Phebe (Barker) Waterman ~ Revolutionary War Pension Payment Record

 Happy Veterans Day!

Today is the perfect day to share an interesting document related to my maternal 4th great-grandfather's Revolutionary War military service. This particular document is a pension payment record for Revolutionary War widows.¹

My 4th great-grandfather, Dr. Luther L. Waterman, was a surgeon in the Revolutionary War. His wife's name was Phebe Barker. I highlighted her name and information in yellow on this document. This is a great document that provides valuable information.

Information gleaned from this record:

Widow's Name: Phebe Waterman

Name of Husband (Revolutionary War Veteran): Luther

Rank: Surgeon

Half Yearly Allowance: 150

We also have some writing on the right of the document indicating Phebe's death date of 2 February 1843.

I ordered Luther's Revolutionary War pension file years ago and have that in my possession. Now Fold3.com has Luther's Revolutionary War pension file on their website, which is amazing! The copy of Luther's pension file that I ordered years ago only contained 12 pages. Luther's pension file on Fold3.com contains 63 pages! So, if you ordered and received a pension file for your Revolutionary War ancestor, make sure to check out Fold3.com too. You never know. Maybe you will discover more pension file pages like I did.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2020 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

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1 "U.S., Revolutionary War Pensioners, 1801-1815, 1818-1872," database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 November 2020), entry for Phebe Waterman, image 107 of 195. 15: Widow Pensions, 1831-1843, page 133, (Washington, D.C.: National Archives, Record Group Number 217; Series Number T718, Roll Number 15.^↩

Dr. Luther Waterman–Revolutionary War Surgeon ~ Borne From the Field of Battle

In a previous post I shared the fact that my 4th Great-Grandfather, Dr. Luther L. Waterman, was a surgeon in the Revolutionary War.  Many years ago, I learned of this fact while reading about Luther in The Waterman Family by Donald Lines Jacobus.1 In this book, Mr. Jacobus states the following regarding Luther's service, which he gleaned from Luther's Revolutionary War pension file (I added bold text to one sentence):

"…Phebe Waterman repeated her testimony, 5 Jan. 1839, and added that Luther entered service as a Surgeon under Dr. Spaulding, in Col. John Durkee's Regiment, in Cambridge, Mass., for nine months.  He then joined the Brigade of Horatio Gates, in Col. William Bond's Regiment, as Surgeon with Dr. Vinal, as his mate, for one year.  In 1776 he was at Lake Champlain, and was borne from the field, unable to perform his duty.  He was in the battles of White Plains, Stamford, Horseneck, and Rye.  This information was derived from Dr. Luther Waterman, himself."

In 1997 I ordered and received a copy of Luther Waterman's pension file. Unfortunately, this copy is quite difficult to read and only contains 12 of the 63 pages in the pension file.  I subscribed to Fold3.com, and happily I found Luther Waterman's full pension file containing all 63 pages on the website. Another bonus is that it is much easier to read on Fold3. The pension file copy I received in 1997 was inverted or reversed (black background with white writing). It also did not contain the page from the pension file that Mr. Jacobus used for his summary quoted in this post. With access to the full pension file, I was able to find the page from which Mr. Jacobus summarized Luther's war service, including the account of his being "borne from the field, unable to perform his duty."  This information was taken from the deposition of Mrs. Phebe Waterman, Luther's widow. Below is the pension file page containing Phebe's deposition:


The entire page above is probably difficult to read, so I cropped it into three parts as follows:

At the bottom of her deposition Phebe signed her name. What a treasure it is to see her signature. Phebe was 82 years old at the time of this deposition.

I wonder what happened to Luther Waterman at the Battle of Lake Champlain that caused him to be taken from the field of battle unable to perform his duties? Unfortunately, I don't know the answer.  And there doesn't seem to be any elaboration about this fact in Luther's pension file. It is and may remain a mystery. The fact that I learned about this from Luther's full pension file shows that it is important to obtain the full pension file of our ancestors if possible.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2020 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

______________________________

^{1 Donald Lines Jacobus, The Waterman Family Vol. 1,1939, (Reprint by Higginson Book Company, Massachusetts), 294, 295}

My Revolutionary War Patriot Ancestor ~ Dr. Luther L. Waterman

Today is Independence Day here in America. Happy Independence Day!

