Place: Baltimore; Publisher: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.; Publication Year: 1987.

      Original data: New York in the Revolution as Colony and State, Vol. I - Extracts; Publication Place: Albany, New York; Publisher: J. B. Lyon Co.; Publication Year: 1904; Page Number: 131

Ancestry.com. New York Military in the Revolution [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2000.

      Original data :Electronic reproduction of New York in the Revolution as Colony and State, Vol. II,  originally published in 1897. 

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/24625:4674?ssrc=pt&tid=87329494&pid=38546238621

Ancestry.com. North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2016. 

      "The genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland families: An attempt to trace, in  both the male and the female lines, the posterity of Moses Cleveland..."; Cleveland, Edmund Janes; Hartford Conn., Printed for the subscribers by the Case, Lockwood & Brainard company, 1899. Volume 1, page 182.

https://archive.org/details/genealogyofcleve01clev/page/182/mode/2up?q=Pellet

Ancestry.com. U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2007.

- https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/4282/images/miusa1775a_113638-00449?pId=651214 (Edin Jonston, John Jonston, Jan 1776?)

- https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/4282/images/miusa1775a_113638-00451?pId=651214 (Edin Jonson and John Jonson, 26 February 1776)

- https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/4282/images/miusa1775a_113682-00124?pId=945143  (Eden Johnson and John Johnson, 14 Jun 1777)

- https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/4282/images/miusa1775a_113682-00127?pId=945183 (Eden Johnson and John Johnson, 10 November 1777)

- https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/4282/images/miusa1775a_113682-00130?pId=945228 (Eden Johnson, 20 April 1778)

- https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/4282/images/miusa1775a_113682-00133?pId=945265 (Eden Johnson, 15 July 1778)

Ancestry.com. Vermont Men in the Revolutionary War [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003. 

Original data: Goodrich, John E., ed.. The State of Vermont. Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War 1775 to 1783. Rutland, VT, USA: Tuttle, 1904, p. 636. 

Ancestry.com. 1790 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. 

- Vermont, Addison County, Bristol. (Eden Johnson)

Canadiana Heritage. Lower Canada, declaration of aliens: H-1154. From Library and Archives Canada.

https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_h1154/168

Family.search. United States, New York Land Records, 1630-1975. 

      - Clinton County, Deeds 1788-1804, vol. A-B, images 103-104, 178-179 of 578.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9W2-58K5?i=102&cc=2078654&cat=240558

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9W2-58DD?i=177&wc=M7HT-438%3A358134801%2C358552101&cc=2078654

Find a Grave,database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/187213086/chauncey-johnson): accessed 15 August 2023), memorial page for Chauncey Johnson, Find A Grave Memorial ID 187213086, citing Cassburn Cemetery, Cassburn, Prescott and Russell United Counties, Ontario, Canada; Maintained by Leone Hanson Sigurdson.

Google maps.

Smith, H. P. "History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers"; Syracuse, New York: D. Mason & Co, 1886, pp. 401-2.

https://archive.org/details/historyofaddison1886smit/page/400/mode/2up?q=%22Eden+Johnson%22

Thomas, Cyrus. "History of the counties of Argenteuil, Que. and Prescott, Ont., from the earliest settlement to the present"; Montreal, Quebec: John Lovell & Son, 1896, pp. 507-510.

https://archive.org/details/historyprescott00thomuoft 

 

Margaret Springer: Pennsylvania Dutch Origins

1812-1899
great-great-grandmother

(pg. 275 of Rupp’s list of German immigrants???)

      Margaret Springer was born September 30, 1812, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Michael Springer and Susanna Sunderland. She was the youngest of 11 children, all surviving to adulthood. Her siblings were Daniel (1791), Sarah (1792), John (1794), Michael (1796), Elizabeth (1798), Nancy (1801), Mary (1806), William (1806), Susanna (1808) and Peter (1810).

