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SCHENECTADY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE
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[This information is from Vol. I, pp. 429-439 of Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs, edited by Cuyler Reynolds (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1911). It is in the Reference collection of the Schenectady County Public Library at R 929.1 R45. Some of the formatting of the original, especially in lists of descendants, may have been altered slightly for ease of reading.]
Since the compilation of the Alden genealogy by Mrs. Charles L. Alden, of Troy, New York (New Eng. Hist. Gen. Mag., Vols. 51, 52, 54, 56), further research has been made in England. It is now almost proven that John Alden, the pilgrim, was a son of Joseph Alden, shipwright and cooper near South Hampton, England, and not of nobility or entitled to a coat-of-arms. This will be given to the public in the near future by Mrs. Alden.
(I) John Alden married Priscilla Molines. Children:
A Mary signed the settlement of heirs, wife or widow of an unknown son.
(II) David, son of John and Priscilla (Molines) Alden, married Mary, daughter of Edward Constant and Elizabeth (Collier) Southworth, and had children:
(III) Henry, son of David and Mary (Southworth) Alden, was born about 1673. He was of Dedham, and was sent off to Needham, when that town was laid out. When young he was a mariner with his uncle, Captain John Alden of Boston, and upon the death of the latter, in 1704, or about that year, he was in Dedham with his wife and his daughter, Alice, and in that town his son John was born. He married Deborah ————, whose maiden name has not been discovered. Children:
(IV) John, son of Henry and Deborah Alden, was baptized in Dedham in 1704. His will was dated June 26, 1782, and in it he mentions his wife, sons John, Henry, Samuel, Thomas, daughters Jemima Pratt, Alice Capron, Mary Paine, and granddaughter Lydia Smith. His son Silas executor. He married, November 26, 1728, Thankful, of Dedham, daughter of Samuel and Mercy Parker, and granddaughter of Samuel Parker. Children:
(V) Henry, born November 27, 1734, died September 28, 1809. He married, March 25, 1762, Thankful, born July 22, 1731, daughter of John Parker, of Needham, whose direct ancestors for three generations were also named John, and were respectively of Muddy River, Boston and England. Children:
Family tradition says that others died young, and the impression exists that this was the case with Rebecca and Mehitable also.
(VI) William, eldest child of Henry and Thankful (Parker) Alden, was born at Needham, July 1, 1763, and died at Calais, Vermont, September 27, 1842. He married Susanna, born December 9, 1766, died February 27, 1844, daughter of Jason and Elizabeth (Beal) Whitney. Jason Whitney was a soldier during the revolution and his line of descent is through Mark, Benjamin and John; Elizabeth (Beal) Whitney is descended through Joseph, William and William. Children, all born in Needham:
William Alden was a farmer, a mill owner and a manufacturer. He was in military service for a short time, then, being an invalid, he contributed money. A record of his service is to be found in the Year Book of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
(VII) Isaac, eldest child of William and Susanna (Whitney) Alden, was born in Needham, Massachusetts, March 19, 1789, and died in Lewis, Essex county, New York, August 17, 1860. He was a farmer, saw and other mill owner, manufacturer of nails, and was engaged in a variety of business enterprises. He served during the war of 1812, and the musket which he used in that struggle is still in the family, but his war record has not been preserved. After his marriage he lived at Newton Upper Falls until between 1815 and 1817, when, with his wife and two sons, he removed to Calais, Vermont. His first wife died there, leaving an infant daughter, and, he subsequently went to Essex county, New York, where he made his permanent home in Essex.
