Class Book COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 1 I MAJOR JOHN GARRETT, SLAIN JULY 3. 1778. A FORGOTTEN HERO MASSACRE OF WYOMING, PENNSYLVANIA REV. HORACE EDWIN HAYDEN, M. A., ii CORRESPONDING SECRETARY WYOMING HISTORICAL AND GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 2A-V&' V WII.KKS-BARRE, PENN'a. IS 95 . Ez^-i Copyrighted, 1895, BY Horace Edwin Hayden. E. B. YORDY, PRINTER, WILKES-BARRE. 'i THESE PAGES ARE DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE SHELDON REYNOLDS, Esq., PRESIDENT OF THE WYOMING HISTORICAL AND GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, WILKES-BARRE, PA. This sketch of Major John Garrett was prepared for publication in Dr. Wm. H. Egle's " Notes and Queries," in the Harrisburg Telegraph, where it appeared in the issues for October 24 and 28, 1893. But as the Telegraph is not generally circulated in the Wyoming section where Major Garrett was slain (July 3, 1778) ; and many of the facts in this sketch, though purely local, are not well known there, it is now printed in this form, with much original matter never before published. ) MAJOR JOHN GARRETT, OF WYOMING VALLEY, I775-I77S- The Wyoming Monument, that granite witness to the patriotic devotion of those Americans who participated in the memorable action of July 3, 1778, called the "Massacre of Wyoming," has always been accepted as an authority beyond question. That monument perpetuates the name of Major John Garrett as the second field officer who was slain in the Massacre. By some singular mistake the name of this gallant officer has been omitted from the list of the slain, and that of Major Jonathan Waite Garrett has been sub- stituted by every historian of Wyoming Valley since the centennial of the Massacre in 1878. It is time to call a halt in this continued wrong done to an honored patriot. The purpose of this paper is to show that no such person as Jonathan Waite Garrett participated in the action of July 3, 1778, but that the officer who aided Colonel Zebulon Butler, in command of the right wing on that day, was Major John Garrett. The name of Jonathan Waite Garrett does not appear in any known account of the events of that terrible day prior to the address of the Hon. Steuben Jenkins, delivered at the monument July 3, 1878. Mr. Jenkins was justly regarded as a careful and accurate historian, especially in matters per- taining to the Wyoming Valley. In the address referred to (p. 44), he stated that "Colonel Butler, supported by Major Jonathan Waite Garrett, assisted by Anderson Dana as ad- jutant, commanded the right wing." In the list of the slain, as inscribed on the monument (p. 70), he also gives the name of Major Jonathan Waite Garrett. My attention was called, in 1883, to this unintentional in- justice done to Major John Garrett, by my kinsman, the late Sidney Hayden, Esq., of Sayre, Pa., the well known Masonic historian, who was the great-grand nephew of Major John Garrett, but the opportunity to investigate the matter did not offer until 1887. Mr. Hayden wrote me: "I think the Jonathan Waite Garrett instead of John Gar- rett is a mistake, as the name stands in the family record in Connecticut as John Garrett. From the rank and position he held in the battle of Wyoming I am surprised that no more is said of him in Wyoming history. When did he come there ? And what are the personal incidents relating to him there, except that he served as major in the battle and fell among the slain on the 3d of July, 1778? Do the historians of Wyoming know anything more about him ?" "This Major John Garrett was an uncle of my mother, and was born in West Simsbury, now Canton, in Hartford county, Connecticut, in 1727, thus making him 51 years old at the time he was killed." I have made a careful research through the records of Luzerne county, and the county of Northumberland, from which it was formed in 1787, through the Colonial Records of Connecticut and Pennsylvania, but failed to discover any trace of such a person as Jonathan Waite Garrett. No such name appears in the almost exhaustive roster of Revo- lutionary Soldiers, lately published by the State of Connec- ticut. On the other hand, the official report of the battle and Massacre of Wyoming by Colonel Zebulon Butler, dated July 10, 1778, states that in the conflict "a lieutenant-col- onel, a major and five captains, who were in commission in the militia, all fell." As will be seen in this paper the only officers who were in commission in the militia, who lost their lives July 3, 1778, were Lieutenant-Colonel George Dorrance, Major John Garrett, and Captains James Bidlack, Rezin Geer, William McKerachan, Lazarus Stewart and Asaph Whittlesey. The Wyoming historians, Miner (p. 242), Pearce (128, 528), Wright (181) and Peck (39, 385), invariably record the name of Major John Garrett as that of the officer who aided Colonel Butler on the