THE PROCTOR FAMILY OF PROCTORSVILLE, VERMONT

It is mighty curious that she should get the pension of her dead husband’s father after marrying another man in a year’s time. ~ Lydia Proctor

Our cousin Leonard Proctor (1C7X), who was born in Westford, MA, later settled in an area of Vermont that would eventually come to be called Proctorsville. We wrote about him in our "From Chelmsford to Vermont" post. Leonard and his wife Lydia had four children before her death in 1768 at age 30. Eight more children were born to Leonard and his second wife Mary Keep. Below are the stories of nine of his twelve children.

All four children from Leonard's first marriage with Lydia were grown by the time he moved to Vermont with his second family. All four were sons and it appears that all of them were seafaring men.

children with first wife Lydia

Philip

Philip Proctor (2C6X) was born in 1761 in Westford, MA, the oldest child of Leonard and Lydia.  Philip served in the Revolutionary War with his brother Leonard, Jr. (2C6X) on the sloop Winthrop. According to the Proctor Family website:

After the war, he (Philip) married in Boston and settled in Charleston. After his wife and four children died, he returned to Boston. He later went back to Charleston and died there.

The location of Philip's death, however, seems up to question. I've seen West Nimba in Liberia, Charlestown, MA and Charleston, SC. It seems most likely that he was never in Charleston, SC or Liberia, but rather lived and died in Charlestown, MA, a suburb of Boston.

Abel and Asa

Abel Proctor (2C6X) was born in Westford in 1762. He served in both the army and the navy during the Revolutionary War. He married widow Elizabeth Clark in 1788. They had one child, Leonard (3C5X) born in 1790.

Asa Proctor (2C6X) was born in Westford in 1766. He married Polly Clark of Chester on 19 April 1796.

It must have been shortly after Asa's marriage in April of 1796, that Abel and Asa purchased a small ship and the two set sail for the West Indies. One of their nieces, Valeria French (3C5X), daughter of their sister Experience (2C6X) related what happend to them.

Before they reached their destination, they found at an island a vessel owned in New London, the crew all having died of yellow fever. Asa stopped to take charge of the vessel and cargo and Abel proceeded on his voyage. After disposing of his cargo, he went up river, about twenty miles from his vessel to purchase coffee. In a day or two the captain [Abel] who remained with the vessel heard he [Asa] was ill, so he started to go to him and reached the place in the evening to hear he “died the day before and was buried an hour ago."

It's possible that Asa had contracted yellow fever on the boat. He was only 29 when he died.

Leonard, Jr.

Leonard Proctor, Jr. (2C6X) was born in Westford in 1764. It appears likely that he served in the military during the Revolutionary War. Since there were two Leonard Proctors at the time, their service caused some confusion after Leonard, Jr.'s death, as we will see. After the war, Leonard moved to Cavendish, VT with his father and most of his siblings. In 1792, he married our cousin Experience "Pedee" Hildreth (3C7X).  Pedee was the daughter of  Hosea Hildreth (2C8X) and his wife Exprience Keep who was the sister of Leonard's stepmother.

Leonard died in 1812 at age 47. A year later, Pedee married William Bond. It wasn't until 35 years later that the brouhaha over Leonard's military service began. In 1847, Pedee applied for and was granted a widow's pension for Leonard's participation in the war. Her right to this pension was disputed in a case that covers 86 pages of legal documents. There was no doubt that a Leonard Proctor had served but which one, when, and for how long was the question. Pedee's relatives came to her aid, testifying that Leonard, Sr. had only served on the day of the alarm and for a few days afterwards. They maintained the rest of the service recorded was for Leonard, Jr. .

Leonard, Jr.'s half-sister Lydia (2C6X), however, took umbrage with those testimonies. Her testimony maintained that:

You see there is a mistake. Leonard Proctor Junior served in the Revolutionary War some, I suppose—he never was commissioned—and his widow Pedee Bond petitioned for a pension … It is mighty curious that she should get the pension of her dead husband’s father after marrying another man in a year’s time. It is a mistake —and if you will please note the service of Lieut. Leonard Proctor, from the years 1775 until 1783 … There is service on the rolls … I think you will … not let Pedee Bond trip us up in this way.