He married (first), 1813, Maria Stone, born in Newton, January 1, 1792, died in Calais, Vermont, February 11, 1818. He married (second), August 30, 1818, Hannah Snow, of Montpelier, Vermont, born October 28, 1792, died in Sand Lake in 1869. (See Snow). Children by first marriage:
Children by second marriage:
(VIII) Charles L., son of Isaac and Hannah (Snow) Alden, was born in Lewis, Essex county, New York, August 21, 1827, and died in Dorchester, Massachusetts, November, 1902. He was educated in the district schools of Westport and Lewis, Essex county, until 1843, and in the following year he went to Oberlin College, Ohio, where he spent his freshman and sophomore years. Illness necessitated his return to Troy, New York, in 1848, and in 1849 he entered Williams College as a junior and was graduated in 1851. In 1852 he became a clerk in the law office of Hunt, Fairbanks & Gale in Albany, and was admitted to the bar in 1853. Two years later he was admitted as a member of the above-mentioned firm, and in the same year Mr. Fairbanks retired, and the firm then practiced under the name of Gale & Alden. In 1884 Henry King and Henry J. Speck entered the firm, the name being changed to Alden, King & Speck, and in 1890 Mr. John B. Gale removed from the city. Mr. Alden then practiced independently, but retained the same offices with Messrs. King and Speck. Later he retired from active practice and removed to Dorchester, Massachusetts. His political affiliations were with the Democratic party until the civil war, and after that troublous time he was a supporter of Republican principles. He was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity of Oberlin and Williams College, of the Ionic and Troy clubs, of Troy, New York, and treasurer of the First Presbyterian Church, of Troy, New York.
Mr. Alden was married, by Rev. John Mattocks, in St. Paul, Minnesota, October 1, 1868, to Mary Langford Taylor, born in Westmoreland, Oneida county, New York, August 16, 1846. (See Taylor). Children:
(I) Nicholas Snow, immigrant ancestor, came in the second ship which carried the Pilgrims to this shore. He married Constance, who came to this country in the "Mayflower," with her father, Stephen Hopkins. Nicholas and Constance Snow lived at Eastham.
(II) Mark, eldest son of Nicholas and Constance (Hopkins) Snow, married Jane, daughter of Governor Thomas and Mary (Collier) Prence, and granddaughter of William Collier. Among other children they had:
(III) Nicholas, who removed with his family to Rochester, Massachusetts, in 1729, possibly earlier. He married Lydia Shaw.
(IV) Jonathan, eldest son of Nicholas and Lydia (Shaw) Snow, married in Cape Cod, Thankful Freeman, whose line of descent is through Edmund, Major John to Edmund Freeman. Major John Freeman married Mary Prence, a granddaughter of Elder Brewster, of the "Mayflower." Jonathan Snow went with his father to Rochester, and died there. Among his children was:
(V) Mark, son of Jonathan and Thankful (Freeman) Snow, was born in Rochester, Massachusetts, and was in active service as a soldier during the revolution. He married (first) Hannah, daughter of Paul and Charity (Whittredge) Sears, her paternal line being through two other Pauls to Richard, the immigrant; through her grandmother Sears, she is descended from Major John Freeman, and through his wife from Elder Brewster. Mark Snow married (second) Susanna (West) Wheldon. Children by first marriage: Jonathan (see forward); Mark; Paul; Edmond; Charity and Thankful. By the second marriage: Loammi, afterward Loum, was a sea-captain from New Bedford, and some of his descendants are still there; Abner; West; and two daughters.
(VI) Jonathan, son of Mark and Hannah (Sears) Snow, went in 1791, with three others, from Rochester, Massachusetts, to Montpelier, Vermont, blazing their way. They then returned, married, and took their wives back with them to the new settlement. He married Lydia Hammet, of Long Plain, near New Bedford, Massachusetts, whose line of descent was through Barnabas, Micah, to Edward, the immigrant.
(VII) Hannah, eldest child of Jonathan and Lydia (Hammet) Snow, was born in 1792, the second white child born in Montpelier. She married Isaac Alden. (See Alden VII).
(I) Simon Taylor, great-grandfather of Mary Langford (Taylor) Alden, was a native of Yorkshire, England, and came to this country in Burgoyne's army. He was in that army when it surrendered to the continental forces, in which were three great-grandfathers of Mrs. Alden — Silas Wickes, George Langford and Nathaniel Sweeting. Simon Taylor was paroled and went to New England. At the close of the war England was able to take back less than one-half of her paroled soldiers, and he remained in hiding until the British forces had left. About 1800 he came to Thompkins, Cayuga county, where he died. He married Ruth Chappell, of New London, Connecticut, whose direct paternal ancestors were four Georges, and had a family of thirteen children, among them being: Lucy, Mary, Henry, James, Richard Durfee, Simon, who died young, and others. The greater number of these married in central New York, then went farther west, some to Michigan, Wisconsin, California.