I always thought I didn't have any family connections to the founding of America since my Dad's side of the family are from Norway and Sweden. And all I knew about my Mom's side of the family is that they were from Brazil. But, after the death of my maternal grandfather, Debs Warren Webster, I saw a photo of my 2nd great-grandfather, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster. I learned that Ebenezer had served in the American Civil War. That was news to me! I hadn't ever seen his photo or heard his name before.

Not only did I have a Civil War ancestor, I learned that I had a Revolutionary War ancestor named Dr. Luther L. Waterman. He was my maternal 4th great-grandfather.

Luther served as a surgeon in the Revolutionary War. I'm grateful for his service.

I've written about Luther before on my blog. I'd like to share my previous posts about this patriot ancestor on this Independence Day. For those of you who haven't read about Luther before, I hope you enjoy getting to know him better. I was thrilled to see his signature on a document from 1776. I shared that document in the second post on this list.

1. Military Monday ~ Revolutionary War Surgeon: Luther Waterman
2. My 4th Great-Grandfather's Signature on a Revolutionary War Document ~ Dated August 23, 1776
3. 52 Ancestors: #37 ~ Phebe Barker – Wife of a Revolutionary War Surgeon

Happy Independence Day!

Jana

© 2017 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

52 Ancestors: #37 ~ Phebe Barker – Wife of a Revolutionary War Surgeon

This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small.



My maternal 4th great-grandfather, Dr. Luther L. Waterman was a surgeon during the Revolutionary War. This is the second page from his pension file.¹

I've written about Luther before on this blog. Today, I'd like to introduce you to Luther's wife, and my 4th great-grandmother, Phebe Barker.

Phebe Barker was born on 22 August 1756 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, and was the daughter of Dr. John Barker and Phebe Hyde.²

Phebe married Luther Waterman on 1 January 1778 in Franklin, New London, Connecticut.³ They were the parents of nine children.⁴

1. Samuel Waterman (1778-1857)
2. Erastus Waterman (1780-1859)
3. Child Waterman (died 1784)
4. Jerusha Waterman (1786-1867)
5. Phebe Waterman (1789-?)
6. Asher Waterman (1791-1875) [my 3rd great-grandfather]
7. Eusebius B. Waterman (1795-?)
8. David Bassett Waterman (1798-1851)
9. Lucinda A. Waterman (1803-1879)

I love pension files! They can provide so much valuable family history information. The page from Luther Waterman's pension file at the top of this post says the following:

Left Side of Page

2945

Ohio

Phebe Waterman decd. widow of Luther Waterman who died on the 9 Sep 1807 of Athens Co. in the state of Ohio who was a Surgeon in the Co. commanded by Captain --- of the Reg commanded by Col Webb in the Conn (? Page ripped) for 15 months increased from $300 p. ann.

Inscribed on the Roll of Cincinnati ? the rate of    Dollars    Cents per ann. to commence on the 4th day of March 1834 (? Page ripped) on the 2 Feby. 1843 the day of her d (probably death).

Certificate of Pension issued the 22 day of July 1844 and sent to A. Ray   (P ?)
Arrears to the 4th of "
Semi-annual allowance ending

Right Side of Page

A? Notified See Let

July 22 1844

Pay to Samuel, Erastus, Asher, Eusebius B., David B. Waterman, Jerusha Smith, Phebe Pierce, & Lucinda Bicknell, children of Phebe Waterman deducting the amount already paid under said (?)

Lt. A. G. Brown
May 26/55

Isn't the right side of this pension file page especially wonderful? It lists the children of Luther and Phebe, including the married names of their daughters.

Luther passed away on 9 September 1807 in Cazenovia, Madison, New York.⁵ Most of Luther and Phebe's children had moved to Athens County Ohio, by the time the 1850 federal census was taken.

I found this interesting paragraph in The Waterman Family, Volume 1.⁶

"The widow Phebe Waterman and her children settled on a farm near Coolville, Athens County, Ohio. It is now on Route 7 out of Coolville. There they laid out a private Waterman graveyard, which is now (1938) on the farm of Mr. John Humphrey, originally part of the old Waterman purchase. One goes from the house through two pastures to reach it. Here there is a stone to the widow, the inscription on which reads: "Phebe Waterman, Consort of Dr. Luther Waterman and daughter of Dr. John Barker, died Feb. 2, 1843, in 87th year."

I wonder if the old Waterman graveyard still exists. If so, I think it would be really amazing to visit it someday.

