Near the end of the last Blog about the ROWLEY family, Moses and Elizabeth FULLER ROWLEY had moved from Massachusetts to East Haddam, Connecticut in 1692, where the direct ancestral line of ROWLEYs would be born until 1766. Moses ROWLEY Jr. was born in Barnstable, Massachusetts, in 1654, and at age 19 he married 15-year old Mary FLETCHER of Chelmsford, Massachusetts. The young couple had 9 children over the next 24 years, farming, attending church, and raising kids. In 1685, Moses Jr. was a Constable in Falmouth, MA, when he and a partner were attacked by Christopher Gifford during a routine investigation. The official report says Moses Jr. was "struck on ye head with a certain stick or club, thereby fetching blood and severly wounding him to his great hurt and damage". The Court fined Mr. Gifford and made him pay damages to Moses ROWLEY Jr.
After a few years in Colchester, Massachusetts, the family moved in 1704, to East Haddam, Connecticut, where they joined the First Congregational Church on November 12th, the first year of organization. Mary FLETCHER ROWLEY died sometime between the 1704 move to East Haddam, and 1715, and Moses married not long after to a woman in her 40's named Mary Crippen Corbe, the widow of Samuel Corbe who had died in 1694....she would live to be 97 years old, outliving her second husband by almost 30 years, Moses Jr., who died in 1735. In his Last Will and Testament, Moses Jr. gave his land to his sons, unless they did not want to use it, then "I do give and bequeath it to that use for the Gospel in this place". His household goods were given to his daughter Hannah, his carpentry tools to his son Jonathan, his clothes divided among his other sons, and 20 shillings to each married daughter. There was no mention of his 2nd wife Mary in the Will.
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| East Haddam School where Nathan Hale taught in 1773 after graduating from Yale at age 18 |
Moses ROWLEY III continued the direct line of ancestors, with his birth in 1679, in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Not much is known about the achievements of Moses III, but his married life was one of tragedy not uncommon in early America. He first married between the ages of 18 and 22, to a young lady who's name is unknown so far in our research. Together, the young couple had a daughter in 1703, and then the first tragedy, Moses III's wife died sometime between the birth and the next 3 years.....she may have died giving birth to daughter Abigail, or shortly thereafter, or not. Men and Women in early America did not stay single/widowed long when children were in the house already, due to the daily hardships of life making a companion and helpmate a blessing and a necessity. Twenty-eight year old Moses III married a second time in 1707, to twenty year old Martha PORTER, and they would have eight children together over the next 22 years....and then tragedy again for Moses III. Two days after giving birth to their eighth child, Reuben, Martha passed away at age 42, on Sep 25, 1729, leaving Moses III with six children at home under age 16. Once again, Moses III remarried, this time the following year to 40 year old Sarah Chapman. Moses III and Sarah would have two more children by 1733, totaling eleven descendants for Moses ROWLEY III, nine of which were still living when he wrote his Will. He and his third wife Sarah died in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, he in 1749, and Sarah in 1757.
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| Ft. Ticonderoga aka Ft. Carillon in the French/Indian War |
Carrying the ROWLEY line forward was Moses ROWLEY IV, born 1713 in Colchester, Connecticut, who married Mary FULLER in 1735 at East Haddam, Connecticut. There they joined the local Church in 1736, and settled down to have 10 children in the next 19 years, before War would separate them over the next few years. Moses IV and Mary had moved in 1744 to Kent, Connecticut, on land west of the Housatonic River, in "Scatacook", where his house was near Macedonia Brook in Kent, near the New York/Connecticut border. The French and Indian War was exactly as it's name sounds to the British colonies, and Moses IV joined the 2nd Connecticut Militia, where he saw military service against the French along the shores of Lake George, first near Fort Anne in September 1755, Ft. Ticonderoga in 1758, Crown Point in 1759, and Montreal in 1760. It was during this War that a young 22-year old Officer was surrounded at a place called Fort Necessity, and forced to surrender to the French forces from Canada....that defeated Officer's name was George Washington. Moses IV ROWLEY is listed as a "deserter" on the roster in May 1756, eight months after the birth of his last child, at which time his wife Mary died unexpectedly, but obviously was back in action later as indicated. "Deserter" simply means the soldier did not report for roll call, sometimes due to capture, injury, or death....although it is more likely that Moses IV just went home for awhile to grieve and take care of his family, also not uncommon in the War, especially for militia forces. It is important to point out, that Mary FULLER ROWLEY was responsible for 10 kids ranging in age from newborn to 18 while her husband was off in battle, a feat as worthy as any soldier's experiences.
After the War, Moses IV and Mary ROWLEY lived in Kent, Connecticut until 1772. Moses IV had a minor incident in 1771 when he was accused by the General Assembly of deceiving it in representing that a grant of land which the state had given him was small when it was large, the gift being made on account of his having bought of Robert Watson a section of land belonging to the Scatacook Indians. The resolution of this matter has not been located to date. Moses IV ROWLEY, after the French and IndianWar, had lived in the Oblong Area of New York, and in Connecticut, and then finally in Richmond, Massachusetts, where he died in 1773.
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| Crown Point with both British and French fort ruins |
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| Montreal at the French Surrender |
When the American Revolution started, 39 year old Timothy ROWLEY enlisted in the 4th Regiment of the Albany County Militia, also known as "Van Rensselaer's Regiment", taking the name of the commander at the time. As a Militia unit, their first priority was to defend the citizens of Albany County, then the State of New York, and from time to time they were called on to assist the Continental Army when needed. The high point of Timothy's action came in 1777 around Lake George in New York, at the Battles of Saratoga and Fort Ticonderoga. The 4th Militia Regiment with Timothy in tow, marched off to Fort Edward near the south end of Lake George, in the summer of 1777. The British had captured Fort Ticonderoga at the north end of the Lake in July, and they were headed south to capture New York City. Timothy ROWLEY and his fellow Americans, under the leadership of Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold, defeated the British Army near Saratoga in September and October of 1777, forcing British General Burgoyne to retreat, then surrender, a victory that convinced France to join the Americans in the War.
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| Surrender of British General Burgoyne at Saratoga |