(II) James, son of Simon and Ruth (Chappell) Taylor, was born in New London, Connecticut, and died in Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1880. His boyhood years were spent in Cayuga county, and he was admitted to the bar, served as judge, and lived in Penn Yan, New York, until 1856, when he went to St. Paul, Minnesota, and after one year to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he made his permanent home. He married Maria Wickes, born in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer county, New York, 1794, died in Leavenworth, Kansas. (See Wickes). Children:
(III) James Wickes, eldest child of James and Maria (Wickes) Taylor, was born in Yates county, New York, and died in Manitoba, in 1893. He was educated in the schools of Penn Yan, then went to Hamilton College, from which he was graduated, and was in the same class as George Langford, who later became his brother-in-law. While at college he was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. He was admitted to the bar in the state of New York, then went to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1842, and found he must study in a law office for one year before he could be permitted to practice in that state. He was a personal friend of Alphonsus Taft, father of President Taft, and of Salmon P. Chase, being a clerk in the office of the latter, and having a partnership offered him. At this time the new party was forming, and Mr. Taylor accepted the editorship of the Signal, a short-lived political paper. He wrote the letter nominating Zachary Taylor for the presidency. He was prominent in literature, as well as in politics, commenced a "History of Ohio," one volume of which was published, and was an active participant in the Ohio state convention. He resided in a number of cities in Ohio — Cincinnati, Sandusky, Cleveland, Columbus — as editor of several papers and as a leader in political affairs. Until the civil war he was a Democrat, and after that a Republican or War Democrat. In July, 1856, he took his family, consisting at that time of his wife, four children, to St. Paul, Minnesota. He was accompanied by his father and mother, his sister Harriet, her husband and two children. The climate was too rigorous for Mr. Brace and Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, and Mr. Brace took his family to Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1857. Mr. Taylor was noted as an orator and scholar, and was greatly beloved. As an editor, he displayed exceptional ability, and at Washington he was a special commissioner of statistics of the great northwest territory, especially the Saskatchewan Valley, until about 1869. He was then appointed as consul to Manitoba, where his death occurred. He excelled in tact and diplomacy, and his report of the "Rehl proceedings" to U. S. authorities, prevented severe friction between Great Britain and the U. S., and Queen Victoria dictated a personal letter to him, thanking him for his efforts "for peace," and at his death the British flag, by her direction, was placed at halfmast on Windsor Castle.
Mr. Taylor married Chloe Langford, who was educated in the schools of Westmoreland and Utica, where her father was cashier of the Oneida Bank, and also at Miss Sheldon's Female Seminary, which was later known as Miss Jane Kelly's School, and was burned in 1865. (See Langford). Children:
(IV) Mary Langford, eldest child of James Wickes and Chloe (Langford) Taylor, was born in Westmoreland, Oneida county, New York, at the summer home of her grandfather, George Langford. She was educated in the Riheldaffer Seminary, Miss Gill's School, in St. Paul, whither she had gone with her parents, and spent two years at the Female Seminary of Miss Jane Kelly, in Utica, New York. After her marriage she lived in Troy, New York, then from 1900 until 1903 in Dorchester, Massachusetts. She then returned to Troy. In 1886 a summer home had been built at Little Compton, Rhode Island, and half of the year was spent there. She married Charles L. Alden, as mentioned above. (See Alden VIII). Mrs. Alden has become greatly interested in genealogical work, and has written a number of interesting and valuable genealogies and is still engaged in this class of work. She joined the Daughters of the Revolution in 1888, organizing Rensselaerwyck Chapter in Troy, New York. At about the same time she also joined the society at large of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1898 the Rensselaerwyck Chapter decided to resign from the Daughters of the Revolution and join the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the name of the chapter was changed to that of Philip Schuyler. Mrs. Alden has been regent and historian, and for the last few years honorary regent. She joined the First Presbyterian church, of St. Paul, Minnesota, of which Rev. John Mattocks was pastor, and was transferred, 1869, to the First Presbyterian church of Troy, New York.