right. One exception worthy of notice is Chapman, the earliest historian of Wyoming, who, in his "History of Wyoming," (p. 175), gives the name as "Wait Garret" his error doubt- less arising from the fact that the "Rate Bill" of Hanover (for 1777), gives the name of "Wait Garrat" assessed at ,£29, and taxes £0: 16: 11. He was probably a son of Major John Garrett, as the latter had a grandson Wait Garrett, of New London, Conn., who served as a private from August to September, 18 13, in the company of Captain (afterwards Major General) Moses Hayden, Connecticut Militia, War 1812. (Conn, in War of 1812, p. 56). Stone in his "His- tory of Wyoming," p. 209, follows Chapman and quotes from him the list of slain, including "Major Wait Garrett." I also addressed a letter of inquiry to the Hon. Steuben Jenkins, who kindly sent me the following reply, which fully explains the error into which he had fallen : "Wyoming, July 14, 1887. Dear Sir -.—Chapman, p. 175, gives Major Wait Garret. Miner, p. 242, gives Major John Garrett. By mixing these memoranda and not eliminating, John Wait Garret is easily obtained. That was the manner in which my mistake took shape and got into print. Yours, &c, S. Jenkins." Unfortunately this error has been repeated, apparently without any effort to rectify it by examination of the monu- ment, by Munsell's "History of Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties, Penn'a," 1880, p. 305 ; by the "Wyom- ing Memorial Volume," 1882, p. 340 ; and by II. C. Bradsby in his "History of Luzerne County," 1893, p. 120, all of which works record the name as "Major Jonathan Waite Garrett." Therefore to rescue the name and fame of Major John Garrett from oblivion the results of my research into his personal history are here given. Major John Garrett, born in West Simsbury, Connec- ticut, in 1727, was the oldest son and third child of Francis Garrett, and his wife, Sarah (Mills) Tuller, born 1696, died 1797, in her 101st year. She was the daughter of John Mills, of West Simsbury, and the widow of Samuel Tuller, whom she married in 171 5. She married 2d, Francis Gar- rett in 1722, and after his death in 173 1 she married 3d, 1745, Captain Joseph Woodford, who was born 1676 and died 1/60. The record of her children will appear later. Nothing is known of the early life of John Garrett, beyond the fact of his marriage and the names of his children. He first appears in the annals of Connecticut as an officer in the militia in the town of Westmoreland. Owing to the many conflicts between Indians and whites, Pennamites and Yankees, in that part of Pennsylvania known as the town of Westmoreland and claimed by Connecticut as a part of her domain, the Connecticut assembly during the sessions of May and October, 1775, in response to the memorial of Colonel Zebulon Butler and Joseph Sluman, erected the town of Westmoreland into a county and created the Twenty-fourth regiment of militia for its protection. This regiment was to be composed of men taken — rank and file — from that section of the county of Litchfield (Force, 1,860). As a full and accurate list of the companies and officers of this regiment has never yet appeared in any his- tory of the Wyoming section, it is given here from the Colo- nial Records of Connecticut (Vol. XV.) : Zebulon Butler, Colonel, appointed May, 1775. Nathan Denison, Lieutenant Colonel, appointed May, 1775. William Judd, Major, appointed May, 1775. The following officers were appointed October, 1775 : First Company. — Stephen Fuller, Captain ; John Garrett, Lieutenant ; Christopher Avery, Ensign. Second Company. — Nathaniel Landon, Captain ; George Dorrance, Lieutenant ; Asael Buck, Ensign. Third Company. — Samuel Ransom, Captain ; Perin Ross, Lieutenant ; Asaph Whittlesey, Ensign. Fourth Company. — Solomon Strong, Captain ; Jonathan Parker, Lieutenant ; Timothy Keyes, Ensign. Fifth Company. — William McKerachan, Captain ; Laza- rus Stewart, Junior, Lieutenant ; Silas Gore, Ensign. Sixth Company. — Rezin Geer, Captain ; Daniel Gore, Lieutenant ; Matthias Hollenbock, Ensign. Seventh Company. — Stephen Harding, Captain ; Elisha Scovill, Lieutenant ; John Jenkins, Junior, Ensign. Eighth Company. — Eliot Farnam, Captain ; John Shaw, Lieutenant ; Elijah Winters, Ensign. Ninth Company. — James Secord, Captain ; John Dupue, Lieutenant ; Rudolph Fox, Ensign.