Leonard and Lydia's brother Thomas (2C6X) came to Pedee's rescue saying "that his brother served in the Revolutionary War from a very young age and that he was in the navy and had served in the West Indies."

The multi-volume Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War backs up Thomas' testimony and Pedee's right to the pension. There are five entries for Leonard Proctor. The first two are for the Leonard Proctor who marched on the alarm and was commissioned lieutenant in 1776. This is clearly Leonard, Sr. as Leonard, Jr. would have been only 11 years old in 1775.

PROCTOR, LEONARD, "Westford. 2d Lieutenant, Capt. Jonathan Minot's co. of militia, Col. James Prescott's regt., which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775; service, 5 days; also, 1st Lieutenant, Capt. Zaccheus Wright's 8th (2d Westford) co., 6th Middlesex Co. regt. of Mass, militia ; list of officers chosen by the several companies in said regiment, as returned by Jonathan Reed and others, field officers ; ordered in Council April 24, 1776, that said officers be commissioned ; reported commissioned April 24, 1776.

PROCTER, LEONARD, Westford. 1st Lieutenant, Capt. Reuben Butterfield's (8th) co. ; return dated Groton, Dec. 5, 1776, made by Brig. Oliver Prescott, of officers appointed to command men drafted from Middlesex Co. militia into a regiment to be commanded by Col. Samuel Thatcher and ordered to march to Fairfield, Conn., on or before Dec. 16, 1776 ; company drafted from 6th and 7th Middlesex Co. re.gts., and made up of men from Chelmsford, Dunstable, Dracut, and Westford; also, Lieutenant, Capt. Reuben Butterfield's co. ; en gaged Dec. 16, 1776 ; discharged March 16, 1777 ; service, 90 days ; travel home, 15 days (300 miles) , also allowed.

The next three entries, for later in the war, most probably to refer to Leonard, Jr. especially since he is listed as a private.  Leonard, Jr. would have been 15 in 1779.

PROCTER, LEONARD. Private, Capt. Nathaniel Lakin's co., Col. John Jacobs's (Light Infantry) regt.; entered service Sept. 16 (also given Sept. 13), 1779; discharged Nov. 16, 1779; service, 2 mos. 3 (also given 2 mos. 8) days, at Rhode Island; also, same co. and regt. ; pay rolls for Sept., Oct., and Nov., 1779, sworn to at Newport.

PROCTER, LEONARD. Account dated Westford, June 19, 1781, rendered by the Selectmen, of bounties paid men raised to serve in the Continental Army for the term of 3 years, agreeable to resolve of Dec. 2, 1780; said Procter reported as a member of Class No. 8 which engaged John Nutting, Jr.

PROCTER, LEONARD. Seaman, State sloop " Winthrop," commanded by Capt. George Little ; engaged Dec. 9, 1782 ; discharged March 17, 1783 ; service, 3 mos. 9 days. Roll sworn to in Suffolk Co.

Note: Also on the Sloop Winthrop at the same time was Leonard's (and our) 3rd cousin Josiah Proctor (3C6X).

children with second wife Mary Keep

Lydia

Our cousin Lydia Proctor (2C6X), who obviously didn't care for her brother Leornard, Jr.'s wife Pedee Hildreth, was born in July 1772 in Westford. She was the oldest child of Leonard, Sr. and Mary Keep. In 1789, Lydia married Isaac Powers. Shortly after their marriage, the couple moved 170 miles southwest to Denver, New York.

(1) Proctorsville, VT (2) Denver, NY

Lydia and Isaac had four sons and two daughters, all of them born in Denver. Once their children were grown, however, life was not all roses for the Powers family. In 1818, Isaac owned 100 acres of land, "a yoke of oxen, a cow, a horse, farming utensils and some furniture and he had 25 dollars in cash." A lawsuit and two marriages took pretty near everything Isaac owned in the world. In 1819, it appears that Isaac owed money to his son Charles (3C5X) so he transferred 40 acres to satisfy the debt. That same year, both his daughters married and he gave each of them $25 and much of his household goods.

