Roswell Kilbourne, Two Patriots, Two Wars
By Teresa Martin
Klaiber 2020
When invited to join the National
Society Daughters of the American Revolution, I was so honored. My children were all in school and I had
already become addicted to genealogy. I knew
immediately which ancestor to pursue. My
uncle loved to oil paint, as a hobby, and had painted his rendition of Roswell
Kilbourn(e), as a gift for my grandmother.
This rendition included Kilbourn in Continental uniform during the
Revolutionary War.
The members of the Moorestown (NJ)
Chapter, NSDAR all jumped in to help put my application together. Miriam Cauffman, Rowena Billos and Kay
Burkley (fondly known by my children as “the Cookie Lady”) all double checked
my documentation. These grand ladies are
all deceased now, but hold a special place in my heart.
The DAR Patriot Index listed
Roswell Kilbourn, Connecticut, death 1777.
My documentation flowed easily through Roswell Kilbourn’s son also named
Roswell Kilbourn (1763-1806).
I ordered copies of several other’s who
had been accepted as members for Roswell Kilbourn(e) through daughter Elizabeth
that married Obil Beach. My line is
through Roswell Kilbourne’s son also named Roswell Kilbourne/Kilborn. Following their example, I noted the elder
Roswell Kilbourn’s service as Staunton’s company, Col. Sheldon’s Regiment of
Horse. As with the other applicants I
submitted Payne Kenyon Kilbourne’s The History and Antiquities of the Name
and Family of Kilbourn[i]. The publication gave the regiment and said he
“died while in service of the camp distemper, February 8, 1777”.
With medical professionals in my
background I learned more about “camp distemper”. I found the name became popular in 1753
because of dysentery among troops in the French and Indian War.[ii]
Waiting for test results, of any kind, is
a bit nerve wracking and submitting hereditary society applications is no
different. They are reviewed carefully
by other genealogical peers for proper documentation, crossing every “t.” I
already knew that uniforms were not officially adopted by Congress until 1779,
but my uncle’s painting, for his mother, was a labor of love that told the
story she knew.
I also questioned information concerning
Sheldon’s Regiment in the timeline. Elisha Sheldon was commissioned December
12, 1776 to the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons, two months prior to
the death of Roswell Kilbourn. However,
they did not muster until after Roswell Kilbourn’s death in March 1777 at
Wethersfield, Connecticut. Roswell
Kilbourn was from Litchfield, 36 miles from Wethersfield. Since this was “accepted evidence” I
submitted the same. Maybe the unit was already in camp, at the time of his
death, just not officially? Assumptions
should never be trusted.
With getting children to and from school,
physically going to archives was limited.
So, I waited. Today we reference
it as snail mail. In the early 1980’s it
was our main mail source and getting an application reviewed could take months. The response finally came:
"In reference to your application on the record of Roswell Kilbourne (Kilbourn) Sr., who allegedly died on 8 February 1777 “in service" we have accepted two members through his daughter Elizabeth who married Obil Beach. Unfortunately, the date and circumstances of the aforesaid mentioned, Roswell Kilbourne’s death apparently were based entirely on a statement made in the Kilbourne Genealogy...There is no documented proof that he was in the military....The Roswell Kilbourne Sr., who served in the 2nd Regiment, Light Dragoons, Continental Army, Capt. Amos Staunton's Co...1781 for the duration of the war...was living in Castleton Vermont, in 1791 when he transferred a bounty land warrant ...It is suggested that you may wish to amend your application...Our ancestor card records will be edited to reflect that no future application will be accepted on the record of Roswell Kilbourne, Sr. who died 8 Feb 1777 without official proof of his service...”
Having four
generations of Roswell’s in my direct line, I did as suggested, re-submitting
my application utilizing son Roswell Kilbourn(e) born 7 April 1763 at
Litchfield, who enlisted 15 January 1781, at the age of 17 in the 2nd
Regular Light Dragoons. [iii] Following
his service in Staunton’s Company, he married Abigail Beard (d/o Samuel). By 1790 the family moved to Castleton,
Rutland County, Vermont, where the third Roswell was born in 1800. Roswell Kilbourn, a young soldier in the
Revolutionary War, died January 1807, at the age of 42. He is buried in
Congregational Cemetery at Castleton.
Congregational Cemetery, Castleton, VT
I loved my years
with the Moorestown Chapter NSDAR. My
elders became my dearest friends and mentors. My research skills improved. I
held several offices and became the organizer of the Moorestown chapter,
Children of the American Revolution. My
sons, while not happy wearing knickers for a parade, enjoyed their trips to the
UN in New York and historical sites in Philadelphia.
