Veteran's Day - Celebrating my Military Relatives

Ora Silas Gage - Military 1912

Don Gage - Korea

John Bernard Gage - WW II

Orland  Gage - WWII 

Claude and Jack Friddle - WW II

Byron Gage & Orland Gage - Korea

Claude Dollar - WW I

George William Shawver - WW I

I have been privileged to know many of the veterans who have served during war and peace within my family.  Many of them have passed, but they have all left an enormous imprint on my life.  For the most part, I didn't hear about their service from themselves...but rather their stories were communicated to me by others.

There are a few cousins in my generation that have served in Iraq as well as peacetime during the 1980's.  I have an aunt and cousin who served in the National Guard as well as another who served during the Vietnam war.  I know of three of my great uncles who served during Korea and six who served during World War II. There are even a few who served during World War I and even a few relatives who were active during the Spanish American War.  I don't think that there has been a war that a relative has not served in through this nation's history from its time as a collection of colonies through the Revolutionary War, Mexican American War or the Civil War.  Their service is part of the very fabric of this country.

I have spent some time writing about some of these veterans within my family...and here are some of their stories:

Goodbye Aunt Mary Kay - My Dad's younger sister who served in the National Guard

A Tinkerer at Heart - This is about my Great Uncle - John Bernard Gage and Our Gage Veterans - Highlighting Orland & Bernard and about Orland and Bernard in WW II

Claude & Jack - WW II Veterans - My mother's uncles and two of my favorite people

Civil War Stories - My four Civil War ancestors - John Lyons Tannahill, Moses T Friddles, Jasper L Bailey and Alexander Monroe Dollar - Interesting to note that the three from the south - only one of them fought for the Confederacy - the other two fought for the Union.

My Friddle Brick Wall - My great great grandfather who served with the 14th TN Calvary for the Union in the Civil War.

Levi Pennington Family & the Civil War - Story of the sons of Levi Pennington and the Civil War - Levi was my 4th Great Grandfather

On that Fateful Day - Asa Wheelock was in the militia that there on the fateful day of the Battle of Lexington and Concord during the start of the Revolutionary War

Gallup Represents More than Just a Poll  - A list of the Gallups who fought during some of the earliest battles during colonization through the Revolutionary War

An Epitaph to Remember - This is about General Adamson Tannahill who served as George Washington's secretary during the Revolutionary War

John Macomber & Mary Brownell Davol - John Macomber served on the Massachusetts line during the Revolutionary War.

Revolutionary War Veterans - Some of the Revolutionary War Veterans that I am directly descended from.

New York Roots

As I got older, I knew the story of Granddad Gage coming out west with his sibling from New York State to Nebraska in 1908.  Their parents had died, and their maternal grandmother wanted them to come and live with her.  Granddad Gage had a genealogy history of his Gage family that showed some surprising information for me.  His paternal family had pretty much been in the same region of New York State for about a 100 years.

Granddad Gage and some of his siblings - Left to Right
Alice, Phebe, Pete, Ora (Granddad) Nellie & Burt.

The first New York Gage was Joseph Gage.  He was born on 3 May 1734 in Freetown, Bristol Co., MA to William Montgomery Gage and Hannah Davis.  Joseph married Mary Jane Huddleston on 13 Sep 1756 in Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA.  I would love to say that I have a lot more generations preceding Joseph Gage…but that is not the case.  His father, William Montgomery Gage, is the first Gage that we are sure is a direct ancestor.  William Montgomery Gage is thought to have been born around 1696 based on some land documents that he signed.  He served in a militia from Maine for six months in 1722 which I assume involved some war between the Colonists and the Native Americans.  His line of work has been recorded as schoolmaster and any Gages that believe they are descended from the William Gage of Freetown, MA – this is the Gage that they are descended from.  Joseph Gage married a few years after his father’s death in 1756 and within a few years moved to New York State.  According to his second son’s birthplace, he was in Otsego Co., NY in 1759, in Dutchess Co., NY in 1762, and in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY by 1764 which is where he lived the rest of his life.

Joseph and Mary had at least 10 children, nine of whom were sons.  Some of those sons spelled their names Gage and some spelled it Gaige…but they were from the same family.  Joseph died on 23 May 1811 in Duanesburg, NY and Mary died a few years later on 27 Jan 1814.  Their fourth youngest son was William Gage b. 20 Aug 1770 in Duanesburg, NY and d. 18 Jan 1865 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  He married Ruth Macomber in 1790.  Four Gage siblings married four Macomber siblings which leads me to believe that the families probably lived near each other.  William Gage and Ruth Macomber's fourth son, Potter Gage was born 25 Dec 1798 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  Potter Gage was my great grandfather’s great grandfather.