(I) Daniel Wickes, son of Joseph, grandson of Thomas, and great-grandson of Thomas, was one of the "Associated Exempts of Dutchess County." He married Rebecca, descended through Jonah, Joseph, and Samuel, from Jonas Wood, the immigrant, a member of a prominent family in Huntington, Long Island, which has branches in Poughkeepsie and Plattsburg, and probably in Troy and western New York.
(II) Silas, son of Daniel and Rebecca (Wood) Wickes, was born in Huntington, Long Island, and died in Rock Stream, Seneca Lake, New York. He went with his father to Hyde Park just before the revolutionary war, and served in the Dutchess county militia. At the battle of Long Island, he, Nathaniel Rusco (brother of Silas Wickes' wife) and Jonas Coe (first minister of the First Church of Troy, New York), were in the bodyguard of Washington and stood near enough to see the tears run down his cheeks as he saw the reverses of the American troops. By the Act of 1832 he drew a pension. After the revolution, Silas Wickes, his cousin, James Wickes, Nathaniel Rusco and his two sisters, Elizabeth and Phebe, went to Schaghticoke, Rensselaer county, New York, where the two girls kept house for the men. They had a mill, and Silas was especially active in the town politics, and held office. Shortly afterward Silas was married there by the Rev. Elias Benschoten, to Elizabeth Rusco, while his cousin James married Phebe Rusco. (See Rusco). Silas and his family remained in Schaghticoke until 1796, when they came to Troy and joined the First Presbyterian church. Jonas Coe was a personal friend, and the two youngest children were baptized there. "They lived on First street near the Ferry." They lived in Troy for ten years, and in Dutchess county for two years. Three ox-teams and a buggy then conveyed him and his family and the family of James Wickes (James having died suddenly) to Rock Stream, New York. Silas Wickes was a very wealthy man for those days, but in Central New York he embarked extensively and unfortunately in a number of building enterprises, and failed about 1814. Later he retrieved his fortunes to a certain extent, and was comfortably off for the times. Children:
(III) Maria, daughter of Silas and Elizabeth (Rusco) Wickes, married James Taylor. (See Taylor II).
(I) William Rusco, the first of whom we have record in this family, was of Hartford, Connecticut.
(II) Nathaniel, son of William Rusco, married Joanna Corlet. It is very probable that she was sister or daughter of Ammi Ruhumah Corlet, the famous schoolmaster of Massachusetts.
(III) Nathaniel, son of Nathaniel and Joanna (Corlet) Rusco, married Elizabeth ————; lived at Sag Harbor, Long Island.
(IV) Ammi Ruhumah, son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Rusco, was a prominent citizen of Southampton, Long Island, and a justice of the peace. He married Penelope Foster and had a large family, some of the descendants becoming distinguished in various walks of life. Children:
and several other daughters, who married in Huntington, Long Island.
(V) David, son of Ammi Ruhumah and Penelope (Foster) Rusco, did not leave Long Island prior to the revolution, and after the battle of Long Island the British troops were quartered upon patriots who had signed the "Association," and his farm was almost totally destroyed. He himself suffered many indignities and hardships, and his two younger sons had to flee to Connecticut. He married Jemima Scudder, and among his children were: Nathaniel, Elizabeth, see forward, and Phebe, who married James Wickes.
(VI) Elizabeth, daughter of David and Jemima (Scudder) Rusco, was born in Huntington, Long Island, and married Silas Wickes. (See Wickes II).
(I) John Langford, the first of this branch of the Langford family, is given the following record by Mrs. Charles L. Alden, the genealogist:
Colonel Thomas Lincoln Casey, descended from Thomas Langford, of Newport and Kingston, Rhode Island, says that Northrup Langford was the son of John and Alida (————) Langford, of Trinity Church, Newport, Rhode Island — a child not recorded or baptized as the others were — Richard, John, George and two girls. The youngest of these was baptized in 1723, and Northrup was born in 1725. He says that
John went into Connecticut with his family and settled near Groton, and Northrup first settled near Woodstock, Connecticut, coming with other emigrants, the Elliotts and others, to Northampton. Northrup Langford was a Congregationalist, but John of Newport was a Church of England man. I think Austin's "Genealogical Dictionary" [i.e., John Osborne Austin's The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island] is at fault in saying that John of Newport was the son of Thomas of Kingston — at least no proof. I think John Langford was from Antigua, and brother of the wife of Abraham Redwood, and it was her money that gave the Redwood library to Newport. I am inclined to think Northrup Langford is descended from one of the three "English-Irish" families spoken of in Charles Hanna's "Scotch-Irish Emigration," [perhaps The Scotch-Irish: or, the Scot in North Britain, North Ireland and North America] who went from near the border of Scotland to county Antrim, Ireland, and so with the great Scotch-Irish immigration about 1750.