* *Personal records of each of the above named officers, except those of the fourth, eighth and ninth companies, will be found in the various histories of Wyoming. Of Captain Strong and Lieutenant Jonathan Parker I have been able to learn nothing after 1774, when Parker was a surveyor of highways. Ensign Timothy Keyes was killed at the same time with Mr. Hocksey, at Ab- ingdon, six or seven miles north of Liggett's Gap, July 8, 1778 (Miner, 486). Eliot Farnam was probably Eliab Varnum, who, with Elijah Winters, moved to the Wallenpaupack (Miner, 460). Ensign Rudolph Fox had a very event- ful career, of which much can be learned from Bradsby's History of Bradford County, 1891, p. 83, et seq. John Shaw was a taxable 1769. Three of the Shaw family were killed in the massacre, 1778. Captain James Secord was undoubtedly a Tory, probably a son of John of Tioga Point. He went to New York State. A very interesting account of his family has been printed by Lundy's Lane Historical Society, in a pamphlet, entitled "The Story of Laura Secord," 1891. James Secord is supposed to have become one of Butler's Rangers. None of the above names appear in the poll list of the town of Westmoreland, 1781. IO It will be noted that there were nine companies in this regiment, the officers of which all resided in the town of Westmoreland. So far the Wyoming historians have given the records only of six companies. Of the officers of these companies Butler, Denison, Dorrance, Avery, Fuller, Daniel and Silas Gore, Geer, Garrett, McKerachan, Ransom, Ross, Stewart, Hollenback and Whittlesey were in the action of July 3, 1778. Lieutenant Elisha Scovill was in command of Fort Wintermoot when it was surrendered to Colonel John Butler. Lieutenant John Jenkins, Junior, was a pris- oner, and Captain Stephen Harding was in Fort Jenkins. It must not be forgotten that the Twenty-fourth regiment was somewhat deranged by the call of Congress in 1776 for the two companies from Wyoming Valley commanded by Cap- tains Durkee and Ransom. The captains of the regiment after the formation of these companies were James Bidlack, Wil- liam Hooker Smith, John Garrett, Nathaniel Landon, Asaph Whittlesey, William McKerachan, Jeremiah Blanchard, Rezin Geer, Stephen Harding, Lazarus Stewart, Robert Carr and Eliot Farnam. (Colonial Records, Conn., xv : 43.) William Judd, appointed Major, May, 1775 (Col. Rec. Conn., xv : 43), was then living in Wyoming Valley, hav- ing located there in 1774 or 1775. He was in Farmington in 1774. Heitman records him as Major from August to October, 1775. He became Captain of the Third Connecti- cut Line, January 1, 1777, retired January 1, 1781, and re- sided, until his death, in Farmington, Conn. He was one of the justices of the peace in the county of Westmoreland, appointed by the Assembly of Connecticut, May, 1775, and June 1 , 1778. (Miner, 211, Col. Rec. of Conn., xv., 1 1 , 279.) Miner gives an account of his arrest and imprisonment in Philadelphia jail September 20, 1775 (p. 168), from which he was discharged in December, 1775. (Conn. His. Soc. Col., ii., 328.) His subsequent history as a friend of the Wyoming settlers and members of the Susquehanna com- 1 1 pany will be found in Connecticut history, and in Miner, 380, 412, &c, &c, and Pa. Archives, 2d S., xvm. Several interesting facts in this connection seem to have, so far, escaped the notice of Wyoming historians. The United States Congress, August 26, 1776, immediate- ly after appointing the officers for the two Wyoming com- panies, "authorized the Select Committee to send to Cap- tain Durkee 200 lbs. of powder and a proportionate quantity of lead for the use of the two Westmoreland companies, and Zebulon Butler, Esq., was appointed to supply these com- panies with provisions, and was allowed therefor at the rate of 1-12 part of a dollar per ration until further order of Congress." Congress also, September 10, 1776, "Resolved, That $4,000 be sent to Zebulon Butler, Esq., for the use of the two companies ordered to be raised in the town of West- moreland, he to be accountable for the same, and that the money be delivered to and forwarded by the Connecticut delegates." "Resolved, That Major William Judd be authorized to muster the said companies." (Journals of Cong, ii, 329.) The mustering in occurred September 17, 1776, and Oc- tober, 1776, Congress voted an additional sum of $2,000 to be paid to Colonel Zebulon Butler for the use of the com- panies {id. 411).* Whether Major William Judd resigned his majority in the Twenty-fourth Connecticut regiment before October, 1775, is not known. His rank as Major was recognized by Congress in 1776, as we see above. But he was succeeded in the Twenty- *The Massacre of Wyoming. — The Acts of Congress for the defense of the Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, 1776-1778; with the Petitions of the suf- ferers by the Massacre of July 3, 1778, for Congressional aid. With an Intro- ductory chapter by Rev. Horace Edwin Hayden, M. A., Corresponding Secre- tary Wyoming Historical and Geological Society. (Seal). Printed for the Society, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 1895. 