To finish up the line…Potter Gage m. Cynthia Swan – their son, Gilbert Gage m. Phoebe Allen, and their grandson, Orlando m. Charity Hotaling and Edith Gallup.  So from about 1759 to 1908 – Granddad Gage’s paternal line had lived in New York State.  His mother’s family (Gallup) had come from Connecticut in 1796.  The Swan’s were in New York by 1800 (they also came from Connecticut), the Allen line had actually been there probably since the early 1700’s (See Palantine Families)  At some point, I expected to find an immigrant who arrived after 1800…but I never found one in Granddad Gage’s family.  His family lines had actually been some of the early settlers of Connecticut and moved westward to New York State.  The family line that I originally had the most information on (Gage) actually turned out to be one of the more difficult lines to locate the immigrant ancestor.  I don’t know if we will ever find the documentary evidence…but I believe that science does offer some hope. 

By the time Granddad had left New York in 1908 – his family had been living in the same area (give or take a few miles) for almost 150 years.  I don’t know how many descendants of Orlando Gage are still in the New York area.  I know that there are a few that I am communicated with that still bear the last name of Gage.  I wonder how many of them know that their family has been there since the mid 1700’s.  That seems quite unique for me as I live in a town that has only been in existence since 1861 and I live in a state that has been a state only since 1890.  (I live in Lewiston, Idaho)  My family has only been in Idaho since the 1920’s (maternal side) and 1930’s (paternal side).  I suppose that it is one of the exciting things about genealogy – it is a lot of fun to try and figure out where your family came from…and how your family ended up where they are.  In my Granddad Gage’s life time – he traveled from New York to Nebraska to Iowa to South Dakota to Idaho and then to Oregon – that is quite a journey for a 98 year lifetime!

Gage & Gaige

There are five Gage lines that have been recorded.  I don’t know if we will ever know is they are connected or if it will always be a mystery.  The first Gage in my line is that of William Montgomery Gage of Freetown, MA.   William married Hannah Davis in about 1823 and they were the parents of 10 children.  They had nice Quaker names like Remembrance, Sylvester and Joseph.   There has always been a curiosity about the descendants of Joseph Gage, my 6^th great grandfather and William Montgomery Gage’s 4^th son. 

Joseph Gage was born 3 May 1734 in Freetown, Bristol Co., MA and died 23 May 1811 in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY.  He married Mary Jane Huddleston on 13 Sep 1756 in Tiverton, Newport Co., RI.  Mary Jane Huddleston was born on 14 May 1738 in Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA and d. 27 Jan 1814 in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY.  She was the daughter of Isaac Huddleston and Elinor Mortimer.  (She had two sisters who also married Gage brothers.  Mercy married William Montgomery Gage, Jr. and Cloe married Thomas Gage) Joseph and Mary Jane must have left Massachusetts fairly soon after their marriage because their second child is born in Burlington, Otsego Co., NY and they are living in Duanesburg by 1764 when their fourth child was born, which is where they spent the rest of their lives.  Joseph and Mary Jane’s children were:

• Mortimer M. Gaige b. 9 Sep 1757 Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA d. 18 Dec 1804 Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY m1. 9 Sep 1782 Catherine Vail
• Philip Gaige b. 14 Nov 1759 Burlington, Otsego Co., Ny d. 1818 Otsego Co., NY m. Elizabeth
• Benjamin Gaige b. 19 Apr 1762 Nine Partners, Dutchess Co., NY d. 1 Dec 1831  Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY m. abt 1780 Deliverance “Dilla” Hoag
• Moses Gaige b. 11 Jun 1764 Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY d. 23 Sep 1830 m1. 24 Feb 1786 Hannah Macomber m2. 4 Dec 1817 Sybil Hoag
• Simeon Gage b. 17 Jan 1767 Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY d. 1804 Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY m. Feb 1786 Mary Macomber
• Isaag Gaige b. 12 Aug 1769 Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY d. 2 Aug 1864 Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY m1. 13 Nov 1788 Lydia Soule m2. Abt 1797 Amelia Adams m3. 25 Nov 1818 Anna Bradbury
• William Gage b. 20 Aug 1770 Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY d. 18 Jan 1865 Knox, Albany Co., NY m. abt 1790 Ruth Macomber
• David Gage b. 26 Aug 1774 Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY d. 16 Jan 1868 Farmington, Ontario Co., NY m. abt 1795 Cornelia Scott
• Joseph Gage b. 3 Mar 1777 Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY d. 26 Mar 1858 Silver Lake, Susquehanna Co., PA m1. abt 1795 Elizabeth Briggs m2. Abt 1802 Lydia Thompson
• Mercy Gage b. 19 Aug 1779 Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY m. Benjamin Macomber