(II) Northrup, son of John and Alida Langford, married Mary ————. In addition to family tradition, Sylvester Judd's manuscript history gives the following (this manuscript has been bought by Northampton and is in the public library): Northrup Langford first appears in Northampton about 1750 and settles in the Southern Corner of Northampton, where the "four Hamptons meet," near the "Lead Mines." Abigail Elliott, who married his son, George, lived in the next house, just over the line in Southampton. His children were baptized in the Congregational church. He died at the house of a friend, "Jonathan Janes, 1780, in his 55th year," the same day his daughter Rachel died at his home. After his death his wife, Mary, married Deacon Noah Wells, of Guilford, Vermont. I have been unable to trace her farther. Amongst the children were: Phebe, Chloe, Jerusha, Anna, Hannah, George, John and others. Family tradition says John was killed by "Outlaw John Morrell." Hannah married Selah Clarke, and they settled in Trenton, Oneida county, New York. The village records of Southampton, Massachusetts, say "When the Israelites wanted bread, the Lord gave them manna; when Selah wanted a wife, the Lord gave him Hannah." There were no children, but they adopted their niece Anna, who married a Hoyt and has descendants in Illinois. Anna was called Anna Langford, but was said to be the daughter of Phebe, who married a Ross and afterwards gave the child to her sister.
(III) George, son of Northrup and Mary Langford, was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1758. He served in the revolution, and would have drawn a pension by the act of the thirty-second congress, but died before signing the papers. He served in the Massachusetts militia, Colonel Fellows' regiment, at the battle of Bunker Hill, and the proof of of his having been there is to be found in "Massachusetts Soldiers of the Revolution." [Perhaps Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War] When he petitioned for reimbursement for a gun shattered by a cannon ball "in retreat across Roxbury Neck," "this was granted by the court." In his old age, he and Nathaniel Sweeting (father of Chloe (Sweeting) Langford), lived with their children, and would tell their grandchild, Chloe Langford, mother of Mrs. Charles L. Alden, of their sufferings at Valley Forge. In 1783 or 1784 he brought his wife and infant son James and his wife's mother by ox-team to Oneida county, New York, settling first where the village of Clinton now is. Why, I do not know — but they spent three winter months in Lansingburg "with relatives or friends," as the tradition goes. George Langford married in 1781, Abigail Elliott. (See Elliott). Children:
James Langford was dissipated, and his father was impoverished by him, so that in his old age he and his wife were given a comfortable home by their son George.
(IV) George, son of George and Abigail (Elliott) Langford, was born in Clinton, Oneida county, New York, and died in Utica. He lived for a time in Westmoreland, was one of the first organizers of Hecla Furnace, then removed to Utica, and was cashier of the Oneida Bank.
George Langford married, 1813, Chloe Sweeting. (See Sweeting). Children:
(V) Chloe, daughter of George and Chloe (Sweeting) Langford, was born in Westmoreland, Oneida county, New York, and married, 1845, James Wickes Taylor. (See Taylor III).
(I) Hon. Andrew Elliott, the immigrant ancestor, came from Somersetshire, England, and the members of his line were very tall, dark and swarthy.
(II) William.
(III) John.
(IV) Nathaniel Elliott was in Beverly, for a time in Woodstock, where his children were born, and later settled in Southampton. He was in active service in the French and Indian war, and while on his way to New York passed through Chesterfield, Massachusetts. He liked the region so much that he had land granted him in Narragansett township No. 4, and settled there, but went later to Southampton, and settled in that part afterward set off to Westhampton. His death occurred just before the commencement of the revolutionary war. He married (first) in Beverly, Abigail Edmonds, of Roxbury, Massachusetts, daughter of Captain Ebenezer Edmonds, of Roxbury, who commanded a company at Annapolis Royal, and his sons settled in Woodstock, Connecticut. He married (second) Elizabeth ————, who came with her stepdaughter Abigail to Oneida county, New York. Among the children of Nathaniel Elliott were:
(V) Abigail, daughter of Nathaniel and Abigail (Edmonds) Elliott, married George Langford. (See Langford III).
