Hezekiah’s son Darius, born in 1760, came of age during the time of the American Revolution.  According to pension records in June 1835, Darius was at that time living in Oswego county, New York and requested a transfer of his pension to Harborcreek Twp., Erie County, Pennsylvania.  Mention was also made of Utica, New York: possibly this was the pension office location.  It appears by that pension record that he served 24 months under Captain Goodwin and others as a private in the military from Connecticut and Massachusetts.  Further records state he first enlisted in Litchfield in 1776, and during the course of the next 4 years served sporadically as a private under Col’s Sheldon, Silliman, Hooker, Adams, Enas, Mead, and Gen’l Huntington.  According to one record in the pension file, Darius remained in Litchfield after the war until moving to Springfield, Oswego County, New York where he lived for about 10 years until his home there was burned along with all its contents.  He then moved to Williamstown, Oswego County, New York about 1802 or so.  During this account of his service, it was remarked that he was in White Plains, New York with the militia until Gen’l Washington and Gen’l Gates arrived, and then he marched to West Point.  I find this so interesting!   There is also a short account of his time in the military during the hard winter of 1779-1780, and how Gen’l Mead rallied them all to prevent the troops deserting.

Census records pretty much confirm the above locations for his residence after completing his military service – in 1790 he is living in Litchfield with what appears to be a wife, child, and 3 other women (who might have been siblings or a mother from either his side or his wife’s); in 1800 he is living in Springfield, Otsego County, N.Y. with a wife, 4 sons, and two daughters; in 1810, however, he is still in Springfield with a wife, 5 sons, and 2 daughters and not yet in Williamstown as the pension record indicates; in 1820 he is in Williamstown with a wife, 2 sons, and 2 daughters; in 1830 he is still in Williamstown with a wife, 1 son, and 1 daughter; and in 1840 he is living in Beaverdam, Erie County, Pa. alone.  He was buried in Hoag Cemetery in Harborcreek, Erie County, Pa.  in 1841, according to his headstone.  One record lists his death as 15 Feb 1841.

Before going on to the identity of his wife and children in a later post, I want to spend a bit of time on the house fire in Springfield.  This had to have occurred between 1810 and 1820.  This was also the time and location of several battles during the War of 1812 (1812-1814), when the newly formed United States went to war with Great Britain, supposedly over illegal conscription and other reasons.  Springfield is located about halfway between Albany and Syracuse.  I have found no documentation to suggest the fire was related to the war, but find it interesting that he went from living relatively inland to living nearer to the fighting, as Williamstown is much nearer Lake Ontario at the base of the St. Lawrence River, where much of the fighting was concentrated.  There was a major battle at Fort Oswego in the spring of 1814, by which time Darius may have been living nearby, in which the British troops captured the fort.  Perhaps he was always a soldier at heart, even after his days as a soldier were finished.

© Deborah Ray and archivecookie.com, 2012.