Stephen Hoyt Sr. (abt. 1720 - abt. 1759)

Born about 1720 in Concord, Merrimack, New Hampshire

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about Oct 1759 at about age 39 in Vermont [uncertain]

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Biography

"Stephen Hoyt was born in the year 1720 to Abner and Mary Blaisdell, formerly of Amesbury, MA, in or near the current town of Concord, NH." "The area around Concord was originally settled by the Abenaki Indians, part of the Iroquis Federation. The French were making inroads into the Americas through Cananda, attempting to build forts from the St. Lawrence west through the Ohio Valley and down the Mississippi. The French enticed the Indians to harass the encroaching settlers by placing a bounty on scalps If a family farm was overrun, generally, the husband and wife were killed and the children taken slaves." "This was the case with the Pennacook settlement. The earliest record found of Stephen Hoyt's military service was a muster roll in the NH Legislative records. [NH Legislature, Adjutant-General Report, Vol. V, p 754. and Mil. Hist. of NH by C. E. Potter, Concord 1866, pp. to and 80.] The entry is dated Saturday, June 8, 1745 for payment of a scout about Pennacook on the Merrimack River performed by Col Benjamin Rolf during the winter of 1745. Stephen Hoyt was listed in Capt. John Chandler's unit and was to receive two pounds and ten shillings for his part in serving from Jan. 21 to Mar 18, 1745. He was also on a scout from Feb. to Apr 1746." The end came for Stephen in 1759. "According to Roger's diary, about Oct 4th or 6th, they successfully raided a village, St. Francois,...Roger's advised his men to dump their kits and fill them with corn for the trip home. Many ignored his request and took loot, which took up valuable space. About eight days out, the foodstuffs ran out and Rogers divided the group into smaller units so that they could forage better. the downside was that the enemy which was following close behind, could pick them off. One group of ten was caught; two escaped to catch up with Rogers and warn him. When Rogers finally got to the rendezvous point, he found a warm fire but no men or supplies.....They were too weak to move further but Rogers took one other and a captured Indian boy, built a raft and floated down to fort #4." "Of the 180 that started out, about 128 made the actual raid on St. Francois. One Stockbridge Indian was killed in the raid. 46 Officers and men were either captured, killed or starved to death on the trip home. One of those was our ancestor, Stephen Hoyt. Sometime later a snuffbox, bearing his name , was found on an island in Lake Winnipesaukee but no body was ever recovered." Following on a map, the trail that was traversed by Roger's Rangers, it seem that the area that Sephen Hoyt lost his life was most probably in what we call the state of Vermont.

Sources

• American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI): Stephen Hoyt

Birth Date: 1720 Birthplace: New Hampshire Volume: 85 Page number: 479 Reference: A recd. Of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation. Ed. By Ezra S. Stearns. New York, 1908. (4v.):73 Gen. Column of the " Boston Transcript". 1906-1941.( The greatest single source of material for gen. Data for the N.E. area and for the period 1600-1800. Completely indexed in the Index.): 18 Feb 1932, 3115

• [NH Legislature, Adjutant-General Report, Vol. V, p 754. and Mil. Hist. of NH by C. E. Potter, Concord 1866, pp. to and 80.]

• U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970: Stephen Hoyt

SAR Membership: 6732 Role: Ancestor Father: Abner Hoyt Mother: Mary Blaisdell Spouse: Abigail Eastman Children: Stephen Hoyt Jr.