12 fourth regiment by George Dorrance, appointed Major Octo- ber, 1775. In May, 1777, Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Denison succeeded Zebulon Butler as Colonel of the regiment. Cap- tain Lazarus Stewart succeeded Nathan Denison as Lieu- tenant Colonel. He resigned in 1777, and was succeeded October, 1777, by Major George Dorrance, promoted Lieu- tenant Colonel, and Dorrance was succeeded October, 1777, by Captain John Garrett, promoted Major. (Conn, in the Rev., p. 440; also Heitman's Historical Register of the Con- tinental Line; and Colonial Records of Conn.) At what date Major John Garrett moved from Connecti- cut to Wyoming Valley is not known. His name does not occur in any record prior to 1775. Although at that time, aged 48, he held no civil office here, nor does he appear to have engaged in business, and probably came here in his military capacity as lieutenant of the First Company, Twenty- fourth regiment. He bought land here in 1775 and 1776, as the following deeds show : Daniel Downing, of Westmoreland, County of Litchfield, Colony of Connecticut, for £12 paid him by "Lieut. John Garrit, of said Westmoreland," December 6, 1775, conveyed to Garrett lot No. 22, Second division, district of "Wilkes- Barre," containing three acres and three quarters of land. Deed acknowledged December 29, 1775, before Zebulon Butler, justice, and witnessed by Jacob Dyer and Zebulon Butler ; not recorded until January 29, 1789, by John Carey, administrator of Garrett's estate. Darius Spofford, of Westmoreland, for ^"50 paid him by John Garrett of same place, September 23, 1776, conveyed to Garrett lot No. 21, Third division, district of Wilkes- Barre. Witnessed by Jonathan Fitch and Jeremiah Bick- ford ; recorded January 29, 1789. John Murphy, of West- moreland, for ;£i6o paid by "Major John Garrett," of same place, March 20, 1778, conveyed to Garrett lot No. 22, Third division "in the town of Wilkes-berry." Witnesses, 13 Nathan Denison and J. Baldwin. Recorded January 29, 1789. (Deed Bk. I, p. 120, 121.) Of this property we will hear later on. It is not known that Major Garrett lived upon it ; but the deeds show that he resided here from 1775 to 1778. Of the personal history of Major John Garrett during these four years very little is known. Miner names him but twice, excepting in the list of slain in the Massacre. He does not mention him in his very entertaining appendix "The Hazleton Travellers," doubtless because so little was known of his history. In 1776 Garrett was one of the Road Commissioners of the town of Westmoreland, as the following document shows. The original is in the possession of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society : " These are to warn all the Proprietors of Wilks Barre Destrict to meet at the Dwelling house of Solomon John- son in said Destrict On the 13th Day of March Instant At 2:0:Clock Afternoon then to see what the Proprietors will Do About Makeing Application to the Town of Westmore- land to Establish the Road in this Destrict as Laid Out by the Proprietors & to se what the Proprietors will Do About Purchasing a Meadow Lot for the Use of Ading it to One of the Publick Rights and any Other Business that shall be fairly Offered Dated At sd Westmoreland this 7th Day of March, 1776 Elisha Blackman 1 Proprs John Garrit / Com." Another document preserved by the Society in which Major Garrett appears as a witness in a suit between Benja- min Shaw, Sr., and Benjamin Shaw, Jr., is as follows : " To Major John Garret Lnt Lazerus Stuart Ebenezer Hibbard Susanna Inman Meriah O * * * * Asa Ben- net Jerimiah Bisford, all of Westmoreland you and Each of you are here by Requerd to appear before the Honle County Court Now Seting in Westmoreland in and for the County of Westmoreland on the 28th Day of November Instent at 9, oClock aforenoon then and their to Testify What you and Each of you Know Relating to a case then to be heard and tryed Where in Benjm Shaw is plant and Benjm Shaw Jr is Deft here of fail Not as you Would answer your Neglect at the Periel of ye Law in that Case made and Provided : to Either of the Constables of the town of West- moreland or any Person to serve and Return according to law Dated at Westmoreland this 27th Day of November 1 777." In the "Rate bill of Wilkes-Barre," August, 1776, John Garret appears assessed at .£107 14:0, taxed ^3:2 :8: In 1777 and 1778 he was assessed at ^58, and taxed £2 : 18:0. Major Garrett's first appearance in Wyoming history is of great interest, and highly creditable to his character as a soldier, but it fills one with regret that more cannot be learned about him. It was in connection with Colonel William Plunkett's invasion of the Valley of the Wyoming, December 24, 1775, with a military force of seven hundred men, ostensibly to aid the sheriff of Northumberland county to serve some civil suits against the Connecticut settlers. Miner says, "the cruelty of the contemplated attack was sensibly felt, intended, it was not doubted, like that on the Muncy settlement, to effectuate the entire expulsion of the whole people" of the valley. Colonel Zebulon Butler, then acting in his military ca- pacity of Colonel