Then, in 1820, Isaac's sons John (3C5X) and Jabez (3C5X) sued him, probably for money he owed them, as well. In January of 1821, the Supreme Court of New York ordered Isaac to pay his sons a settlement of "203.17 dollars and 18.40 in court costs." From what happens next, it appears that poor Isaac didn't have the money to settle John and Jabez's claim. In June, the sheriff of Lewes County sold all of Isaac's worldly goods, his oxen, his cow, his horse and all his produce, to Isaac’s other son Leonard (3C5X). Then, as the final blow, two months later, Leonard bought the rest of Isaac's land. The money for his goods and land went to "satisfy the claims of John and Jabez."

By 1824, Isaac was destitute. In an application for aid, he stated that he had a personal estate of "29.55 dollars." He stated further that he was a 62-year-old farmer and only capable of a little light work because of rheumatism and a kidney complaint. Isaac also said that his wife Lydia, who was 51 at the time, “is insane and has been for most of the time for six years.”

Only two years after his aid request, Isaac died by drowning. Given his financially ruined state, it's entirely possible that he took his own life. After her husband's death, Lydia moved back to Cavendish where she was most probably supported by her numerous brothers and sisters.

In 1838, apparently not so insane, Lydia applied for a pension for Isaac's military service in the Revolutionary War. Two of her brother's Jabez and Solomon, testified on her behalf to prove that she and Isaac were actually married. Jabez testified that "Lydia Powers was his sister and that he had attended her wedding. He said he was about nine and it was the first wedding that he could recollect attending." Solomon also "testified that he attended his sister’s wedding. He recollected that he was about 15 and she was about 17."

Lydia's niece Valeria French reported that Lydia was "persistent and feisty" about getting her husband's pension. The file relating to the case is 81 pages long. Lydia was eventually successful. She took her pension money and moved back to New York, this time much father west to Ellicottville near Lake Erie. Valeria visited Lydia there and later said about her aunt that she was "a strong character and an ardent abolitionist."

Lydia died in 1858 in Ellicottville at age 86.

Solomon

Our cousin Solomon Proctor (2C6X) was born in 1774 in Westfield, MA. He was the second child of Leonard and Mary Keep. Not much is known about Solomon's life except that he was married four times. In 1803, he married our cousin Rebecca Spaulding (3C7X) who was the great-granddaughter of our aunt Eleanor Phelps (8A). Though Solomon and Rebecca were married for twelve years, I can find a record for only one child, Sally (3C5X) born in 1804. It was probably during his marriage to Rebecca, that Solomon purchased property along the Black River and started his sawmill. It was also during his first marriage that he served in the War of 1812. Then, tragically, both wife Rebecca and daughter Sally died on the same day, May 1, 1815.

Eight months after the death of his first wife and daughter, Solomon married Sally Child. Below is the Cavendish record of their marriage.

Solomon and Sally had one daughter, another Sally (3C5X), who was born in September of 1816. Sadly, only about a month after the birth of her daughter, mother Sally died.

In September of 1818, Solomon filed an intent to marry in Jaffrey, NH.

While I can't find the exact date, Solomon and Lydia Howe were married sometime in 1819. Their first son, Adonijah (3C5X) was born in 1820. Then, in 1821, Solomon's daughter Sally from his second marriage died at age five. The birth of two more sons, James (3C5X) in 1823 and Charles (3C5X) in 1827 probably gladdened Solomon's aching heart but he was to suffer another crushing blow in August of 1828 when his wife Lydia died.

In 1833, five years after Lydia's death, Solomon married for the 4th and last time. The record of his marriage to Betsy Wright was duly noted in the Cavendish town records:

Solomon died in 1842, nine years after his last marriage. In his will, he left to wife Betsey

"the use of all my land on the north side of the Black River. . ." The property was about 100 acres and included a dam and canal which Betsey was charged with keeping in repair. She also received two cows six sheep, household furniture "and my clothing absolutely. . ."

Oldest son Adenijah received only $20 while James and Charles got the rest of his estate "both real and personal. . .to be equally owned and enjoyed. . ." Solomon added a condition to the inheritance of his two sons. If either or both did not agree to take care of his wife, then the executors should take and sell the property and the use the money would go to Betsey.