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- David Smith, son of Charles and Bersheba Smith, was born in 1754. David married Mary Bateman in January 1780, in Litchfield, Connecticut by the Reverend Judah Champion. Mary, daughter of John Bateman and Elizabeth Cocklin, was baptized in 1762 in Marblehead, Massachusetts. In May of 1785, David Smith and Alexander Long, Mary?s half brother, paid five pounds for property in Litchfield, Connecticut owned by Stephen Moulthrop.
Glendon Irving Winters the son of Hulda Smith Winters received a letter on July 03, 1913, from William Reister Attorney at Law Evansville, Indiana, with information about the ancestors of Mary Bateman. He was requesting the family to send him five dollars to pay for a trip to Marblehead, Massachusetts to do further research on Mary Bateman ancestors. The following is a letter attached to the request.
The ?True Story of John Bateman? as told by Mary Bateman to her Grandson, George Throop of Lakeside, Conn. George was 19 years old when Mary died in 1846, at the home of her daughter, Olive Smith Throop.
John Bateman was the youngest son of William Bateman, of Hereford County, England, who was a Peer of Ireland, owning a great deal of land in that country. His mother was a daughter of the Earl of Sunderland, and also a descendant of the Duke of Marlborough. He had two brothers, William, the oldest, and Alexander who died young. He had two cousins, Sarah and Wilhelmina, daughters of William Bateman?s sister. One of them married a William Hanburg.
John Bateman, when young - under twenty-one - became infatuated with a very handsome girl, who was poor, and wanted to marry her. His family opposed it, and, finally, to break it up, his brother, William, set "Press Gang" on him and he was taken to Chester, England, where General Wolf's expe1ition was fitting out for Quebec. His mother made him a last visit on the vessel and gave him a handsome gold ring. The fleet sailed for Quebec February 17th, 1759.
After the fall of Quebec, John got away from the vessel and sailed for Boston, Mass., with some American troops who were going home. He brought with him Indian blankets, moccasins, hatchets, and a stone kettle.
In 1760 he married Elizabeth Cocklin, at Marblehead, Massachesutts. After his marriage he went one voyage to South America, as captain of the vessel, and several voyages to the West Indies and Atlantic Coast towns. After this he went to Newfoundland Banks fishing and buying fish, shipping them to Liverpool, England. In 1760 his vessel was found, after a storm, with no one aboard but the cabin boy, who was hung in the wheel dead. It was supposed by those who found the vessel that the rest were swept overboard by the storm into the sea. When his wife heard of this, she wrote to the family in England and received a very nice, sympathetic letter from one of them in return.
After John?s death Elizabeth married Alexander Long, in 1766, and they lived in Marblehead until 1775, when they moved to Litchfield, Connecticut, to get away from the war troubles. She brought the ring, which John's mother gave him and the letter, which she received from the family in England after his death, with her and kept them very choice as long as she lived. Mary Bateman said she supposed the letter and the ring were lost when her mother died.
So far I have been able to verify all the ancestor information in the letter as being true except that it does not appear that the John Bateman in England, that Mary referees to, is her father.
I have found one reference to a John Bateman in the ?Ashley Bowen?s Adventures In The French & Indian War? by James J. Buckley in the Marblehead Magazine.
Ashley Bowen's insatiable desire for adventure inevitably led to his involvement in the French and Indian War. On May 7, 1858, Ashley Bowen married Dorothy Chadwick. During the 13 years of their marriage, she gave birth to six children. Becoming a married man and assuming the responsibilities of fatherhood did not seem to deter Bowen from his craving to become involved in the French and Indian War. A year after his marriage, he volunteered to become acting midshipman aboard his Majesty's ship the "Pembroke" and soon found himself on his way North to participate in the siege of Quebec.
In addition to being reckless, Bowen had an insatiable compulsion to gain a full understanding of how and why a battle was being waged. He also liked to meet the commanders of any campaign. So while other officers of the Navy considered it wise to avoid any encounters with their superiors, Bowen made it his business to blunder into the encampments of those in charge of a battle. He was able to get away with such unorthodox behavior because of his straightforward manner and guileless demeanor. However, during the siege of Quebec, Bowen was almost arrested as a French spy when he approached the famous British General, James Wolfe.
Shortly after arriving on the "Pembroke", Bowen received permission from the First Mate to leave the ship. He tried to discourage Bowen from his plan to meet General Wolfe, and warned Bowen that he would only have himself to blame if he got in trouble.