of the Twenty-fourth Connecticut militia, with a force of about 300 men and boys, indifferently armed, made preparation to meet the invaders. " Having encamped," says Miner, " with his 300 men on the flat near the union of Harvey's Creek with the Susque- hanna, he despatched Major John Garrett [then Lieutenant Garrett], his second in command, to visit Colonel Plunkett with a flag, and desired to know the meaning of his extraor- dinary movements, and to demand his intentions in ap- proaching Wyoming with so imposing a military array. The answer given was that he came peaceably as an attendant on Sheriff Cook, who was authorized to arrest several per- 15 sons at Wyoming for violating the laws of Pennsylvania, and he trusted there would be no opposition to a measure so reasonable and pacific." Major Garrett, on his return, reported that the enemy outnumbered the Yankees more than two to one. " The conflict," said he, " will be a sharp one, boys. I for one am ready to die, if need be, for my country." (Miner, 173.) This patriotic declaration, fit motto to grace his monu- ment, found its exposition three years later on the field of the Massacre. On that memorable occasion Major John Garrett supported Colonel Zebulon Butler, commanding the right wing of the American line. The conflict was a sharp one, and Garrett fell early in the action during the hot fire which Miner says was sustained for half an hour. No sur- vivor saw him fall, but none saw him retreat. There were not wanting those who could tell how Hewitt and Spafford, Bidlack and Whittlesey, Durkee and Whiton, Donahue and Shoemaker acted, and bravely met their fate, but the veil of silence has hidden from our knowledge how Garrett " died for his country." That he did his duty, and fell in the very front of the battle, is all that may ever be known. " His widow, with many other women and children, es- caped the death by which the men had fallen by fleeing, as they were instructed, to a raft that lay in the Susquehanna river and floating down the stream, but their property was all destroyed that could be by the Indians." Such was the account of Mrs. Garrett, who, knowing the fate of her husband, soon made her way back to Connecticut. James A. Gordon, Esq., who recorded his recollections of what his mother and other participants in the scenes told him, stated that the day after the Massacre "there were four rafts, besides some canoes, congregated at Nanticoke and full of women and children," who had fled from Plymouth and Wilkes-Barre. William Maclay wrote to the Pennsyl- vania Council from Paxtang, July 12, 1778 : "I never in my i6 life saw such scenes of distress. The Rivers and the Roads leading down it were covered with men, women and children flying for their lives, many without any Property at all, and none who had not left the greater part behind. * * * Something in the way of Charity ought to be done for the miserable objects that crowd the Banks of this River, espe- cially those who fled from Wioming." (Pa. Arch, vi., 634.) Nearly ten years afterwards, John Cary, of Wilkes-Barre, was granted by the Court of Luzerne county, Pa., Septem- ber 11, 1787, letters of administration on the estate of Major John Garrett, deceased, bond ,£500, Nathan Cary and Solo- mon Avery, sureties ; Eben Bowman and John Scott, wit- nesses. An inventory of the estate was made August 29, 1788, and the administrator's account rendered May 31, 1790, but they are both lost. In 1788 Cary confirmed the reported destruction of Major Garrett's personal property in his application to the court for power to sell real estate • "To the Honourable the Orphans' Court of the County of Luzerne. John Cary, administrator on the estate of John Garrett, late of Wilkes-Barre, deceased, Humbly showeth, that there is no personal estate of the deceased to be found, the same having been lost or destroyed in the general de- struction of the settlement in 1778. That the debts exhibit- ed against the estate appeared to amount to the sum of one hundred and twenty-six pounds, three shillings and four pence, one farthing, besides the charges of administration. Wherefore your petitioner prays for an order of Court for the sale of the whole real estate of said deceased for pay- ment of said debts and charges of administration. John Cary. Wilkes-Barre, Sept. 1, 1788. The Court authorized the sale on the same day. It was advertised to take place October 7th, 1788, at the house of Abel Yarrington, in Wilkes-Barre, but the property was not conveyed until June 15th, 1790, when Cary deeded lots 21 and 22 to George Frey, of Middletown, Dauphin county 17 Pa., for £\ 13. The land is described in Cary's deed as two lots in Wilkes-Barre, called back lots, or lots in the Third division, No. 21, being bounded on the southwest on the line of Hanover township, 1,414 perches, northwest on the road laid out through Wilkes-Barre township