Our Patriots

Zachariah was born in Charles County, Maryland, on March 19, 1739, to Matthew and Rachel (Howard) Compton. He had twelve siblings. According to a letter written by a grandson of Zachariah in 1883, his grandparents came to Virginia from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and “…our ancestors were from Lord Compton… who settled two of his sons upon a grant of land in Maryland.”

During the war, Zachariah served as a private under Lieutenant Colonel Elias  Edmunds in the Virginia artillery regiment.

He married Mary Ann Middleton, and their known children were Walter, Richard, George Washington, E. Howard, Matthew, Stephen, Daniel, Lawrence, and Turner. Family lore states that he died in Bluefield, Mercer County, West Virginia, while visiting one of his sons. His burial location is unknown.   

Forty-eight women, including one member of the Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR, have joined the DAR as Zachariah’s descendants.

Abner was the second-born of the 11 children of his parents, Thomas and Mary (Munn) Stebbins. He was born on April 3, 1724, and spent his entire life in Brimfield Township, Hampden County, Massachusetts. On December 26, 1751, he married Martha Smith, daughter of Joshua & Martha Smith. Together they had 7 children: Thomas, Hezediah, Abner Jr, Martha, Mary, Josiah, and Vashti. 

Abner Sr. was an older man by the time of the fighting in the American Revolutionary War, and the service he is credited with involves providing supplies for the cause. However, two of his sons Abner Jr. and Hezediah, were also known to have served in the war.

Abner died on November 19, 1810, aged 86 years. He is buried in the Brimfield cemetery. 

Twenty-three women, including one member of the Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR, have joined the DAR to honor this Patriot. Amanda is also a descendant of his son, Hezekiah (1754-1824), who is also a DAR  Patriot.

Abraham was born the August 1, 1734, in Burlington County, New Jersey, to George Washington Clevenger and Deliverance Horner. In 1760, he married Mary Pitman. Together, they had 8 children. 

In 1777, Abraham enlisted to serve his country in the 1st Battalion of the Bedford County Militia under Captain Jacob Hendershot. 

Abraham died on June 9, 1824, at age 89. Mary survived him by a few months. They are buried together in the Sideling Hill Primitive Baptist Church cemetery in Fulton County, Pennsylvania. 

A Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR, member is one of thirty-four women who have honored Abraham by joining the DAR as his descendant.

Abraham was born August 1, 1734, in Burlington County, New Jersey, to George Washington Clevenger and Deliverance Horner. In 1760, he married Mary Pitman. Together, they had eight children. 

In 1777, Abraham enlisted to serve his country in the 1st Battalion of the Bedford County Militia under Capt. Jacob Hendershot. Abraham died on June 9, 1824, at age 89. Mary survived him by a few months. They are buried together in the Sideling Hill Primitive Baptist Church cemetery in Fulton County, Pennsylvania. 

A Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR, member is one of 34 women who have honored Abraham by joining the DAR as his descendant.

Charles is the Patriot ancestor of one of past chapter regents. Charles was born in colonial Virginia to Raleigh Chinn and Margaret Jane Ball.
Charles married Welsh immigrant Sythe Davis, in Fauquier County, Virginia, in 1750. Sometime around 1766, Charlies and Sythe built their family home, Bittersweet Farm, in Middleburg, Virginia. The house they built is still standing today. 

In 1768, Charles was the first person to build a mill on the site of Cromwell’s Run, where a mill stood until 1915. Charles took the Oath of Allegiance in 1777. 

A Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR, member is one of 21 ladies who have joined the DAR under this Patriot.

James was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey, to Uriah Corlis and Anna Dunham. 

During his country’s time of need, James, a trained blacksmith, served as a private in the militia. 

After the war, he married his uncle’s widow, Sarah Sherman, who had two children from her previous marriage. Together, he and Sarah had one child, a son they named Uriah. The family moved to Herkimer County, New York, and then to Ontario, Canada, where James died at age 63. 

Only two DAR members descended from this worthy Patriot, and a mother and daughter from Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR!

David Beaman left little record of his early years. He married twice, first to Mary Stanborrough and second to Anna Jackson. A description of him is found online: "He was …owner of a forge, grist-mill and sawmill. His neighbors describe him as a man very quick in his movements; being engaged in his three branches of work, he would fill his mill hopper with grain, and start the mill; then run to the saw-mill, adjust a log, and start the saw; then on a double-quick get to the forge, and commence to hammer out a bloom or a bar of iron. Besides these occupations, he was chorister, sexton and deacon for the congregation; represented the church in presbytery, and looked after supplies when no regular minister was present. Yet, while he was so lively in most things, his singing must have dragged “its slow length along,” to the disgust of some part of the congregation, because we are told that some new comers in the congregation introduced a new method of singing, by discontinuing the reading of lines. This was about the year 1786. Mr. Beaman was very much disgusted with this innovation, although he finally yielded “for the peace of the church.” Later subscription papers show that he was among its liberal supporters for nearly fifty years. It is said that he was buried in the graveyard belonging to the church; but no stone now marks his grave." (https://www.usgenwebsites.org/NJMorris/history/munsellhistory/h-chpt34.htm)

David is credited by the DAR with civil service for having signed the Articles of Association 1776. He and many other Revolutionary-era Patriots are recorded as buried at the Rockaway Presbyterian Church cemetery in Rockaway, New Jersey, however, no headstone survives. 