       Margaret’s father Michael was a Revolutionary War patriot. He served as a private in the militia of Westmoreland County in 1782, and was called out to guard the line on the frontiers. He later received depreciation pay for his services, which helped compensate him for the depreciated currency with which he was paid. The Springer family is difficult to untangle, but one significant source says that Michael’s father, Michael Springer, came to America in 1752 on the ship “Halifax”. This immigrant Michael Springer Sr. is our earliest known Springer ancestor and our 4^th great grandfather. His maternal grandmother was from Hanover, Germany. Other sources state that the Springers were from Sweden and this appears to be what her sons Thomas and Andrew believed, because this was stated in a newsletter for Gilman, Illinois.  Dad’s cousins have since refuted this Swedish connection and it appears that Margaret was “Pennsylvania Dutch” in her origins, a descendant of early German-speaking immigrants to Pennsylvania.

       In the 1830’s, Margaret Springer married Henry Crooks and they had 10 children together. We see Margaret in the federal censuses, but all the records tell us is that she ‘kept house’. I’m sure this was no small feat with her large family and the responsibilities of a farm. Dad’s cousin, Miriam Bolick, visited the farm that Henry and Margaret owned and she took pictures of several pieces of original furniture, including a jelly cupboard. The home was originally 2 stories, although a couple of additions were made. Originally, there were fireplaces in every room and 4 chimneys.

       Margaret (Springer) Crooks died on March 14, 1899, 16 years after the death of her husband Henry.  In 1900, her 3 unmarried children (William, John and Martha) and her widowed son Andrew, whose wife died in 1899, are living together on the family farm in Hanover township, Beaver County, PA. No doubt, this is where Margaret Crooks lived prior to her death. 

Henry Crooks: Revolutionary War patriot, Defense of western PA frontier

 

Introduction

      This is my third year writing a blogpost on July 4th for an ancestor who served in the Revolutionary War. 

      This year, I am selecting Henry Crooks, one of my 4th great-grandfathers on my father's paternal side. I believe Henry's brothers, Thomas and Robert, also served in the Revolutionary War.

Early Life

      Henry Crooks was the son of William and Mary Crooks. (Mary's maiden name is likely Weir or Weer or even Wier.) It is currently believed that William and Mary married on November 18, 1736, at the first Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.

      By 1737, William and Mary were living on Cook's Creek, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in what is today Springfield Township. They lived here until 1763, so presumably all of their children were born here. Based on the will of William Crooks, written in December 1776, William had sons Henry, Thomas and Robert. He also had daughters Rosanna, Jennete, Mary and Margaret. I believe that William may also have had a son William. It appears that Henry Crooks was born in 1743, based on his tombstone which states that he died March 10, 1831, in the 88th year of his age.

Tombstone of Henry Crooks; Raccoon Church Cemetery; Candor, Pennsylvania. FAG. 

    In 1763, William Crooks, late of Bucks County, purchased 200 acres of land on Broad Creek in Baltimore County, Maryland. This new location was about 90 miles southwest of Bucks County. 

Marriage and Family

      Henry Crooks married Jane Howlett in about 1768 or 1769, in Baltimore County.  In 1773, the area that the Crooks family lived in became Harford County, Maryland.

       The children of Henry Crooks and Jane Howlett were:

1. William, born about 1770, in Baltimore County, Maryland.

2. Andrew, born about 1772-3, in Baltimore/Harford County.

3. Margaret, born about February 1776, in Harford County.

4. Henry, born about 1777, in Harford County.

5. Jane, born 1781, in Washington County, Pennsylvania.

6. Mary, born about 1784-1788, in Washington County. 

7. John, born about 1790, in Washington County.

      Henry Crooks, in his will dated 13 July 1825, named the following heirs; son William Crooks, son Andrew Crooks, son Henry Crooks, son John Crooks, daughter Jane Burns, daughter Mary McKillip and daughter Margeret Crooks.

Life in Maryland

      According to the Tax Lists of 1774, Henry Crooks was living in Deer Creek Upper Hundred in Harford County. Other taxables were William Crooks, Thomas Crooks and a Negro, Phillis. We know from William's will that he owned a Negro named Phillis. So William and his sons, Henry and Thomas were all living in Deer Creek Upper Hundred in 1774. Presumably, Robert was not mentioned because he was under 18 years of age. A "hundred" is a division of a county that was used for taxation purposes.