Even though Bowen was not wearing any uniform (because of his volunteer status), he passed by each of the sentries without being challenged. As a result, he soon found himself in the heart of Wolf?s encampment. According to Bowen, "When I came into the camp, it seemed to me like a Rag Fair, for it had rained the day before, and clothes were being overhauled as carelessly as at home." Seeing Wolfe at a distance, Bowen approached the general. Just as he reached Wolfe, a cannon ball whistled over both their heads and Wolfe, seeing Bowen for the first time, cried out, "Sir, you are in danger!" Bowen quickly stated that his curiosity about how the French had organized their troops had prompted him to climb up to the hilltop where Wolfe had established his command post. Suddenly Wolfe turned on Bowen demanding, "Who are you?" Bowen blurted out, "A friend!" Wolfe began to interrogate Bowen, seeking to discover why someone out of uniform had suddenly appeared before him in the heart of his headquarters. The interrogation was lengthy because Wolfe wanted to make certain the Bowen was not a French spy. Bowen summoned every bit of guile and wit he could muster in order to escape the real possibility of being arrested as an enemy agent. When Wolfe asked Bowen how he knew him, Bowen gave a specific description of Wolf?s visit to the "Pembroke", including who the general met and what kind of conversations Wolfe had with the officers and crew. After over a half and hour of grilling Bowen, the General decided Bowen had been telling the truth and sent a file of men to accompany Bowen back to his boat. Bowen was shaken by this encounter, for while he got his desired opportunity to talk with Wolfe, it was in the context of a grueling interrogation. After this incident, Bowen exercised more judgment in picking the time in which to indulge his curiosity about the famous leaders of his day.
Late in June, 1759, final preparations were being made to engage the enemy at high tide. Bowen's commanding officer, Captain Cook, was called to meet with other Captains aboard the command or flagship. As he left ship, Cook stated, "Mr. Bowen, I leave you full charge of the poop (deck) and make all the discovery (of the enemy's intentions) that you can." Shortly after Cook left, the French began to send fire-rafts in the direction of the British fleet. The first fleet was made of parts of schooners and shallops chained together. It was covered with guns, grenades, and other combustible materials. As midshipman, Ashley Bowen was in command of a pinnace, a light sailing vessel with a flat stern, which usually accompanied a larger vessel, such as the "Pembroke". Interpreting Captain Cook's orders to mean that he should repulse any aggressive actions by the enemy, Bowen leaped aboard his pinnace with some other men from Marblehead. He grappled with the fire-raft, successfully pushing them toward shore, away from the ships. As they returned to the "Pembroke" and were receiving cheers from their mates, one of the Marblehead men quipped, "Dam-me Jack, did'st thee ever take hell in tow before?"
When in mid-September 1759, the British armed forces gained possession of Quebec, this ending France's control of Canada, the 160 men from Marblehead, including the 16 who served with Bowen aboard the "Pembroke", were placed completely under the command of midshipman Ashley Bowen. Many of the men were sick when they were discharged in early October 1759. As their commanding officer, Bowen was saddled with the responsibility of ministering to those who were ailing. Despite his efforts, 35 died on the passage to Boston. It became Bowen's sad duty to organize and supervise the burial at sea of these brave men from Marblehead. Two men who served with Bowen aboard the "Pembroke" - Isaac Warren and Robert Thompson - were among those buried at sea. The rest of his shipmates - William Horn, Edward Akes, Robert Bartlett, Garrett Farrell, John Bateman, Thomas Woodfin, Miles Dollan, Edward Kindley, Ben Nichols, Arthur Lloyd, Edward Saverin, Zachary Paine, and Frederick Swaburgs - shared the hearty welcome Ashley Bowen received when he finally arrived in Marblehead
I will need to do further research to determine if the John Bateman in this article is Mary?s father.
David died at the age of 55, in April of 1805, in Litchfield, Connecticut. Mary Smith was living with Olive Smith Throop, her daughter, when she died, at the age of 86, in 1848 in Litchfield, Connecticut. David and Marry are buried in the Footville Burying Ground in Morris, Connecticut. The Footville Burying Ground is now the Lakeside Cemetery.
David and Mary had thirteen children David Smith Jr., who died in the Revolutionary War, Henrietta, Daniel, Maria Teresa, Moses, Polly, Bateman, Ursula, Marian (Mary Ann), Olive(Arlie Beth), Dotha (Bertha), Marian, and Charles Smith.
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