Eleven women have joined the DAR using this Patriot, including one Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR, member!

John Harbison was a private in the Pennsylvania Militia and rose through the ranks as a scout. 

Like other frontiersmen, he migrated as new settlements opened to the west in the late 1700s. From eastern Tennessee (then part of North Carolina), he moved to Lincoln County, Kentucky, and eventually into what is now Indiana. Local historical accounts say Harbison, an Indian fighter and scout who eventually built a grist mill on a 1,400-acre land grant, was a prominent founding father of Lanesville, Indiana. Harbison’s farm and mill were a mile west of the town. He outlived his first wife and married twice more. 

He was elected to the Indiana legislature in 1810. He died of cancer in 1829, and is buried in the Lanesville Protestant cemetery in Lanesville. 

Eight women, including one Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR, member, have joined our society in honor of John Harbison.

John was the son of George Freidrich Vettiner/Fetner and Mary Aberhart. He was born October 21, 1760, in Charleston, South Carolina. 

He enlisted Sept 1, 1777, and served as a fife-player in the 3rd South Carolina regiment. He was captured in Briar Creek, Georgia, while on an expedition to Florida, and held on a prison ship at Savannah. He was subsequently redeemed by Lieutenant Colonel “Lighthorse Harry” Lee (father of Robert E Lee) and served with Lee until his discharge in 1782. 

John and his wife Mary (Campbell) were known to have five surviving children: Archibald, James, Mary, Alexander and Elizabeth. John Fetner passed away May 10, 1848. He is buried at the Cedar Creek Methodist Church cemetery in Cedar Creek, South Carolina. 

Eight women have joined the DAR under this Patriot, including one of our former regents!

John was born on March 12; the first of eight children born to Francis Meriwether and Mary Waller Lewis of Spotsylvania County, Virginia. On March 15, 1771, he married Esther Martha McGehee in Louisa, Virginia. Esther passed away on March 18, 1809, and John remarried to Ann Tinsely. John died January 31, 1820, in the intriguingly-named town of Ninety-Six, South Carolina, according to some sources, or in Abbeville, South Carolina, according to other sources. (The two towns are about 25 miles apart.) However, his will was proven in Abbeville in February 1820, leaving 328 acres of land to be divided among his heirs. 

John was first proven as a DAR Patriot in 1965, and has had 43 descendants join our society in his name, including one member of the Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR.

John was born in England. He married Elizabeth Godwin (1769-1812) in Portsmouth, Norfolk County, Virginia, when they were both very young. Together, they had twelve children. 

Not much is recorded about the family’s early years, although John’s patriotic leanings caused friction with his Tory neighbors. After the American Revolution, they left South Carolina to settle in Wilkes County, Georgia, where he was granted 600 acres of land along a branch of Long Creek in 1784.

John and Elizabeth were active supporters of the earliest Baptist church in Georgia, and John preached at the Fishing Creek Church in Wilkes. Their final move was to Oglethorpe County, around 1795. 

John and Elizabeth joined the Sardis Baptist church located just north of what is now Rayle, Georgia. Husband and wife are buried in the Milner family cemetery, originally on John and Elizabeth’s farm in Oglethorpe County, Virginia. His headstone reads simply, “John Milner, Capt SC Militia, Rev War, 1746-1812.” The DAR held a ceremony to mark the headstone at what was by then the Ralph W. Bridges farm on September 24, 1988. All Milner descendants were invited. 

Many of those descendants have used John’s service to join the Sons of the American Revolution, and 163 women, including one Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR, member have used him as their DAR Patriot.

Jacob was born either in Maryland (according to the DAR) or in Germany (according to various internet sources). It is believed he left Maryland for Bedford County, Pennsylvania around 1774. 

Jacob served as a Second Lieutenant in the Brother’s Valley Company of the Bedford County Militia. His role was primarily to patrol the surrounding wilderness and protect families and homes from the British and the natives. The land he owned in Bedford County is now part of the Antietam National Battlefield Park. 

He married Elizabeth Coleman/Kuhlman (1743-1836) in 1756 in Frederick County, Maryland. Together, they had seven children. The last child was born after his death on April 8, 1783: family history says he died while participating in a race to claim land that was recently made available for settlement (a common practice at the time). His horse ran into a tree. Jacob died from those injuries slowly, nearly a month after the incident. The tree still stands. Jacob is buried on the farm of John Sayler, in what is now Garrett, Pennsylvania. His grave has been marked by the DAR. 

108 women, including one Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR, member, have claimed him as their DAR patriot ancestor.