(All four Macombers were the children of John Macomber and Mary Brownell Davol)

The curiosity for me is this….of these sons of Joseph and Mary Jane – some of them have changed the spelling of their name from Gage to Gaige.  I got most of my Gage information from a man named Rev. Walker Miller Gage who wrote a Gage genealogy that my great grandparents got in the late 1960’s.  He had the theory that these older sons of Joseph Gage were loyalists who changed the name in protest.  The earliest birth date for these Gage sons was 1757 which would have put them fairly young when the Revolutionary War started.  They were a Quaker family which makes me wonder if that might have been a reason they disagreed with the war.  Unfortunately, I have nothing to verify the theory of Rev. Gage…although he probably came the closest to talking to those who knew.  I haven’t seen any of the other Gage lines show this unique spelling either.  So….if you are looking at the Gage surname, try checking out if your relative can be found with the Gaige spelling.  

Revolutionary War Veterans

Seeing that it is Veteran’s Day on Friday…I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about some of my ancestors who were Veterans.  On my father’s side there are several mostly from the New England/New York area and Virginia:

·         Probably my oldest American Veteran who fought on American soil was my 9^th great grandfather, John Gallup.  He died storming the fort in the Great Swamp fight at Narragansett on 19 Dec 1675.  He was buried in a mass grave alongside his soldiers.
·         His son John Gallup b. 1646 was also with him at the battle but survived.   (8^th great grandfather)
·         Col. Nathan Gallup fought in the Revolutionary War.  (6^th great grandfather)
·         John Macomber fought on the Massachusetts line despite being a Quaker. (6^th great grandfather)
·         Abel Willey – fought in the a company from Plymouth to reinforce Ft. Ticonderoga (5^th great grandfather)
·         Asa Wheelock served in Ebenezer Learned’s regiment during the Lexington Alarm of 19 Apr 1775. (5^th great grandfather)
·         Edward Montanye fought in Captain Ten Eyck’s Company in the New Jersey militia. (6^th great grandfather)
·          Abraham Pitzenberger served as Private in Michael Reader's Co., from Virginia. (6^th great grandfather)

My mother’s family were pretty well entrenched in the south for the most part and the majority of her Revolutionary ancestors fought in the Battle of King’s Mountain in North Carolina.

·        James Tannehill served as a private on the Maryland line and spent a lot of his time as POW in the Revolutionary War. (4^th great grandfather)
·         Isaac Harrington served in NY under Captain Jonathan Hallett. (5^th great grandfather)
·         William Harrington in the 6^th & 10^th Berkshire Co., of Massachusetts. (6^th great grandfather)
·         David Allen, who was Adoniram’s father also fought in the Revolutionary war at the Battle of Moores Creek despite being in his late 60’s.  (6^th great grandfather)
·         Julius Ceasar Robertson fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain and the Battle of Point Pleasant. (5^th great grandfather)
·         Roderick Shelton also fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain. (5^th great grandfather)
·         William Dollar fought in the NC militia and was also involved in the Battle of King’s Mountain. (5^th great grandfather)
·         Adoniram “Teges” Allen served as a Captain in the South Carolina Partisan rangers in the battle of King’s Mountain.  (5^th great grandfather)

The likelihood is that there are probably several more that were Revolutionary War ancestors or veterans of the early wars from the 1600’s and 1700’s.  I must admit that one of my favorite ancestors that I have researched is Adoniram “Teges” Allen.  The story goes that he was born in 1734 in New Hampshire near the Vermont border.  He immigrated south to North Carolina with his father David and fought in the Revolutionary War.  Adoniram was recorded in Georgia and South Carolina before he decided at the age of 72 to make yet another move – to Clay Co., KY.  He built a water-powered saw and grist mill in 1807 on the south fork of the Kentucky River. He was nicknamed “Teges” which was shortened from “Tedious” which was known by, because he was so particular.  If you look at a map of Kentucky today, you will find a Teges river, which was named for Adoniram Allen.  He lived to the age of 104 and died in 1838…having retired only a few years before. I have heard that Adoniram Allen was closely related to Ethan Allen, of the Green Mountain Boys.  I always thought that the tie in was with Allen side…a few years ago, I discovered that they Adoniram & Ethan weren’t related through the Allen side but rather through their mothers – who were sisters. 

I’m sure that there are probably a few more Revolutionary War Veterans in my family that I do not yet know about.  I’ve studied history for most of my life.  I have always tried to imagine the difficulties that a Revolutionary Veteran faced – by fighting for the colonies – the choices that they made helped build our nation.  I’m proud of their sacrifice and those of their families.  They fought for the idea of the United States of America and defeated the superpower, the British Empire.  What a proud heritage that we have as Americans!