Amzi Doolittle Sr (1737 - 1830)

Born 15 Nov 1737 in Northfield, Franklin, Massachusetts

Ancestors

Husband of Jerusha (Smith) Doolittle — married 6 Dec 1757 (to about 1781) in Northfield, Franklin, Massachusetts

Husband of Hannah (Miller) Doolittle — married 9 Oct 1787 in Townshend, Windham, Vermont

Descendants

Died 9 Apr 1830 at age 92 in Winchester, Cheshire, New Hampshire

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Jillaine Smith [send private message] and Nancy Page [send private message]

SAR Patriot database #P-149242
DAR Ancestor #A032909

Biography

Lieutenant Amzi Doolittle Sr served with Col. Stephen R. Bradley's Regiment, Vermont Republic Militia during the American Revolution.

Amzi Doolittle Sr is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A032909.

Amzi Doolittle Sr is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: P-149242
Rank: Lieutenant and Civil Service

Contrary to the genealogy "Doolittles of America," Hannah Miller was NOT the mother of Amzi's children; Jerusha Smith was. Amzi and Hannah did not marry until after her child-bearing years were over.

Both Hannah and Amzi were of Baptist sympathies at least while in Warwick. The publication "Collections relating to the history and inhabitants of Townshend, Vermont" contains a chapter about the Second Baptist church which was formed in Townshend in 1827. But on page 249, the writer notes: "At the time of the organization of this body, a Baptist church had existed for 17 years [therefore since 1810] at the west village, had maintained its pastor or stated supply, and had occupied its portion of the time in the meeting-house." But there is no list of Barbers or Doolittles mentioned relative to this Baptist...

He died in Winchester, New Hampshire where he is buried.^[5] (An old history of Northfield, MA claims incorrectly that he died in Townshend, Vermont.^[6]

"In 1756 he belonged to the Northfield foot company. In Oct. of that year, when the news of Montcalm's victories was received, he with 16 others wasdrafted out of the company to serve under General Winslow; but whether the men went into active service at the time [is not?] recorded.^[7]

Soon after his first marriage, he moved to Warwick Mass., as the town records show he was there in 1760 as one of a committee to lay out a tract of land 40 rods square around the meeting house for a burial place and other purposes.

25 May 1759 and 18 Jun 1759: Abraham Scott of Gardner's or Roxbury Canada, sold land to Amzi Doolittle^[8]

9 May 1763: At the first town meeting held in Warwick, Amzi was elected town treasurer.^[9]

5 Sept 1774: a company of 50 minute men was raised by the town (of Warwick), in which Amzi Doolittle was ensign.^[10]

1767-1776: Served as selectman in Warwick.^[11]

5 Jun 1780 (filed 3 Nov 1802): Amzi Doolittle of Warwick, gentleman, grants to John Goldsbury of Warwick, six acres.^[12]

About this time, Amzi Doolittle was caught up in the "spiritual wifeism" controversy in Warwick: one Elder Hix preached that men and women had spiritual as well as temporal spouses, and "when so moved to love another, there is no criminality in the connection." The result is that Amzi's first wife, Jerusha, ran off with Amos Marsh (to Hoosick, NY), Amzi's daughter Lavina ran off with Elder Hix, and Amzi ran off with the wife of Thomas Barber.^[13]

Amzi Barber, along with his children, moved to Townshend, Vermont by 1782. Thomas Barber and his family, including wife Hannah, also moved to the same area, settling in adjacent Wardsboro.^[14]

"In 1777 [sic; more likely by May 1781 (earliest record of a land purchase -- 62 acres], Amzi moved to Townshend, Vt. then a newly settled village, where he bought and cleared a large tract of forest land in the south part of the town. He gave his sons Amzi, Origin and Roswell, a tract of forest in the vicinity of the home farm which they cleared for themselves. In 1824 he moved with his sons Amzi and Origin to Winchester, New Hampshire, where he died Apr. 9, 1830, aged 93." ^[15]

6 May 1781: Amzi purchased for forty-five pounds, sixty-two acres of land west of the West River from John Wood of Townshend.^[16]

21 Dec 1781: Sold (for five pounds) 20 acres of the fourth division to Samuel Fletcher in Townsend. ^[17]

5 Mar 1782: This might have been his first election to a town position in Townshend-- one of the highway surveyors (with Timothy Holbrook).^[18]

22 May 1782: Purchased 50 acres of common land from John Wood for 20 pounds. ^[19]

15 Day .... 1782: Purchased another 50 acres of fourth division land from John Wood for another 20 pounds. Witnessed by Lucy and Luther Doolittle.^[20]

September 1782: As Lieut. Amzi Doolittle, served two days as part of "Capt. Josiah Fish's company of foot in the 1st regiment of militia in Gen. Fletcher's Brigade, commanded by Stephen R. Bradley, Colo... assisting the Sheriff in carrying into execution the law, &c."^[21]

NOTE: His son of the same name would only have been 14 years of age.