to Hanover town- ship line, being a straight continuance of the main street of the town of Wilkes-Barre, 33 and 4-10 perches; northeast on said lot to No. 22 by a straight line 1,404 and 4-10 per- ches, and southeast on vacant land over the mountain at right angles with the side line 31 and 8-10 rods, containing 280 acres and 1 1 perches ; No. 22, adjoining No. 21 , contain- ing 278 acres and 26 perches, as per survey made by Wil- liam Montgomery, jr., in 1787. (Book 1, p. 278.) This pro- perty lies at the extreme end of South Wilkes-Barre, begin- ning on the east side of Main street, opposite No. 601, the residence of Rev. Mr. Hayden, and extends to Bear Creek township line, covering only the Spofford and Murphy tracts. The remaining lot sold October 7, 1788, to Solomon John- son, of Wilkes-Barre, yeoman, was lot No. 22, town of Wilkes-Barre, containing 3 acres and 99 perches, bounded southeast by Main street and northeast by Union street. It extended from the west side of Main street to the centre of Franklin street, and from Union street southward 333 feet. Recorded May 17, 1796. (Book 4, p. 252.) Major Garrett had a claim of some kind on another lot in Wilkes-Barre, as Arnold Colt, of Wilkes-Barre, for .£10 re- ceived April 15, 1788, of Mills Garrett and the rest of heirs of John Garrett, late of Wilkes-Barre, deceased, conveyed to them one-half of lot No. 4, Third division. This lot lay in what is now Plains township. November 23, 1792, John Garrett and Francis Garrett, of Southbury, Litchfield county, Conn., heirs of John Garrett, deceased, conveyed to Arnold Colt, of Wilkes-Barre, for £15, one-half a back lot No. 4, Third division, Wilkes-Barre township, being part of the right of land of which Harris Colt was an original proprietor, and which Arnold Colt deeded to Mills Garrett and the rest of the heirs of John Garrett, deceased. On the same day John Garrett, of South- bury, Conn , and Jeremiah Spencer, of Windsor, Conn., sold Benjamin Cary, Hanover township, Luzerne county, for £2$, all their right in lot No. 26, Hanover township, which Caleb Spencer deeded to James Spencer. (Bk. 1.28, 2.142, 170.) For this lot see map in Plumb's Hanover township, p. 172. June 7, 1794, John Garrett and Esther Garrett gave a re- ceipt to Jeremiah Spencer in full of all demands for lands belonging to Esther Garrett lying in the Susquehanna. (Pa. Arch., s. 2, vol. xvni., 520.) This Esther was the wife of John the son of Major John Garrett. With these sales the names of Major John Garrett and his family disappear from Wyoming Valley. Hon. H. B. Plumb wrote me, De- cember 28, 1893 : " I do not think young John Garret or any Garret ever lived in Hanover. The lot you mention, No. 26, 3d Division, sold to Benja- min Cary, never had a house on it. Benjamin Cary's house was on No. 25, and stands there yet, opposite the road that crosses from the Middle road to the upper end of Hanover Green on the River road. The lot No. 21, Wilkes-Barre, opposite which you live, sold as the property of Major John Garret, 1790, had a small log house standing within my recollection, on the high bank of the creek close to the high bank at the road side there across the street from you. It seems to me it was not more than twelve feet square, but it was two stories high. When my mother was a little girl, say in 1814 or 1815, an Englishman named William Askam, a tailor by trade, but a peddler by nature, lived there. You may have heard the story of his wife sending him out for an armfull of wood to heat the oven to bake ; that he went after the wood, but also went peddling before he came back, and was gone, people say, seven years and three months — he said seven months and three days. When he came back the wood he had picked up along the fence, between that little house on that high bank and what is now Blackman street, I think, near the Vulcan Works, he took in his arms and carried home and threw down by the oven and told his wife, "There is the wood I went after." That little house was an old house then. Could that have been the house John Garret 19 lived in, or was it built after 1790? There was a large house further on, probably on No. 22, that belonged to Gen. William Ross in my earliest recollection ; that must have been about as old, if not older, than this little house, and I think belonged to the same owner. It is very likely that somewhat there Major John Garret's house stood, as his son was in the Lower and not the Upper Wilkes-Barre company. The lower Wilkes-Barre company, in my History of Hanover, p. 107, was not composed of Hanover men. I only put it in my book because nobody had ever shown a list of the men in any Wilkes-Barre company, and I considered it worth knowing." There were others of the name of Garrett in the town of Westmoreland in 1776 and 1777, as Titus Garrett, aged 34 [born 1742], 5 feet 10 inches high, was a private soldier