John was born in Beaufort County, South Carolina. His parents were John Bond and Lydia Wallis, although his father died while he was only an infant. He married Eleanor Miller in 1769, and to them were born eight surviving children. 

He served as the Beaufort County tax assessor in 1779. In the early years of the 19th century, the Bond family, including patriarch John, moved together to the then virgin wilderness of Mississippi, settling in Pike County. John died while visiting a son of his in Alabama. Although family members believe he was buried in a cemetery near Wiggins, Mississippi, his headstone has not survived, and the exact location is unknown. 

30 women, including one Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR, member, have joined our society to honor this Patriot.

Josiah was born to William and Ann (Isham) Smith in Sussex County, Virginia. He was a blacksmith by trade, and fathered 14 children: 10 by his first wife, Elizabeth Collier, and 4 by his second wife, Jemina Dorca. 

During the American Revolutionary War, Josiah was compensated for providing meals to Thomas Smith, a British prisoner who was wounded and unable to travel. He also provided 2 ½ bushels of corn to Captain Henderson’s troops on their march to join General Green. In addition, he allowed horses belonging to the American forces to graze on his land. 

Josiah created his will in 1815. In it, he left his property, including his slaves, to his children. The will was probated in 1818. Josiah died in Bullocks Creek, York county, South Carolina. 

15 women have joined the DAR using this Patriot, including one member of the Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR.

William was born in Garretstown in what is now Frederick County, Virginia. He enlisted in 1776 as a corporal in Robert Cluggage’s company of the Pennsylvannia Rifle Regiment, and was later made Captain in the Virginia Militia. 

William was married three times: first to Cathren (probably Ross), second to Eliza Ann Smith, and third to Elenor Greeup. He was the father of 20 children. He died on February 21, 1807, and is buried in the Beth Baptist Church Cemetery at Turtle Creek Township in Warren County, Ohio. 

William is the Patriot ancestor of 25 DAR members, including mother & daughter members of Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR.

John was born on September 14 to James Andrew and Esther Wadley Jones, in Midway, Georgia. The following is quoted from his Find-a-Grave memorial: As a boy of 17 years of age, John Andrew enlisted in the patriot cause and fought with distinction throughout the Revolutionary War. He served as a Partisan Ranger, Quartermaster, under Gen. Screven and Gen. Sumpter in 1781 and Adjutant. He later served as a Pvt. in the Continental Battalion of the Georgia Troops, under Gen. Samuel Elbert and Ensign later under Gen. Wade Hampton. He was in the battles Briar, Fishing Creeks, and many other skirmishes. 

He lost the greater part of his property in the Revolutionary War. About this time, he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was probably the first native Georgian to enter the itinerant ministry of the Methodist Church. He died on March 10, 1830, and is buried at the Andrew-Akridge Cemetery in Bishop, Georgia.

John Andrew is the Patriot ancestor of 36 DAR members, including one Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR,  member.

Jabez was born in Mansfield, Connecticut, on October 3rd, to Jabez Cary and Martha Gilbert. He married twice: first to Eunice Clay on October 9, 1788, and second to Mary Whipple on October 13, 1808. Jabez passed away at 81 years old on March 18, 1842, in Marcy, New York. He and several other Cary family members are buried at the Carr Cemetery in Oneida County.

A Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR, member is one of only three women to have joined the DAR with this Patriot. 

This member tells us, “My 4th Great-grandfather Jabez was only 19 years old when he enlisted from Mansfield, Connecticut. He served three enlistments from 1779 to 1781. Jabez was in Colonel Josiah Starr’s 1st Connecticut Regiment and was present at Tappan when Major John Andre was executed/hung for his role in aiding Benedict Arnold. His father, Jabez Cary, also served from Connecticut.”

James was born in Halifax County, Virginia. While a young man, he went to North Carolina and entered military service from that state. He married Jane Hereford on December 19, 1787. It is believed they had 11 children between 1789 and 1811. In 1794, the family moved to Kentucky, and moved again to Illinois in 1832. James went blind in his final years and died in 1838. He is buried in the Meridian Cemetery in Warren County, Illinois. The Puritan and Cavalier Chapter, NSDAR, marked his grave as a American Revolutionary War Patriot. 

James’ pension record contains the statement: “The most important circumstances of my service were the following, to wit, guarding prisoners at Salisbury; the battles of Ramsower’s Mill and Guilford Courthouse, and the expedition against the Cherokee Indians and the destruction of their town.” In November of 1843, his widow Jane applied for a pension. Her claim was rejected due to insufficient proof of their marriage, which was not uncommon: marriages were difficult to prove at the time, as records were difficult to locate and make copies of.

Forty-two women have joined the DAR under James Meadows, including a Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR, member. This daughter says, “James’ service is an example of the power of young people, ordinary people, willing to sacrifice their youth and comfort for something greater than themselves. America is by no means perfect, but our country’s commitment to liberty and individual flourishing is rare and precious.”