Samuel Kelsey (1756 - abt. 1838)

Born 30 Mar 1756 in Woodbury, Litchfield, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Betty (Hollister) Kelsey — married 25 Oct 1774 in Tryingham, Berkshire, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died about 28 Jan 1838 at about age 81 in Sheldon, Genesee, New York, United States [uncertain]

Biography

Private Samuel Kelsey served with 4th Regiment, Connecticut Militia during the American Revolution.

Samuel Kelsey is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A043036.

Samuel Kelsey: Military: attached to Colonel Benjamin Hinman's Company at Albany, Ticonderoga, and Crown Point. Served with Gen Montgomery in taking the Fort and also served at Peekskill under Lt Miller; In 1777 enlisted for 3 years in Capt Giles Gaylord's Company attached to Colonel Chandler. ^[1]

Samel Kelcey Gender Male Military Date 4 Dec 1777 Military Place Connecticut, USA State or Army Served Connecticut Regiment Chandler's Regiment Rank Private ^[2]

Marriage date may be in September

Descended from William Kelsey, one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut, as follows: Samuel 5, Jonathan 4, Stephen 3, 2, William 1. Descendants of William Kelsey, 1928, by Claypool and Klizbee, v.1. p. 77 states that Samuel Kelsey moved to Berkshire, Massachusetts. The History of Torrington (Connecticut) states that Samuel Kelsey was "known to have been in the Revolution, but no record of his service has thus far been found.

The Hollister Family in America, 1886, by Lafayette Wallace Case, p. 91 states that the marriage of Betty Hollister to Samuel Kelsey took place in September, 1774. Connecticut Church records of the Glastonbury-Buckingham-Eastbury Church, 1731-1873, p. 15 states that Betty Hollister married Samuel Kelsey in September 1774. Quite likely these records are the "intent to wed".

Samuel Kelsey settled at Sheldon, New York, where he owned a farm in Genesee or Wyoming County (originally Genesee County) about 25 miles east of Buffalo, believed to be a grant from the Colonial Government. The homestead was located between two old Indian Reservations (probably Gardeau and the Buffalo Reservations which were connected by an Indian trail. It was said that Indians frequently passed in front of the Kelsey homestead when going from one reservation to the other.

Samuel and Betty Kelsey were among the original members of the Second Church of Christ at Sheldon, later known as the Church of Strykersville. Samuel Kelsey appears on the 1820 and 1830 Town of Sheldon Census.

A sister of Betty Hollister (Kelsey), Prudenca Hollister, married Ormi Warner. They, too, settled in the vicinity of Sheldon. Ormi Hollister served in the American Revolution and appears in the D.A.R. Patriot Index.

Additional information on the early Kelsey and related families appear in Bronson Families, 1969, by Herbert B. Enderton; Contribution to Family History of Some First Settlers of Connecticut and Massachusetts, 1969, by Nathaniel Goodwin; NEHGR, 1863, v.17,p.262; Genealogical Dictionary of First Settlers of New England, 1969, by James Savage; Descendants of Thomas Lord, 1946, by Richard Lord; Descendants of William Hills, by Thomas Hills; The Francis Family, 1906, by Charles E. Francis; Descendants of Robert Francis, 1900, by Carrie E. Chatfield; Wethersfield Inscriptions, 1889, by Edw. Tillotson.

Stancliff Family Genealogy - from the book, "Descendants of James Stancliff of Middletown, Connecticut and Allied Families," by Robert C. and Sherry (Smith) Stancliff.   The following information on Samuel Kelsey was extracted from outlines of Revolutionary War Soldiers contained in the book.   Samuel Kelsey was born 30 Mar 1756 in New Hartford, Litchfield, Connecticut.  He was baptized on 4 Apr 1756 in New Hartford.  In September 1774, he married Betty Hollister of Glastonbury, Hartford, Connecticut.  According to church records, they were married in the 2nd Congregational Church in Glastonbury.  In 1775, they lived in Torrington, Litchfield, Connecticut.  In 1781, they lived in Berkshire county Massachusetts.  By 1832, he lived in Sheldon, Erie, New York, at which time he gave a deposition for the pension application of his cousin, John Stancliff.  This same deposition outlined that part of the Revolutionary War he had spent with John Stancliff.  He enlisted with John sometime in May 1775 in the Connecticut Troops.  He was in Captain Griswold's Company of Colonel Hinman's Regiment.  They marched first to Albany then to Crown Point and stayed there through the summer and in the fall went by water through Lake Champlain under the command of General Schuyler to "Island Ore," from there he went under the command of General Montgomery and took St. John's after a siege of about six weeks.  It was John Stancliff who wrote a letter in 1776 to tell Samuel of the death of his brother, Daniel, who was at that time serving with John in Canada.     

Note

Per Barbara Durfee 2348 Rt 98,Varysburg, NY 14167 716-535-7322 - Samuel was one of the original members of the Second Church of Christ in Sheldon, Sheldon, Genesee County, New York later known as the Congregational Church.

Sources

1. ↑ SAR https://sarpatriots.sar.org/patriot/display/332658
2. ↑ Rev War Rolls https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1367657:4282?tid=&pid=&queryId=83f6fa41-7788-41db-80ba-8382a954e206&_phsrc=IIr1&_phstart=successSource

• No. 438, pg 91 - Hollister Family of America compiled by Lafayette Wallace Case, MD 1886 - Hollister Family of America No. 438, pg 9
• History of Torrington, Connecticut: From Its First Settlement in ..., Part 2 By Samuel Orcutt, pg 728

• Kelsey-899 was created by Douglas MacNair through the import of McNair_2015-04-19.ged on Apr 19, 2015. This comment and citation can be deleted after the biography has been edited and primary sources are included.

It's a rough draft and needs to be edited.