in Captain Robert Durkee's company, 1776, and in Captain Simon Spaulding's company, January 1, 1777; discharged September 19, 1778; residence Westmoreland. Elisha Gar- rett, aged 36 [born 1740], 5 feet 11 inches high, was also a private in both companies ; residence Westmoreland. He was transferred to Durkee's regiment and continued in ser- vice until 1783. (Conn, in the Revolution, p. 263-266.) He was killed by Patterson's men in 1784. (Wright 122.) John Garrett appears on the Wyoming monument among the privates who survived the Massacre. This was the eldest son of Major John Garrett, who was a resident of Wilkes-Barre, and a private in the Lower Wilkes-Barre company. The names of Elisha and Titus Garrett do not appear in the records of Luzerne county. "None of the above ever asked for or received a pension for Revolutionary services. A John Garrett, private in the Conn. Line, living in 1818, in Oneida county, N. Y., aged 90 in 1834, received a pension, but I cannot identify him with the Simsbury family. 20 GENEALOGY. I. FRANCIS GARRETT, said to have been a French- man, came to Canton, Conn., and m. circa, 1722, Sarah (Mills) TuLLER,b. 1696^. 1797, in her 101st year. She was the daughter of John and Sarah (Pettibone) Mills, of West Simsbury. John Mills, b. Jan. 2, 1669, d. March 11, 1698, was the sop of Simon and Mary (Buell) Mills, of Windsor, probably son of Simon Mills, who owned land in W. 1653. (See Stiles' Windsor, ii. 500.) Mrs. Garrett was the widow of Samuel Tuller (pro. son of John, of Simsbury, 1690), whom she had m. about 17 15. Her husband, Francis Gar- rett, d. 173 1. She m. thirdly, in 1745, Captain Joseph Woodford, b. 1676, d. 1760, son of Joseph and Rebecca (Navell) Woodford, the son of Thomas, of Hartford, 1650, and Northampton, Mass., 1654- 1667. After Captain Wood- ford's death, his widow lived with his son William, who had m. her daughter Susanna. Sarah had no children by her third marriage. By her first and second marriages she had eight, viz : Children by first marriage (Tuller) : i. Samuel. ii. James. -f iii. Isaac, b. 1720; d. 1806. Second marriage (Garrett) : -f- iv. Sarah, b. 1723; d. 1821. + v. Susanna, b. 1725; d. 1806. -+- vi. John, b. 1727 ; d. July 3, 1778. + vii. Francis, b. 1729; d. — \y^" -\- viii. Anna, b. 1731 ; d. — ; pro. m. Justus Hicock, Oneonta, N. Y. III. LIEUTENANT ISAAC TULLER, b. 1720; d. 1806, aged 86; m. 1746, Phebe Case, b. May 16, 1729; d. 1779; daughter of James and Esther (Fithian) Case, and sister of Mrs. Francis Garrett. He moved to West Sims- 21 bury in 1749, and resided on the place afterwards occupied by his son Rufus. Children : i. Phcebe, b. 1747 ; d. 1776 ; m. James Case, son of Josiah. ii. Isaac, Jr., b. 1749; d. 1776, in army at Bergen, N.J. iii. Deliverance, b. 175 1 ; d. 1805 ; m. Isaac Wilcox, private Capt. Z. Case's company, 18th Reg. Conn. Mil., 1776. iv. Ruth, b. 1755; d. 1818; m. Capt. Frederick Humphreys, Canton, Conn., and had Ruth, who m. 1804, Luke Hay- den, of Barkhamstead (Augustin, Samuel, Samuel, Dan- iel, William) ; b. August 30, 1773 . d. March, 1854; had Sidney Hayden, Esq., of Sayre, Pa., author of " Wash- ington and his Masonic Compeers," 12 mo. 1866. Capt. Frederick Humphreys was son of Capt. Ezekiel, of Sam- uel, of Michael and Priscilla (Grant) Humphreys, v. Esther, b. 1757; d. 1851 ; m. Elijah Hill, private Capt. Z. Case's company, 1776. vi. Lois, b. 1759; d. 1797 ; m. James Lawrence, vii. Sarah, b. 1761 ; d. 1812 ; m. Ozias Northway, private Capt. Hooker's company, Conn. State Mil., 1776. viii. Aseneth, b. 1763; d. 181 5; m. Jonathan Mersell, pro. private Capt. Gillet's company, Col. Eno's Regt., 1778. ix. Amasa, b. 1765; d. 1792; m. Sylvia Case. x. Rufus, b. 1767 ; alive in 1856; m. Matilda Case, xi. Chloe, b. 1770; d. 1845; m - Timothy Caldwell. IV. SARAH GARRETT, b. 1723; d. i82i,aged98; m. 1743-4, Oliver Humphrey, b. 1720; d. 1792, aged 72; son of Jonathan, and grandson of Samuel, son of Michael. He was the first magistrate in West Simsbury, where he located 1742. He was Justice 1 769-1 792, and Deputy to the General Court 1 766-1 770. Children (Humphrey) : i. Sarah, b. 1744; d. 1795; m. (I.) Abraham Case, Jr., b. March 18, 1743; d. April 10, 1776; son of Abraham and Rachel Case. (Goodwin's Notes, 292). He was in the Lexington Alarm party from New Hartford, Conn., 1775 ; Corporal Capt. Abel Pettebone's Co. Second Reg., 1775. She m. (II.) Rev. Abraham Fowler, pro. Yale, A.B. 1775 I A. M. 1778; d. 1815. 