      According to the 1776 Maryland census, Henry Crooks lived in the Broad Creek Hundred in Harford County. Members of his household were Henry (28), wife Jane (23), William (5), Andrew (3), Margrett (6 months) and Elizabeth Kerby (26). Presumably, Elizabeth was a servant. A census was taken in 1776 in order to provide a basis for taxing each colony for Revolutionary War expenses, based on its population.

      In 1778, Henry Crooks, still living in Broad Creek Hundred, signed an oath of fidelity and allegiance to Maryland, before William Webb. A Maryland law enacted in 1777 required all males over 18 years of age to sign an oath. Henry signed his name, so he was presumably literate. At the same time, there is no evidence that Henry performed military service in Maryland. However, his brothers Thomas and William do appear to have served in Maryland. William, however, must have died because he was not named in the will of his father, William Sr. 

      The last known event for Henry Crooks in Maryland was on November 10, 1780. At this time, he sold 3 tracts of land in Harford County in conjunction with executing his father's estate. His brother Thomas was a witness to the land transaction. 

Life in Pennsylvania

      Most of the settlers in western Pennsylvania migrated from eastern Pennsylvania. But some Ulster-Scots came up from Maryland and Virginia, having earlier ventured south from Pennsylvania. This is the pattern that our Crooks family followed.     

      It appears that they came via the National Road, also known as the Cumberland Trail and Braddock's Road. Although the National Road was built in 1811-1837, it was based on Braddock's military road from Cumberland, Maryland, to Braddock, Pennsylvania, constructed about 1755. Braddock, PA, is today within Pittsburgh, where Fort Duquesne and later Fort Pitt were located. The section from Baltimore to Cumberland also had predecessor roads, including Old Frederick Road from Baltimore to the Mount Airy area in Maryland.

The Old National Road; https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Road.

      Presumably, the Crooks brothers moved to southwestern Pennsylvania in order to buy land. In 1769, a treaty with the Indians opened up land for sale and reduced the concern of Indian raids. Washington County, where they originally settled, was created in March 1781 from part of Westmoreland County. Allegheny and Beaver Counties, also home to our Crooks family, were created in 1788 and 1800, respectively.

      Since Jane Crooks, Henry's daughter, was born either May 4, 1781, or June 29, 1781, in Candor, Pennsylvania, the family of Henry Crooks must have arrived in Washington County by this time.

      According to the 1781 Supply Tax List, Henry and Robert Crooks were both living in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Supply Taxes were used to pay Revolutionary War debts. At this time, Henry had 4 horses, 2 cows and 10 sheep. Robert had 2 horses, 2 cows, 4 sheep and 300 acres.       

      According to the 1783 Tax List, Henry was living in Washington County, Pennsylvania, in Nottingham Township. Henry owned 3 horses, 1 cow and 8 sheep, valued at 39 pounds (?). His brother Thomas owned 2 horses and 3 sheep, valued at 9/10 of a pound. His brother Robert, a single man, owned 2 horses and 2 cows, valued at 18 pounds. None of them reported any acreage.

NOTE: There was also a Thomas Crooks Sr. and a Thomas Crooks Jr. living in Bethlehem Township, but this is a different Crooks family! 

https://archive.org/details/historyofwashing00crum/page/222/mode/2up?view=theater&q=taxes

      In the tax lists for 1786, 1789 and 1793, Henry Crooks was living in Robinson Township. Based on township formation dates, Henry must have moved from Nottingham Township. In 1786, Robert and Thomas are also living in Robinson Township.

      In the censuses from 1790-1830, Henry Crooks continued living in Robinson Township. (His brother Thomas apparently left by 1800 and his brother Robert by 1810.) 

      

      All of Henry and Jane's children married, except for Margaret, who lived with Henry and Jane until their deaths. On July 15, 1816, Jane Crooks, wife of Henry, died and was buried in Raccoon Church cemetery in Candor, Washington, which is in Robinson Township. In 1820, it appears that one of Henry's daughters, Mary or Jane, came to live with Henry, along with her 5 young children. I suspect it was Mary. Perhaps her husband had died and her father needed extra help. On March 10, 1831, Henry Crooks died and was buried in Raccoon Church cemetery next to his wife. 

      

Revolutionary War Service 

      There are several DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) applications that have been submitted for Henry Crooks. They reference 2 items in Pennsylvania Archives, Series 6, Volume 2, which were published in 1906, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, from archival materials. Both items are in a section called 'Second Battalion, Washington County Militia', within 'Muster Rolls Relating to the Associators and Militia of the County of Washington'. 