My
grandmother and several cousins, all joined the DAR utilizing the short form
for Roswell Kilbourne, 1763 – 1806.
I was able to
submit, what documentation I then had
for Roswell Kilbourn who died in 1777 for membership in Colonial Dames 17th
Century.
But while my grandmother cherished the
Kilbourne publication, only superseded by her Bible, I wanted to know more
about this early patriot, that died in 1777, leaving children under the age of
18. The Barbour Collection of town
records cited the 8 February 1777 death date, at Litchfield. With confirmation of the death date, at
Litchfield, locating the estate packet for Roswell “Kilborn” answered several
questions.[iv]
Roswell Kilbourn
married Irene Bacon, having four children between 1761 – 1767. Irene died in February
1768 at Litchfield. When Irene died, son
Roswell was only five (5) years old. She also left behind seven year old Rhoda,
and three year old Elizabeth. Another child, Anna had died in August 1667. Roswell Kilborn/Kilbourn/Kilbourne needed
help to raise these small children.
Roswell then married Patience Jenkins having
five more children between 1769 and February 1777. He was only 42 years old when he died in
1777. The same age his own son Roswell
would be when he died in 1806. No
wonder Payne Kenyon Kilbourn was so confused!
Patience gave
birth to their last child, Joseph, seven days after the death of her husband. Roswell Kilborn’s intestate (without will)
estate cited wife Patience, his mother the Widow Sarah Kilborn, and his father
James Kilborn’s estate. Several parcels
of land are partitioned among the heirs.
The packet includes funds for care of a child in his sickness, a coffin,
spinning wheel, a spelling book, a willow basket, side saddle and other
household goods. The inventory was dated
7 July 1777.
The court
appointed one of his brother’s, Appleton Kilborn, and his widow, Patience,
administrator of the estate. Appleton
was also appointed to be son Roswell’s guardian. Roswell son of Roswell was now
15 years old.
Understanding
that working with five generations of the same given name in a direct line is more
than a wee bit confusing I still wanted to see if I could ascertain more about military
service of the two Roswell’s. This is
why genealogists need charts. This is why genealogists need to have dates
follow continuity. This compiler still needed
to fill in gaps in the life line, of
Roswell Killborn (and various spellings) who died in 1777.
I reviewed what was happening in history. When Roswell Kilbourn was 21 years old, the
Campaign of 1755 occurred. It was the beginning of the French and Indian
War. An ah hah moment. The use of the verbiage “camp distemper”
first appears during the French and Indian War. Roswell Kilborn was a member of the
Provincial troops for the French and Indian War in the Second Connecticut
Regiment under Col. Elizur Goodrich with Capt. Samuel Bellows, where Roswell
appears on the rolls for the expedition against Crown Point.[v]
Copies of the Battle of Lake George map can be purchased at
Battlemaps.us
Kilborn is on
the roll from September 1 to December 6th. Goodrich while commanding the regiment, had
Lt. Col. Nathan Whiting lead the unit in the field. On September 8, 1755 they participated in the
Battle of Lake George. On the march they were ambushed by French with Indian
allies. Whiting took the survivors back
to expedition leader William Johnson’s camp at Lake George. After protecting the camp, Johnson built Fort
William Henry.
In August 1757
Roswell Kilborn again appears on the roll under Captain Bellows,[vi] during
the French expedition against Fort William Henry. The siege at Fort William Henry lasted from
August 3 to August 9th. The British had 100 men killed while the
French only lost 20 to death. The roll
does not say what days in in the month of August Kilborn is with Bellows.
Fort William Henry published in 1765
available at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_William_Henry
Two Roswell Kilbourne’s.
Father & son. Two Patriots.
Two Wars. Both died at the age of
42 years. Two more generations with the
given name of Roswell Kilbourne.
Snip from personal database of compiler utilizing
RootsMagic 7.6.3.0
[i] The History and Antiquities of the
Name and Family of Kilbourn
(New Haven: Durrie & Peck, 1856) page 108
[ii]
Caulfield, Ernest. “Some Common Diseases of Colonial children”
Transactions…Colonial Society of Massachusetts, V35, April 1942, page 51.
[iii] 2d Regt'
Light Drgoons, Elisha Sheldon, Col. , Roll,'" Vol 11 page 53,
Revolutionary Military Rolls, National Archives.
[iv]
Connecticut State Library, Litchfield, CT, file 3344 and file 3345
[v]
Connecticut Historical Society, Collections of the Connecticut Historical
Society (Hartford, 1903_ volume IX page 35
[vi] Connectiuct
Historical Society, Rolls of Connecticut Men in the French and Indian War
1755-1762 (N.p.: n.p., 1903), page 32, 223.