Phebe (Barker) Waterman passed away on 2 February 1843 in Troy, Athens, Ohio.⁷

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

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1 “U.S. Revolutionary War Pensions, 1800-1900," database with images, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/ : accessed 13 January 2013), (W. 4,379 Conn. Continental), pg. 2, headed “U.S., Revolutionary War Pensions, 1800-1900,” entry for Luther Waterman; citing Case Files of Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Applications Based on Revolutionary War Service, compiled ca. 1800 - ca. 1912, documenting the period ca. 1775 - ca. 1900, National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication, Record Group 15, NAID: 111514579.^↩
2 Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, The Waterman Family. Vol. 1 (New Haven, CT: E.F. Waterman, 1939), 294.^↩
3 Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, The Waterman Family. Vol. 1 (New Haven, CT: E.F. Waterman, 1939), 295.^↩
4 Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, The Waterman Family. Vol. 1 (New Haven, CT: E.F. Waterman, 1939), 297.^↩
5 Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, The Waterman Family. Vol. 1 (New Haven, CT: E.F. Waterman, 1939), 294.^↩
6 Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, The Waterman Family. Vol. 1 (New Haven, CT: E.F. Waterman, 1939), 297.^↩
7 Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, The Waterman Family. Vol. 1 (New Haven, CT: E.F. Waterman, 1939), 294.^↩

My 4th Great-Grandfather's Signature on a Revolutionary War Document ~ Dated August 23, 1776

While doing research for a future post about my 4th great-grandfather, Dr. Luther L. Waterman, who was a surgeon in the Revolutionary War, I stumbled upon an absolutely amazing document.  I was looking through the following website:

The Register of
William Bond Papers
1768 - 1777
MSS 0080

Mandeville Special Collections Library
Geisel Library
University of California, San Diego

Here's the link to the website: The Register of William Bond Papers 1768-1777.  Clicking on this link will provide you with a long list of fascinating documents from the Revolutionary War.   I clicked on the link, List of men to be discharged due to illness from Colonel Bond's regiment, and to my absolute amazement, this is what I saw:

Here I was, staring at a document that was written and signed by my 4th great-grandfather, Luther Waterman.  It was truly an unbelievable moment!

I knew I wanted to have a copy of this incredible document and I also wanted to be able to share it with you, my wonderful readers.  So, I called the library at UC San Diego and  was given permission to download this historic document and also to share it on my blog.  Of course, I needed to include a link to where I found it, which I've done.  The document contained two pages.

Here is the transcription for Page 1 (to the best of my abilities):

                                                    Mount Independence August 23 – 1776

Barnard Newel	Ens	of	Cpt	Draper’s	Company
Joshua Jacson	Sargt	of	Cpt	Child’s	Compy
John Hackelton	Sargt	of	Cpt	Cook’s	Compy
Nathan Newel	private	of	Cpt	Flatcher’s (?)	Comy
Abner Molton	private	of	Cpt	Mahew’s (?)	Compy

All of Col. William Bond’s Regiment being sick & infirm for a considerable time & in probability will not be fit for farther service this Campaign I do therefore recommend them to Your Honor as proper subjects for a discharge

                                                                                  Luther Waterman Surgⁿ

To the Hon.^bl Maj. Ge. Gates

Luther Waterman was a surgeon serving under the command of Colonel William Bond in 1776. He was present at an engagement at Isle aux Noix, at Lake Champlain in 1776.  To give you a historic perspective and background for the amazing document I'm sharing with you today, here is a partial biography of Colonel William Bond.  It's from the same website containing Luther Waterman's document.

Biography of William Bond (partial) 

"William Bond and the 25th Regiment participated in the campaign to conquer Canada during 1776. Congress had requested that General Washington send four regiments to reinforce the army in Canada. On March 15, 1776, the 5th and 25th Regiments received orders from General Horatio Gates to march to Norwich, Connecticut. On March 30, the Massachusetts regiments led by William Bond, John Patterson and John Greaton, along with the New Hampshire regiment led by Enoch Poor, arrived in New York. On April 21, the four regiments sailed in sloops up the Hudson River to Albany under the command of General William Thompson.

In early May, the 25th Regiment was preparing to cross into Canada by boat and reached Sorel by June 14, Chamblee by June 17, Isle aux Noix by June 18, and Crown Point by July 11. On August 10, the 25th Regiment was camped at Mount Independence, a hill near Fort Ticonderoga. The stagnant lakes and swamps around Mount Independence contributed to the diseases already suffered by the regiment, including smallpox. Desertions and discharges for medical reasons severely reduced troop strength. On August 31, 1776, Colonel William Bond died of illness at Mount Independence."