PA Archives, S6, V2, p. 47.

PA Archives, S6, V2, p. 48

      Both Henry and his brother Robert were in Captain William Bruce's company and were ordered to rendezvous June 14, 1782. Their brother Thomas was also in Captain William Bruce's company, but he was in the third class and was ordered to rendezvous April 18, 1782, and again, July 15th, 1782.

PA Archive, S6, V2, p. 76.

       On the next page, they list members of the 6th, 7th and 8th classes. It states 'examined from Capt. Return'. Again, both Henry and Robert are listed as privates in the fifth class, and Thomas is listed in the third class.

      According to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the commanding Colonel was Col. Vallandingham. Captain William Bruce led the 8th Company. Captain William Bruce was associated with Nottingham Township, not Robinson Township. Evidently, those enrolled in the militia were arbitrarily assigned to a class between 1 and 8, and militia were called up for service based on class number. So class number represents a unit within a company, not a military rank. 

Military plaque for Henry Crooks; Raccoon Church Cemetery; Candor, Pennsylvania. FAG. 

      Although I have not been able to find specific information on Captain William Bruce's company, it seems fairly clear that they were involved in defending the frontier from Indian raids. 

      Below is the listing for Henry Crooks in the DAR Ancestor Database for Patriots. Six different applications have been submitted for Henry Crooks. These applications were submitted under his 2  children Henry Jr. and Jane. None were submitted under his son Andrew Crooks, from whom I am descended.

https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search_adb/default.cfm

Sources

Ancestry.com. 1800 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010.

- Pennsylvania, Washington County, Robinson Township. Page 85. (Henry Crooks, William Crooks, Robert Crooks)

Ancestry.com. 1810 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010.

- Pennsylvania, Washington County, Robinson Township. Page 26, image 32. (Henry Crooks, Henry Crooks Jr.)

Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010.

- Pennsylvania, Washington County, Robinson Township. Page 211. (Henry Crooks, Henry Crooks Jr., John Crooks)

Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010.

- Pennsylvania, Washington County, Robinson Township. Page 261. (Henry Crooks)

Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Compiled Marriage Records, 1700-1821 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2011. Collection: First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, 1702-1745, 1760-1803. Image/Page 16. William Crooks and Mary Weer.

Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2015. Washington County, Pennsylvania; Register of Wills; Volume 4, page 575; Will of Henry Crooks Sr..  

Brumbaugh, Gaius Marcus. "Maryland Records: Colonial, Revolutionary, County and Church from Original Sources"; Lancaster PA: Lancaster Press, Inc., 1928. 

- Volume II, p. 114-5, 1776 census for Henry Crooks, Andrew Howlett, James Howlett. 

- Volume II, p. 235-6, oaths of allegiance for Henry Crooks, Robert Crooks. 

Bucks County, Pennsylvania; Patent Book AA 4 292. 

Bucks County, Pennsylvania; Warrant #141; returned 13 January 1763; surveyed 11 April 1739.

DAR Ancestor Database. https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search_adb/default.cfm; Henry Crooks (A028041).

DAR application of Jane Tweed Bell, through Henry Crooks Sr.; National # 400548; Approved 9 MAR 1951.

Find A Grave, database and images (https:/www.findagrave.com/memorial/58674687/henry-crooks); accessed 04 July 2022; Henry Crooks; FAG Memorial ID 58674687, citcing Raccoon Church Cemetery, Candor, Washington County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by Don Harper.

Find A Grave, database and images (https:/www.findagrave.com/memorial/58674710/jane-crooks); accessed 04 July 2022; Jane Crooks; FAG Memorial ID 58674710, citcing Raccoon Church Cemetery, Candor, Washington County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by Don Harper.

Harford County, 1774 tax list, Deer Creek Upper Hundred. Henry Crooks, William Crooks, Thomas Crooks.

Harford County courthouse (Belair, MD); Registrar of Wills office; Liber AJ-2, folio 85-85; Will of William Crooks.

Harford County, Deed Book JLG D 45. 1780. Henry Crooks sells land.

