SHELTON — The Ripton Parish Chapter, NSDAR, Inc. has been submitting articles to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Here is the latest:
America 250! continues as we celebrate more milestones on the road to victory. Ripton Parish Chapter, NSDAR, Inc. is committed to remembering those men and women who helped achieve independence, whose fight on the ground and on the sea, culminated with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
Joseph de Forest, son of Samuel and Abibail (Peat) De Forest and grandson of David and Martha (Blagge) De Forest was born on November 17, 1731. Joseph married Susanna Mills on August 18, 1757, and they had four sons. You can imagine Susanna’s concern when she saw all four of her children leave home to serve in the Revolutionary War. Because of the boycott of British goods, Susanna, like many other mothers, took the wool from the sheep, carded, spun and wove it, and from the cloth made the clothes they wore as Continental soldiers.
Samuel de Forest was the first of the sons who fought the British. Samuel vividly wrote about his Revolutionary War experiences in his Pension application (W16559). In our research we rarely come across a pension record with so much information about the actual war experiences. Samuel volunteered as a Private into a company commanded by Captain Blackman of the Stratford militia on November 1, 1775, and he served until he was discharged on April 15, 1776.
There was a general call of Militia in the Town of Stratford, and Samuel was again called into service under Captain Wells and Lieutenant Enoch Lewis in May 1778. He served in a scouting party in New York near Peekskill, and served 2 months, 10 days in this service. He was again drafted to guard Old Stratford, serving 2 months, and in the Summer of 1779 he answered the New Haven Alarm, going from New Haven, to Fairfield, to Norwalk as the British were invading those coastal towns. He served 14 days.
Their three other sons, who ranged in age from 17 to almost 14, enlisted February of 1778.
Abel de Forest was about 17 when he enlisted at Stratford in Major Leavenworth’s Company and eventually detached to Colonel Butler’s Light Infantry Regiment. For more information of his service, see his pension record S15086.
Mills De Forest was around the age of 15 when he volunteered to serve in the militia under Captain Joseph Birdsey in February 1778. They marched to Sawpits, New York, and served on guard duty. Within a few days after joining the army, Mills was detached with a party to march to Waterbury, Connecticut, for the purpose of building a military road from Hartford to Danbury. He worked with this crew until winter set in, when they marched to Redding, Connecticut, which was the winter quarters for the Connecticut troops. For more information of his service, see his pension record S13046.
Gideon was 13 during the first of March 1778 when he volunteered in Captain Birdsey’s Company and went to Saw Pitts, New York where he was stationed as a guard. He was in different companies thorough out the war. He married Hannah Hawley whobrought her spinning wheel with them when they settled in Edmonton. Gideon was a farmer and tailor and was well known for his fruit trees. For more information of his service, see his pension record R2842.
Many men and women aided the war effort. We have only touched on the stories of some of them from the Stratford and Ripton Parish area. We plan to highlight more knowing that General George Washington has learned to trust his men and realized the strength of the women who were left at home who supported the revolutionary cause.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is dedicated to promoting Historic Preservation, Education and Patriotism. DAR members are women who come from diverse backgrounds and have a variety of interests. Any woman 18 years old or older, regardless of race, religion or ethnic background, who can prove direct lineage to a Revolutionary War ancestor is eligible to join. For more information visit https://www.dar.org/
For information on Ripton Parish Chapter, NSDAR, Inc. visit https://