The document written and signed by Dr. Luther Waterman was dated August 23, 1776, just eight days prior to the death of Colonel William Bond.

I wanted to know where Mount Independence was, so I did a little research.  I found the following information from the website Vermont State Historic Sites:  Mount Independence is located in Vermont, along the shores of Lake Champlain.  During the Revolutionary War it was the location of one of the largest colonial military encampments.  Originally named Rattlesnake Hill, it was renamed Mount Independence on July 28, 1776 after The Declaration of Independence was read at the new fort.

Was my 4th great-grandfather, Dr. Luther Waterman, there at Mount Independence when The Declaration of Independence was read?  If so, what were his thoughts and feelings?  I wish I could read his journal.  I wonder if he kept one and where it is today.

And here is Page 2 of this historic document:

I tried to transcribe this page as well.  Here's the transcription for Page 2 (to the best of my abilities):

                                                                    Mount Independence Aug. 24 1776 

Having examined into the cases of the within mentioned persons find them to be as there set forth & do concur with the Surgeon in recommending them for a discharge 

To the Hon^bl Maj. Gen. Gates                       William Bond Col^l 

The within named En^s Newel  Sarg^t Jackson & Hackelton, & Privates Newel and Molton --- are hereby discharg^d from the service of the United States --- on the request & Certificate of the Surgeon & Col. of the Regiment to which they belong. 

                       The Col. of the Regiment has liberty to give a (?) Discharge to each one of them --- Signing his Name                          “by the Gen^l’s Orders” 

Ticonderoga H (?) August 25^th 1776                                      J Trumbull Dep^ty Ag Gen^l

I did a little research to try and figure out the name at the bottom right side of Page 2.  I found out that the name is John Trumbull, Deputy Adjutant-General.

The second page of this document was signed by several people on two different days, August 24 and August 25, 1776.  The recommendation by Luther Waterman was agreed to and the men listed on Page 1 were discharged from duty.

The discovery of this document is very exciting to me.  And I'm thrilled I was able to share it with you.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

Military Monday ~ Revolutionary War Surgeon: Luther Waterman

Dr. Luther L. Waterman was my 4th Great-Grandfather. He was christened 25 March 1753 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, and was the son of David Bassett Waterman and Anne Bartlett, both of Connecticut.¹

Luther entered the Revolutionary War in 1775 as Surgeon's Mate under Doctor Spaulding in Colonel John Durkee's Connecticut Regiment, where he served nine months. In 1776 he served as Surgeon in Colonel William Bond's Continental Regiment. In 1777 he joined Colonel Webb's Continental Regiment. He served as Surgeon under Colonel Webb for one year.²

According to Luther's Pension File, he was at the Siege of St. John's and was present at the following battles: Isle aux Noix, White Plains, Stamford, Horseneck and Rye.³

On January 1, 1778 at Franklin, New London, Connecticut, Luther married Phebe Barker, daughter of Dr. John Barker and Phebe Hyde.⁴

Luther and Phebe had nine children:⁵

1. Samuel Waterman (1778-1857)
2. Erastus Waterman (1780-1859)
3. Child Waterman (died 1784)
4. Jerusha Waterman (1786-1867)
5. Phebe Waterman (1789-?)
6. Asher Waterman (1791-1875) [my 3rd great-grandfather]
7. Eusebius B. Waterman (1795-?)
8. David Bassett Waterman (1798-1851)
9. Lucinda A. Waterman (1803-1879)

The conditions for both surgeons and patients during the war must have been appalling.  According to the article Surgeons and Butchers by Elizabeth Rorke,⁶

"…Revolutionary War surgeons did a notable job of attempting to save lives. Most were competent, honest, and well-intentioned, but conditions and shortages in medical supplies placed an overwhelming burden on them. Besides caring for those wounded in battle, the camp surgeon was responsible for caring for the camp's diseased soldiers. The camp surgeon was constant alert for unsanitary conditions in camp that might lead to disease. He spent a good deal of time aiding patients rid their bodies of one or more of the four humors. Common diseases suffered by soldiers were dysentery, fever, and smallpox. Most illnesses were caused by unsanitary conditions in camp."

If you'd like to learn more about the Revolutionary War, the website The American Revolution is an excellent resource. It contains information about battles, people, commanders, events, and more.