(I) Henry Sweeting, the first English settler of this family, is descended from the Van Swietens of Leyden, from which place he fled in 1580 to escape the persecutions of the Duke of Alva, according to the researches of Rev. Walter Sweeting, of Market Deeping, England. A large number of Dutchmen and Walloons took refuge in Southern England at that time and contributed greatly to the prosperity of that country, especially in the manufacturing industries.
(II) Lewis, son of Henry Sweeting, was of Somersetshire, England. He and all the men of the family were clothiers and men of education. The manor houses in which they lived are still in existence in Southern England.
(III) Lewis, son of Lewis Sweeting, was of Owey Stowey, Somersetshire, England.
(IV) Henry, son of Lewis Sweeting, was born in Somersetshire, England, and died in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, in 1728. He and his brother Lewis (tradition says), were in the Monmouth rebellion. They were taken prisoners at the battle of Bridgewater and were condemned to death, but "Bloody Jeffries" was willing to be bribed, and the father and the youngest brother not being involved, they were rescued, and taken to Bristol, where a sloop waited in readiness. They took refuge in Rehoboth, but it was not until 1687, when William and Mary ascended the throne, that they appeared and registered their lands. Mr. Henry Sweeting was a very wealthy man for the time, educated, and one of four only in Rehoboth who had the title of Mr. He married (first) Joanna or Joan ————, who became the mother of two children. He married (second) Martha Cole (Hugh 2, James 1); children:
there were one or two other daughters.
(V) Lewis, son of Mr. Henry and Martha Sweeting, was born in Rehoboth, and his father gave him a valuable mill site near or on the site of Pawtucket Mills. About four years after his marriage he was taken ill with a violent fever, which lasted for six weeks, "a man nurse, etc.," all this being shown in the widow's account, besides "a trip to Boston for best morning." He was married in Wrentham, Massachusetts, to Zebiah, daughter of John and Mary (Billings) Whiting, of Wrentham and Dedham; granddaughter of Nathaniel and Hannah (Dwight) Whiting, of Dedham; granddaughter of William Billings, of Stonington, Connecticut; and great-granddaughter of John Dwight. Children: Joanna, who died in infancy; Lewis (see forward). Zebiah (Whiting) Sweeting went back to Wrentham with her two children to live with her father, and, in spite of "best morning," soon married Dr. William Ware, of Dighton and Norton, Massachusetts.
(VI) Dr. Lewis, son of Lewis and Zebiah (Whiting) Sweeting, was born in Rehoboth in 1723, and was brought up by his stepfather, with whom he studied medicine. He was a man of prominence in the community, and when Mansfield was set off from Norton it took in that part of the town in which he lived. He and his wife died in Manlius, New York. He married Abiah Cobb, of Norton and Taunton. (See Cobb). Children:
(VII) Nathaniel, son of Dr. Lewis and Abiah (Cobb) Sweeting, was born in Norton, Massachusetts, 1758, and died in Oneida county, New York. He was a pensioner of the revolution, during which time he was active and prominent. In the Lexington alarm his father, aged sixty, three sons, four sons-in-law, besides many cousins and other relatives, marched to Lexington, arriving just after the battle. Dr. Lewis Sweeting remained with the army until the "eight months' men" could organize and return, in order to keep the British in Boston. Nathaniel and his brothers returned in a few days to Norton or Mansfield, re-enlisted for eight months, and when Dr. Lewis Sweeting returned he was placed on important war committees, etc. He served as a surgeon in the army, but no documentary proofs of this service have been found. Nathaniel Sweeting's pension describes the line of march to Dorchester Heights, where they were then stationed. At the end of eight months he re-enlisted. Later, about August 29, he was at Tiverton, as lieutenant, and was in charge of a boat and company intending to attack the British in Rhode Island, but the boat stuck fast on a bar, and the expedition failed. He was in the battle of Rhode Island. He was stationed at Fogland, in Little Compton or Tiverton, guarding the coast. The American headquarters were at the Wing house, and a little