22 ii. Lois, b. 1746; d. 1800; m. Bildad Barber, of Capt. John Brown's Co. Eighteenth Conn. Militia, 1776. iii. Ruth, b. 1748; d. 1822; m. Lieut. Gideon Mills, of the Lexington Alarm party, 1775 ; Serj., Capt. A. Pettebone's Co., May 4, to Oct. 31, 1775 ; Lieut, in Col. Beebe's Reg., Feb. 18, 1777; Capt. Hinkley's Co., Col. Well's Reg. iv. Oliver, Jr., b. 1750; d. 1776, in the Army. In Lexing- ton Alarm party, 1775 ; Capt. Abel Pettebone's Co., May 4, to Dec. 18, 1775; Capt. Benj. Mills' Co. as Corporal, Sept. 13, to Oct. 13, 1776. v. Erastus, b. 1752; d. 1776. vi. Reuben, b. 1754; d. 1830; m. Anna Humphrey. Reuben Humphrey was mem. Assembly, 1789, 1791, 1793. vii. Rachel, b. 1756; d. 1831 ; m. George Humphrey ; Lex- ington Alarm party, 1795; Fifer Capt. A. Pettebone's Co., May 5, to Dec. 18, 1775, and Capt. Z. Case's Co., 1776. viii. Asher, b. 1758; d. 1828; m. Chloe Humphrey; private Capt. A. Pettebone's Co., March 26, to May 5, 1777. ix. Mercy, b. 1 76 1 ; d. 1826; m. 1786, Rev. Jeremiah Hal- lock, pro. he who received Hon. A. M., Yale, 1788; d. 1826. He was father of Hon. Jeremiah Hallock, judge Ohio Circuit Court. x. Esther, b. 1763; d. 1808 ; m. Eben Alford, b. 1761 ; Ar- tificer Continental Line, and pensioner 1834, aged 73. xi. Lavinia, b. 1765; d. 1848; m. Thomas Bidwell, Jr., son of Capt. Thomas Bidwell, 1778; and b. 1764; d. 1848. (Bidwell Gen., 85). V. SUSANNA GARRETT, b. 1725 ; d. 1806 ; m. circa 1750, William Woodford, b. 1722; d. 1803; son of Capt. Joseph Woodford by his first wife. Children (Woodford) : i. Rufus, b. 1754; d. 1760. ii. Ruth, b. 1756; m.Uzziah Dyer, of Thomas, of Benjamin, iii. Francis, b. 1759. iv. Rufus, b. 1762; d. 1831 ; m. (I.) Chloe Hills, d. 1794; m. (II.) MaryTuller; (III.) Charlotte (Alford) Moses. v. Theas, b. 1764; d. 1838; m. Myriam Case; b. 1766; d. Dec. 17, 1847; dau. of Isaac Case (Goodwin 291). vi. James, b. 1767; m. Apphia Hill; b. 1764; d. 1839. vii. Theodore, b. 1769. viii. Ruth, b. 1772 ; m. Thomas Dyer, Jr. 23 VI. MAJOR JOHN GARRETT, b. 1727; slain July 3, 1778. Children : i. Wait, b. — ; probably the eldest son, a taxable, Wyoming Valley, 1775-7. Nothing known of him beyond the record already given, except that his son Amasa, b. 1778, d. Southbury, Conn., June 1, 1792, aged 14; and another child d. March 25, 1781. ii. Mills, b. — . Nothing known of him beyond the record already given. iii. John, b. — ; m. (I.) Southbury, Oct. 21, 1778, Esther Spen- cer, possibly she who was b. Bolton, Dec. 7, 1754, sister of Josiah Spencer, slain at Wyoming, July 3, 1778. He pro. m. (II.) Mary Case; b. Feb. 25, 1756; d. 1832; dau. of Daniel and Mary (Watson) Case, of Daniel, John, John (Goodwin 279). They lived in Southbury, Conn. John Garrett was a survivor of the Massacre of Wyoming. He was also private Capt. Abel Pettibone's company, March 26 to May 5, 1777. Child. (I ) mar. b. Southbury. i. Polly, b. Dec. 10, 1779. ii. Rachel, b. Dec. 25, 1781. iii. James, b. Mar. 1, 1785. iv. Elisha, b. Mar. 31, 1787. v. Nancy, b. Nov. 2, 1789. vi. Esther, b. June 30, 1792. vii. Spencer, b. Feb. 14, 1795. viii. Amasa, b. Aug. 27, 1797. (Cothren's Woodbury, Conn., 434)- iv. Francis, b. — ; m. Feb. 21, 1781, Annis Hicock ; bap. Oct. 31, 1756, dau. of Justus and Lois (Lum) Hicock, of Benj. of Samuel. (Cothren, 566). Lived in Southbury, Conn. Child. — i. Esther, ii. Josiah. iii. Wait, in War of 1812. Francis served in Capt. Z. Case's company, Aug. 19 to Sept. 12, 1776; also April 12 to May 27, 1777, and in Capt. A. Mills' company, 1778, Col. Eno's Regt. VII. FRANCIS GARRETT, b. 1729; d. of consump- tion; m. 1753, Ruth Case, b. 1732, dau. of Capt. James and Esther (Fithian) Case, Ferry's Plain, Simsbury (Wil- liam, John). Mr. Garrett moved to W. Simsbury 1746. His widow, Ruth, m. (II.) Gideon Case. 24 VIII. ANNA GARRETT, b. 1731 ; m. (I.) 1747, Sam- uel or James Northaway ; (II.) John Phelps. Children (Northaway) : i. Anna, b. November, 1747; d. 1 8 1 5 ; m. Benjamin Dyer, of Benjamin, who was a schoolmate ofTBenjamin Frank- lin in Boston, whence he" removed to W. Simsbury 1740-1. ii. Sarah, b. 1748; d. 1819; m. Daniel Dyer, of Benjamin. There appear also in the Record of Revolutionary Ser- vice of Connecticut, these : Amasa Garrett, Sergeant Col. Charles Webb's Regt, Nineteenth Continental, killed battle of White Plains, Oct. 26, 1776. Samuel Garret, private, July 1, 1780 to Dec. 15, 1780, First Regt. "Connecticut Line." John Garret, private First Co., Fourth Regt., 1775; dis- charged in Northern Department Sept. 21, 1775. This may have been John of Branford, private Capt. Barker's company, Sixth Regt. Conn. Line, March 8, 1777; enlisted for the war. Another John was private Fourth Regt. Jan. 1, 1781 to Dec. 31, 1781. In Cothren's Woodbury will be found the following Gar- rett records : Betty, d. South Britain, Aug. 4, 1773. Sarah, m. S. B. January 24, 1782, David Allen. Julia, m. Feb. 3, 1800, Chauncey Hatch. Rachel, m. Nov. 10, 1795, L.Osborne. Polly, m. Nov. 2, 1803, Simeon Towner. Rachel, m. June 19, 1803, Nehemiah Strong. Caroline, m. Jan. 1, 1807, Charles Noarring. MAJOR JOHN GARRETT, SLAIN JULY 3. 1778. A FORGOTTEN HERO MASSACRE OF WYOMING, PENNSYLVANIA . REV. HORACE EDWIN HAYDEN, M. A., CORRESPONDING SECRETARY WYOMING HISTORICAL AND GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. WILKES-BARRE, PENN'A. I8 95 . %£