Adonijah Atherton (1716 - 1748)

Born 27 Mar 1716 in Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts

Ancestors

Husband of Anna Barnard — married 29 Jun 1736 in Deerfield, Franklin Co, CT

Descendants

Died 17 Nov 1748 at age 32 in Massachusetts

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This profile is part of the Atherton Name Study.

Biography

Adonijah Atherton was the son of Joseph and Mindwell Brown: b. 1716, soldier in French Wars, died at Fort Massachusetts Nov 7 (sic--17th) 1748. Md June 6, 1736 to Anna Barnard, prob dau of Joseph Barnard of Wind.; she a niece of Samuel Barnard of Salem and with other relatives received legacies from Samuel. She died Greenfield Feb 19, 1798 age 86. 4 children--Joseph, Oliver, Jonathan and "per. Anna who md Nov 25, 1773 to Daniel Nash of Greenfield.^[1]

Marriage: 29 JUN 1736 • Deerfield, Franklin, MA

Adonijah Atherton and Anna Bernard were married by ye rev. Mr. Jonathan Ashley June 29, 1736 [Deerfield, MA Vital Records]--History of Deerfield gives date as 6 June 1736 but this may have been a list of their intentions.

The couple had four children: ^[2] Joseph Jan 10, 1737 d. May 6, 1750 Oliver April 28, 1738 Jonathan Nov 14, 1743 Warwick 1779 Anna who m. Nov 25, 1773 to Daniel Nash of Greenfield.

From Terry Atherton-8-24-2012:
Adonijah became a soldier and helped build the first fortification at what became Fort Massachusetts. A few weeks after returning home, the Indians and French attacked the fort, burnt it down, and carried off a number of hostages to Canada. Adonijah returned several months later and helped rebuild the Fort; staying there as part of the garrison. He died in the Fort in 1748.

Adonijah’s date of death was listed as 17 Nov 1748 in the “Vital records of Deerfield, MA to Year 1850”. Unfortunately for Adonijah, The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was signed on 18 Oct 1748 ending the War.

His death technically occurred after the war, but I don’t believe his death was caused by anything more than natural causes, tho, most likely brought on by the cold and wet Berkshire November. The garrison of the first Fort had suffered from the “bloody flux” and poor conditions for several months until it was attacked and burned down in Aug 1746.

The Fort was rebuilt in 1747 and Ephraim William’s signed up 40 men to garrison it. Adonijah is listed as a volunteer for the Fort garrison in Capt. Williams’s records , but without a length of service specified. Because he had been there for the original construction of the first fort, I believe he volunteered to return for the reconstruction project and stayed over. There is little mention of casualties in Williams’s reports, but it is likely that Adonijah was involved in at least one dust up with the Indians on 1 Aug 1748 when four men got caught outside the walls, and were attacked by a force of 200-300 Indians. Captain Williams tried to come to the rescue with 30 men; however, they were nearly cut off, and beat a hasty retreat; so the odds are pretty great that Adonijah was involved. In that skirmish, one man was killed and two wounded, although I can find no record of who was wounded. (http://archives.williams.edu/ewilliamsexhibit/officer/transcript.html)

I visited the site of the Fort in North Adams in 2003 and had an opportunity to visit the Museum at Williams College where Ephraim Williams’s records are on display. It was pretty exciting to see the actual documents.

http://www.americancenturies.mass.edu/collection/itempage.jsp?itemid=15722

Fort Massachusetts was a lightly defended outpost of Massachusetts, located near the western edge of the colony. During King George's War (1744-48), the fort came under attack by a combined force of French regular troops, Canadian militia, and their Abenaki allies. The fort was commanded by Sergeant John Hawks of Deerfield, and at the time of the attack only ten men were able to take up arms in its defense. Among the others in the fort were five women and three children. Hawks held out for 28 hours before surrendering; he lost only 3 men but killed 16. The French leader, Major Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, guaranteed the safety of the prisoners and his Indian allies agreed. They were taken to Canada, where they were exchanged for French prisoners in British hands. The fort was located near the town of North Adams, Massachusetts. Beginning in 1895, the North Adams Women's Club raised money and purchased the site. A reconstructed fort was dedicated in 1933 and operated for several years before a lack of funds and vandalism closed it. The fort was eventually torn down, and today the site is now the parking lot of the Price Chopper supermarket situated between Williamstown and North Adams.

Sources

1. ↑ History of Greenfield p. 510; History of Deerfield, Ma Vol2: Part2 p.51
2. ↑ A History of Deerfield, Ma Vol2: Part2 p.51)

• WikiTree profile Atherton-210 created through the import of patton booth.ged on Mar 24, 2012 by Sara Stevens. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Sara and others.

• Source: S51 Abbreviation: Deerfield, MA Vital Records Title: Vital Records of Deerfield, Massachusetts to the year 1850 CONT compiled by Thomas W. Baldwin CONT New England Historic genealogical Society CONT Boston MA CONT CONT MAVital Records Project2005 CONT http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Franklin/Greenfield/Images/GreenfieldTitlePage1.shtml CONT Subsequent Source Citation Format: Deerfield, MA Vital Record BIBL Vital Records of Deerfield, Massachusetts to the year 1850 CONT compiled by Thomas W. Baldwin CONT New England Historic genealogical Society CONT Boston, MA 1920 CONT CONT MAVital Records Project2005 CONT http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Franklin/Greenfield/Images/GreenfieldTitlePage1.shtml CONT