farther to the north La Fayette had his headquarters at the Brown house. About 1781 we find Nathaniel and his brother Lewis in a militia company in Stephentown (now Rensselaer county), Kiliaen Van Rensselaer having raised a regiment by promising large bounties of his lands to soldiers. After the war, until 1791, we find, where Stephentown, Berlin, Sand Lake and Nassau come together, in the high lands, Dr. Lewis Sweeting, Lewis Sweeting, Whiting Sweeting and Nathaniel Sweeting, and several of their sisters and their families. In 1791 Nathaniel and Eliphalet went to Oneida county. Dr. Lewis Sweeting and his sons, Lewis, John and Mason, went to Manlius, Onondaga county. Some time during the revolution Nathaniel Sweeting was on a "service of great peril," and acquitted himself so well that George Washington wrote him a letter commending him. This was probably the service of a spy, of which no records were kept. This letter was a highly prized treasure, and was packed in the box with Mary (Tyrrell) Sweeting's wedding china and her gold beads. This box broke away from the remainder of the load and went over Oneida Falls, the contents being entirely lost. Nathaniel Sweeting had had considerable experience with iron furnaces at Raynham, through the Cobbs of Taunton, his mother's family, and he was for a short time at Lee, Massachusetts. When he came to Whitestone he started the Hecla Furnace, and his brother Eliphalet started the first furnace of Oneida county, at Paris Hill. One of the descendants of Eliphalet is Mrs. Henry O. R. Tucker, of Troy, New York. From Whitestown, Nathaniel Sweeting removed to Westmoreland, where his death occurred. He married in Mansfield, Mary Tyrrell. (See Tyrrell). Children:
There were others who died young. There are very few descendants of his name; some in Michigan and a few in Oneida county, New York.
(VIII) Chloe, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (Tyrrell) Sweeting, was born in Whitestown, New York, in 1794. She married, 1813, George Langford. (See Langford IV).
(I) Augustine Cobb was in Taunton in 1670. He had a brother John, who also had a son Morgan, which would indicate that there was a connection with a Morgan family in an earlier generation. He married Elizabeth ————.
(II) Ensign Morgan, son of Augustine and Elizabeth Cobb, was prominent in Taunton during the French and Indian war. He gave liberally to the First Episcopal church of Taunton. He married Abigail, daughter of Benjamin, and granddaughter of John Willis.
(III) Benjamin, son of Morgan and Abigail (Willis) Cobb, was born in Taunton and died just prior to the revolution. Several of his sons were active participants in the revolution and died young. Just before removing to Norton he married Mary, daughter of Ensign John and Mercy (Myrrick) Mason. Children: Captain John; Captain Benjamin; Colonel Silas; Mason; Abiah (see forward); and several daughters who married into the Briggs, Makepeace, Babbitt, Lane and other families.
(IV) Abiah, daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Mason) Cobb, was born in Norton, and died in Manlius. She was a remarkable woman in many ways and the influence of her character was beneficially felt. She married Dr. Lewis Sweeting. (See Sweeting VI).
(I) William Tyrrell, of Boston, is the first of whom we have record. He was a Scotchman, and his descendants have intermarried with the best families of Weymouth and Abington — Nash, Pratt, Kingsman, Simpkins, etc.
(II) Gideon was the son of William Tyrrell.
(III) Samuel, son of Gideon Tyrrell.
(IV) Alexander, son of Samuel Tyrrell, was born in Abington. He married in Weymouth, where he lived after his marriage, Mary, his cousin, who was a daughter of Jacob Tyrrell, granddaughter of William Tyrrell, and great-granddaughter of William Tyrrell. Children, all born in Weymouth:
Tradition says that Alexander and Jacob Tyrrell, of Bridgewater, ran the gauntlet at Fort William Henry, and proof of this is found in the State House in Boston — the enlistment of Alexander in the troops at Fort William Henry and two or three records of his wounded condition, and his death in the hospital in Albany. The Tyrrells of Weymouth and Abington were noted as fast runners.
(V) Mary, daughter of Alexander and Mary (Tyrrell) Tyrrell, married Nathaniel Sweeting. (See Sweeting VII).
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