- Corporal, Capt. Ebenezer Mason's co. of Minute-men, Col. Jonathan Warner's
regt., marched on alarm of 19 Apr 1775; - also, Capt. Jonathan Carriel's co., Col. Josiah Whitney's regt.; at Point
Shirley, 13 Jun 1776; - also, Private, same co. and regt.; from 17 May to 1 Nov 1776, at Camp at
Hull; - also, Capt. Josiah White's co., Lieut. Col. Benjamin Flagg's division, Col.
Samuel Denny's (Worcester Co.) regt.; from 21 Aug to 23 Aug 1777; marched
to Hadley on an alarm at the Northward.
Robert Watson (1746-1806): Private, Capt. Ebeneezer Mason's co. of Minute-men, Col. Jonathan Warner's regt., which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, service 14 days.
James Watson (1754-1823): Private, Capt. Ebeneezer Mason's co. of Minute-men, Col. Jonathan Warner's regt., which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, service 37 days.
* The "alarm of April 19, 1775" refers to The Battles of Lexington and Concord, just 50 miles from Spencer, where Oliver Watson lived. Captain John Ferguson commanded these 36 men from Blandford and neighboring Chester. I can't find a record of when the alarm was received in Blandford, or when the men arrived at Lexington. Isaac Bissel was the post rider who carried the Lexington alarm issued at 10 am on 19 April in Watertown. He traveled along the Upper Post Road, passing through Worcester, 95 miles east, the same afternoon, perhaps arriving at Springfield after dark. The alarm reached Philadelphia 24 April at 5 pm. It's one thing for a post rider to travel a hundred miles in a day, but for men on foot, with their supplies, it must have taken several days.
Oliver Watson, a deacon of the Congregational Church in Leicester, a militia officer, town selectman, and father of 3 sons who served in the militia, was also elected to congress in 1776, 1777 and 1780, His nephew, John Watson of Blandford, was married to Israel Gibb's daughter Sarah.
Israel Gibbs was deacon in Blandford, and prominent enough to serve on the Committee of Inspection, Correspondence, and Safety in 1777. Gibbs was 12 years older than Watson, so too old for militia service during the revolution himself, but 3 of his sons served. One of them, John Gibbs, partnered with John Dirlam in 1780 to purchase the father's foreclosed property in Blandford in 1780.
Watson, William:
-from Massachusetts Commonwealth; Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution (17 vols); Wright and Potter Printing Co., (Boston, 1896)
My William Watson (1750-1844) is too young to be the brother of John Watson who was married to Sarah Gibbs. And Oliver Watson (1743-1826), their second cousin?
Capt. Seth Washburn: In 1749, Seth took part in the campaign against the Indians in New Hampshire. At the opening of the Revolutionary War, Seth, who was fifty-two years old, served as Captain of his company of Minute Men of Leicester. They marched on the alarm of 19 April, 1775 to Lexington. At Bunker Hill they fought along the ‘rail fence.’ His was was sent on patrol between Cambridge and ‘the Neck’ with other captains and 18 soldiers during the night. These men were made part of the regiment of General Artemas Ward. Washburn was promoted to Major during the war and became a Colonel of militia after it ended. He was the muster-master for Worcester County and was elected to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1779. He was a founder of the Leicester Academy and a senator in the State Legislature.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM CANNON (1722, Blandford - Dec. 7, 1780, Blandford)
Israel Gibbs was deacon in Blandford, and prominent enough to serve on the Committee of Inspection, Correspondence, and Safety in 1777. Gibbs was 12 years older than Watson, so too old for militia service during the revolution himself, but 3 of his sons served. One of them, John Gibbs, partnered with John Dirlam in 1780 to purchase the father's foreclosed property in Blandford in 1780.
Watson, William:
- 1st Lieutenant, Capt. Seth Washburn's co., Col. Ward's regt., marched on
alarm of 19 Apr 1775 for 16 days; - also, 2d Lieutenant, Capt. Samuel Green's (5th) co. (South co. in Leicester),
Col. Samuel Denny's (1st Worcester Co.) regt. of Mass. militia; commissioned
5 Apr 1776; - also, Captain, 5th co., Col. Denny's (1st Worcester Co.) regt. of Mass.
militia; commissioned 5 Mar 1779.
-from Massachusetts Commonwealth; Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution (17 vols); Wright and Potter Printing Co., (Boston, 1896)
My William Watson (1750-1844) is too young to be the brother of John Watson who was married to Sarah Gibbs. And Oliver Watson (1743-1826), their second cousin?
Capt. Seth Washburn: In 1749, Seth took part in the campaign against the Indians in New Hampshire. At the opening of the Revolutionary War, Seth, who was fifty-two years old, served as Captain of his company of Minute Men of Leicester. They marched on the alarm of 19 April, 1775 to Lexington. At Bunker Hill they fought along the ‘rail fence.’ His was was sent on patrol between Cambridge and ‘the Neck’ with other captains and 18 soldiers during the night. These men were made part of the regiment of General Artemas Ward. Washburn was promoted to Major during the war and became a Colonel of militia after it ended. He was the muster-master for Worcester County and was elected to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1779. He was a founder of the Leicester Academy and a senator in the State Legislature.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM CANNON (1722, Blandford - Dec. 7, 1780, Blandford)
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