Harper, Donald Jr.; "A History of the Family of William Crooks, 1738-1830"; 15 JUNE 1980; 8 pages.

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/87329494/person/38546237377/gallery?galleryPage=1

Maryland land records; Film #0013333, B, L, p. 268; 27 APR 1763. William Crooks purchases land from Thomas Johnson.

Pennsylvania Archives.

    - Series 3, Volume 22, p. 750, Effective Supply Tax, Washington County, 1781. Henry and Robert Crooks.

    - Series 6, Volume 2, p. 47, Return for Order to Rendezvous 14 JUN 1782. Henry and Robert Crooks.

    - Series 6, Volume 2, p. 76, Class Role of Captain William Bruce's Company. Henry and Robert and Thomas Crooks.

Pennsylvania Family History Research; https://wiki.rootsweb.com/wiki/index.php/Pennsylvania_Family_History_Research;

last edited 16 Jan 2018.

Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission; https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/Revolutionary-War-Militia-Washington.aspx.

*https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/Revolutionary-War-Militia-Overview.aspx

Washington County PA Genweb; Township Formation; https://sites.rootsweb.com/~pawashin/formation.html

Washington County tax lists, Robinson Township. 1786, 1789?, 1793.

Zinsser, Katherine and Raymond Bell; "1783 Tax Lists and the 1790 Federal Census for Washington County, Pennsylvania"; Heritage Books, 1988. (See Family Search)

George Eden Carroll: Crafty Salesman

1850-1917
great-grandfather

George Eden Carroll

                                                                                                                                                            

      George Eden Carroll was born October 7, 1850, in Waitsfield, Vermont, the son of George Benjamin Carroll and Susan Johnson. His only sibling was Herbert Eugene, born in 1855. He grew up in Waitsfield in a household that included his grandmother Polly, and for a while, his uncle Pliny and his wife. In 1870, he was enrolled in the seminary program at the Methodist Episcopal-affiliated Vermont Conference Seminary in Montpelier. His cousin, Warren Green, was also attending the 3-year liberal arts program. In 1873, George won 50 cents for a 2-year old colt he entered in the Mad River Valley Fair. The fair gave prizes for livestock, produce, maple sugar, agricultural implements and ‘domestic manufactures’.  For several years, he appeared to be farming and working in a store co-owned by his father.

      On July 6, 1876, George Carroll married Emily Louise Stackhouse in Peveril, Province of Quebec, Canada, where Emily had grown up. Their first child, Charles Eden, was born in Waitsfield in 1877.

      Sometime between 1877 and 1880, George’s family moved to Danbury, Iowa, a village of 17 families, where George kept store. Three additional children were born in Danbury: Maude Emily (1881), Effie G.   (1882) and Ira Munson (1890). Effie died before her second birthday of croup.

      In 1880, George bought a store from Dan Thomas, but it appears that he had financial trouble and had to sell it back to Dan. But Dan hired him to run the store, which also served as a post office and stage stop. In those days, there were no rural routes and settlers picked up their mail at the post office. Supposedly, George was inefficient and crafty and Dan lost the store to George by 1884. Later, George sold the store to Shepard, Field and Cook, merchants from Council Bluffs, but continued to manage the store. In those days, a lot of business was done by bartering. Settlers would bring in bushels of grain or potatoes, dairy products or meat, and exchange them for needed supplies.  

      In about 1892, after his son Charles graduated from high school at the age of 15, George and his family moved to Sioux City, where George worked as a traveling salesman for a variety of companies, including Sioux City Marble and Granite Works and a wholesale grocer. His son Charles worked on a printing press at the publishers of the 2 Sioux City papers, but later attended seminary. His daughter Maude attended a business college and worked as a stenographer for the railroad, a law firm, a publishing company and Standard Oil Company! By the time Ira was 19, he was a driver for a meat company.  

      Sometime between 1908 and 1909, George, wife Emily, daughter Maude and son Ira moved to Chicago, although Ira quickly returned to Sioux City. George rented his home in Chicago and worked independently as a salesman of wholesale groceries.

      George Eden Carroll died on December 8, 1917, age 67, in Chicago, of emphysema, heart disease and sub-acute bronchitis. He was buried in Oak Woods cemetery in Chicago.