My Ancestors in the American Revolutionary War: Four with Patriotic Service Designation from the DAR

 

While researching those ancestors in my family tree who actually saw battle during the Revolutionary War, I discovered that three ancestors in my family tree are listed by DAR for their patriotic service, not military service. One ancestor is not listed in the DAR, but did sign the Oath of Allegiance, according to historical references.

ANCESTORS IN THE LINEAGE OF MY MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER RUBY BOLTON BROWN MARTINE WITH PATRIOTIC SERVICE DESIGNATION

ANDREW JEWETT son of JOSEPH JEWETT & ANNA WIGGIN,  was born 28 October 1750 Stratham, Rockingham County, New Hampshire. He married about 1776 MARY "MOLLY" PIPER, then 2nd to LYDIA MORRISON inabout 1796.   He died 11 February 1819 in Sanbornton, Belknap County, New Hampshire. DAR indicates he signed the Association Test (Oath of Allegiance) proposing to defend the Colonies from the British in 1776; was appointed with four others to the Committee of Safety in 1777, and was a Selectman for several years in Sanbornton.

Rev BENJAMIN BUTLER was born 6 April 1729 in Windham, Connecticut, the son of MALACHI BUTLER & JEMIMA DAGGETT of Edgartown, Dukes County, Massachusetts (Martha's Vineyard), then Connecticut.   BENJAMIN attended Harvard University, attaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1752, then a Masters degree in 1758, and was ordained as a minister. He married DORCAS ABBOTT on 17 April 1754 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts. After his ordination, he became  Reverend for Nottingham, Rockingham, New Hampshire at the town's Congregational  church for a period of twelve years, and continued to live in Nottingham afterward. He was a Civil Magistrate until his death in 1804. During the Revolutionary War period he was commissioned as a Captain in the local Militia, but never saw battle and was more involved in finding gunpowder,  supplies and enlisting men, as a Civil Magistrate.  An excellent biography is available through the book (now FamilySearch database) Colonial Collegians. Rev BENJAMIN BUTLER died 29 December 1804 in Nottingham, Rockingham, New Hampshire. 

IGNATIOUS BUTLER b 1755 MONONGALIA COUNTY VIRGINIA IS NOT THE SON OF  REV BENAMIN BUTLER OF NOTTINGHAM, NEW HAMPSHIRE

ANCESTORS IN THE LINEAGE OF MY MATERNAL GRANDFATHER R B MARTINE WITH PATRIOTIC SERVICE DESIGNATION

ROBERT PETER MOSELEY  was born 14 Feb 1731 in Henrico County, Virginia, the son of ROBERT LIGON MOSELEY & SARAH RACHEL TAYLOR.   He married MARY MAGDALAINE GUERRANT on 23 September 1756 in Powhatan County, Virginia.  His plantation, Willow Lake, was located in Buckingham County, Virginia. During the Revolutionary War, ROBERT PETER MOSELEY  provided supplies for the Continental Army, as per DAR records.  ROBERT PETER MOSELEY died 30 January 1804 at Willow Lake Plantation. He is not the same person as Lt ROBERT MOSELEY who served in Kentucky.  There were several of this name who served in the Revolutionary War.

JEREMIAH MARTINE  was born 1734 in Tarrytown, Westchester, New York, the son of JEAN/JOHN MARTINE II and EVA AEFJE MABIE.  He married RACHEL BAREE/BARET abt 1760 in Tarrytown, likely at the Dutch Reformed Church at Sleepy Hollow. When the Revolutionary War broke out, JEREMIAH was living in Haverstraw, Orange (later Rockland) County, New York.  He signed the Association Test/Oath of Allegiance proposing to defend the Colonies from the British in 1776, along with his brother JOHN MARTINE III (married RACHEL VAIL).  Several of JOHN MARTINE III's sons fought in the Revolution.  There are no DAR records for JEREMIAH MARTINE,  but their participation is noted in several local histories. 

Have a great day! 

Betty

© Betty Tartas 2026

My Ancestors in the American Revolutionary War: Captain MICHAEL STUMP II of Hardy County Virginia: Battle of Yorktown

 

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown by John Trumbull

Of all my Revolutionary War Patriot ancestors, Captain MICHAEL STUMP II is the most familiar to me. His family is very well documented in what was originally Hampshire, then Hardy County, Virginia,  now West Virginia.  