Luther Waterman passed away on September 9, 1807 in Cazenovia, Madison, New York. He is buried in the Union Cemetery, in Cazenovia, Madison County, New York.⁷

I love military records and have found some fascinating and unexpected documents in Luther Waterman's pension file.  I will be sharing more from his pension file in future posts.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

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1 Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, The Waterman Family. Vol. 1 (New Haven, CT: E.F. Waterman, 1939), 130.^↩
2 “U.S. Revolutionary War Pensions, 1800-1900," database with images, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/ : accessed 13 January 2013), (W. 4,379 Conn. Continental), pg. 13, headed “U.S., Revolutionary War Pensions, 1800-1900,” entry for Luther Waterman; citing Case Files of Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Applications Based on Revolutionary War Service, compiled ca. 1800 - ca. 1912, documenting the period ca. 1775 - ca. 1900, National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication, Record Group 15, NAID: 111514579.^↩
3 Ibid.^↩
4 Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, The Waterman Family. Vol. 1 (New Haven, CT: E.F. Waterman, 1939), 295.^↩
5 Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, The Waterman Family. Vol. 1 (New Haven, CT: E.F. Waterman, 1939), 297.^↩
6 Elizabeth Rorke, “Surgeons and Butchers,” Independence Hall Association, Brandywine Battlefield Historic Site (www.ushistory.org).^↩
7 Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, The Waterman Family. Vol. 1 (New Haven, CT: E.F. Waterman, 1939), 294.^↩

Tuesday’s Tip ~ Three Awesome Websites for Genealogy…Found on Pinterest!

I have three awesome websites to share with you today.  And, yes, I found them on Pinterest!  So, thank you Pinterest for helping me expand my Genealogy Toolbox.

This first website is great for those of us who have Civil War ancestors, or for those who are simply interested in Civil War history.

 
Battlefields of the Civil War is a very cool website.  It's a map and chronology showing the major battles of the Civil War.  It even has an animation feature.  Press the play button to see what happens.

Here’s a screenshot of the website’s start page.



There is a slider bar at the top.  You can even grab the left and right slide handles to narrow down the dates enabling you to see what battles were fought within a specific timeframe.

Hmm, I didn’t know there were Civil War battles fought in New Mexico.



Let’s click on one of those battlefields.  The Battle of Glorieta Pass has a link to the Civil War Trust website.

And after clicking on the Civil War Trust link for this battlefield, this is what you see.  There is information about that specific battle.

Mapping the Emerald Isle:  a geo-genealogy of Irish Surnames is another awesome website for those who are researching Irish ancestors.  This website shows birth surnames by county from an 1890 census.

Here’s the start page for this website.

Simply type or search for a surname on the dropdown menu at the left.  Here’s what I found with the Jennings surname.

Timeline of the Revolutionary War is a helpful website for those wanting to learn about the Revolutionary War.

Here’s the start page for this website.

Let’s say you want to learn more about The Sugar Act.  Just click on the link in the timeline, and this is what you will find.

Well, that’s it for today’s tips.  I hope these three websites will be helpful to you in your genealogical pursuits.

And thank you Pinterest for making me aware of these awesome websites!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Military Monday–Veterans Day Edition

Source:  Lipton Sale Wikipedia.org
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

In commemoration of Veterans Day, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of the members of the military who have selflessly served their fellowmen and this great country, the United States of America.

I also wanted to list my ancestors who have contributed to keeping these United States a free nation.  There may be some I missed because I am not aware of their service at this time.  If that is the case, I hope to update this list later.

Revolutionary War

Luther L. Waterman – (4th Great-Grandfather) Surgeon

War of 1812

Asher Waterman – (3rd Great-Grandfather) – Capt. Nehemiah Gregory’s Company, Ohio Militia Regiment.

Civil War

Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster– (2nd Great-Grandfather) – Co. E, 74th Illinois Infantry Volunteers.

Watson Emery Webster – (2nd Great-Grand Uncle) – Co. E, 74th Illinois Infantry Volunteers.

Homer Clark Waterman – (2nd Great-Grand Uncle) – Assistant surgeon of the 4th West Virginia Infantry and in the 2nd West Virginia Infantry.

Charles Wesley Waterman – (2nd Great-Grand Uncle) – Co. I, Ohio 116th Infantry.

Lawrence C. Crippen – (Husband of my 2nd Great-Grand Aunt Lucy Mae Waterman) – Co. A, 92nd Ohio Infantry.

Richard Engle – (Husband of my 2nd Great-Grand Aunt Sarah Amanda Waterman) – Co. G, 63rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

Korean War

Jan Albert Iverson – (My Father) – SP4 U.S. Army.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012