MICHAEL II , born 8 April 1744, was the son of MICHAEL STUMP I and ANNA CATHERINE NEFF, the children of German immigrants, who migrated from Pennsylvania down the "Old Wagon Road" to settle before 1748 in what what was then Augusta County, Virginia.  A book by John Clements Fitzpatrick on the writings of a young GEORGE WASHINGTON, who was a surveyor at that time, indicates that "In the spring of 1748 GEORGE WASHINGTON accompanied  a surveying party into the S. Fork & S. branch valleys; They surveyed for Lord FAIRFAX, and  WASHINGTON kept a record of this.  He found settlers in Lower S Fork valley and made survey for MICHAEL  STUMP (Sr)".  There are indications in other sources that MICHAEL STUMP I hosted GEORGE WASHINGTON and the other surveyors at his homestead.

MICHAEL STUMP II married SARAH HUGHES, daughter of THOMAS HUGHES,  in 1763 in Hampshire County, Virginia. In 1765, his father MICHAEL STUMP I deeded to his son MICHAEL I a parcel of land, about 400 acres, where MICHAEL I was to live for the rest of his life.

Much has been written about Captain MICHAEL STUMP II's military career. Here is an excerpt from a book "The Stumps, Descent of the Four Michaels" by Paul Hardman, (Charleston WV: 1940)

"He (MICHAEL STUMP II) enlisted in Lord DUNMORE's War (1774) and after the Battle of Point Pleasant and the peace treaty with the Indians, returned to Hampshire County. It was also noted that he was stationed at newly built Fort Culbertson in present day Summers County, WV. In September 1774, he was at the Battle of Point Pleasant. After his return home, he was commissioned a Lieutenant Colonel in the Virginia Militia, with the responsibility of organizing and training new recruits in the Romney area. 

"In response to a call from Governor THOMAS JEFFERSON, MICHAEL II resigned his militia commission in 1781 and enlisted a company of light infantry (Continental Army) and led them to Fredericksburg, where they were absorbed into General WEEDEN's Army. MICHAEL II was commissioned a Captain in General WEEDEN's army. He participated in the siege of Yorktown and was present for the British surrender. Captain STUMP and his company were discharged in New Kent County,  Virginia in May 1781. On April 3, 1782, a claim was presented to the court in Orange County on their behalf. "

After the war, Captain MICHAEL STUMP II served as Justice of the Peace for Hampshire (later Hardy) County Virginia  in 1782 and 1784.  

In 1783 MICHAEL II  was named in the will of his mother, ANNA CATHERINE (NEFF) STUMP.  However, ANNA  did not pass away until 1795. There are numerous court records concerning this will as she excluded her son GEORGE STUMP, who had contested the 1767 will of his father. 

MICHAEL STUMP II died 2 June 1799, likely intestate.  His estate was assessed and sold 12 June 1799. Slaves were not listed in his estate (although his father's will refers to several ).

No gravestone has been found for MICHAEL STUMP II. It is likely that he was buried on his homestead. 

The original homestead of his father MICHAEL STUMP I,  near Moorefield, West Virginia, is  listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  A log cabin was built in 1783 on that location  by LEONARD STUMP, brother of MICHAEL STUMP II.  It was saved from disrepair by the Buhl family in the 1990s, and is the oldest structure in West Virginia. 

The surname is sometimes spelled "STUMPF" in records

 MICHAEL STUMP II is in the lineage of my paternal grandmother MINTTIE MAE BRUTON HUBER

SOURCES:

-DAR Patriot Index

-Historical Register of Virginia in the Revolution

-Michael Stump Sr of Virginia 1709-1768 by Thurman Stump publ 1975

-The Stumps: Descent of the Four Michaels by Paul Hardeman publ 1940

-Pioneer Families of West Virginia by Pinkney W Sunburn publ 1912

-The Border Settlers of Northwestern Virginia 1768-1795 by Lucullus McWhorter publ 1915

-The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscripts by John Clements Fitzpatrick publ 1931

Have a great day! 

Betty

© Betty Tartas 2026