7 Oct 1782: Amzi Doolittle is listed with Edward Grieves, Thomas Wood, Timothy Holbrook, John Hazeltine, son of Silas Hazeltine, men who were part of the committees to lay out the land.^[22]

The same page of the same history indicates that Lieut. Amzi Doolittle was listed as one of those listed in the proprietor's books as land owners.

Note that this is the same month that Amzi is recorded as purchasing 350 acres of land, so perhaps that's what this list above refers to.

6 Dec 1782: Amzi sold 214 acres in Townshend to Joshua Barnard for 500 pounds.^[23]

26 Dec 1782: Amzi sold 62 acres (for 60 pounds) to Thomas Barber "a certain tract or parcel of land situated in the southwardly part of Townshend" and adjacent to other land owned by Doolittle.^[24]

3 March 1783: voted, with several others, as surveyor of highways in Townshend.^[25]

10 Mar 1784 (or possibly 1789): elected -- among others-- both surveyor of highways and member of petty jury.^[26]

9 October 1787: Amzi Doolittle married Hannah (Miller) Barber, divorced spouse of Thomas Barber, in Townshend, Vermont.^[27]

Contrary to the genealogy Doolittles of America, Hannah was NOT the mother of Amzi's children; Jerusha Smith was.^[28]

On 29 August 1790 (filed 4 May 1792), Amzi Doolittle of Warwick, gentleman, grants to Ebenezer Cheney of Warwick, 144 acres more or less "all my home place in Warwick." ^[29]

1790 US Census: Townshend, Windham County, Vermont:^[30]

Doolittle, Amzi 3, 3, 3

(son Amzi Jr also on this page, 2, 1, 1)

1800 US Census: Townshend, Windham Co., Vermont:^[31]

Doolittle, Amzi, Sr. -, 1, 1, -, 1 | -, -, 1, -, 1

(son Amzi Jr also on this page: 1, -, -, 1, - | -, -, -, 1, -

(sons Origin and Roswell also listed)

1810 US Census: Can't find him or his sons anywhere. They should be in Townsend, Vermont.

1820 US Census: Townshend, Windham Co., Vermont (or is this Amzi, Jr.?)^[32]

1824 removed to Winchester, New Hampshire with wife, two sons and their families.

9 April 1830, he died, aged ninety-three years.^[33]

1830 US Census: Winchester, New Hampshire:

Aaziah Doolittle [he is Amziah on his tombstone]

Since, Amzi Sr. died 9 April 1830; check date of census; if after this date, would be his son.

He is buried at Evergreen Cemetery, Winchester, New Hampshire between his brother and his second wife, Hannah (Miller) (Barber) Doolittle. His first wife, Jerusha (Smith) (Doolittle) Marsh, is buried up the hill from him in the same cemetery, with the families of two of their children.

At least nine males were named after him through 1872, and one female, Amzona, b 1867.

Research Notes

He has an index card as part of Donald A Smith's 1980 dissertation that is somewhat inaccurate:^[34]

Doolittle, Amzi Townshend [Illegible]

DOB 1737 DOD 1838 [inaccurate; he died 1830]

POB: _____ D[eath] Age: 101 [inaccurate]

E.O. [Emig'n Origins]: Warwick, MA [inaccurate; he was born in Northfield, MA and removed to Warwick when he was an adult] *Marriage [Age] - 26

S.D. [Settlement Date in VT]: By 1780

SAGE [Settlement Age]: 43

W.E. [???] Capt. Fish's Co., 1782

P.A. [Political Affiliation] (blank)

R.A. [Religious Affiliation] ORCN(?) CONLO (?), Warwick, MA 1760

E.S. (?) L50, 1781, Total purch: 502A, Sold 234A; Diff 268A

Soc[ial] Stat[us]: LENL[?] 1780 + 81

Land Title: NHG [New Hampshire Grant]

Sources

1. ↑ J.H. Temple and George Sheldon, A History of Northfield, MA, Albany, NY: Joel Munsell (1875), p. 434
2. ↑ Temple & Sheldon, op cit
3. ↑ Town Hall, Townshend, VT., Vital Records of Townshend, VT. Original ledge of records researched and photocopied by Jillaine Smith, 2003: "Amzi Doolittle m. Hannah Barber Oct 9, 1787, Townshend, Vt"
4. ↑ Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L999-L9TR?cc=1987653&wc=Q8ZY-CB4%3A324710801%2C325254201%2C325260801
5. ↑ Gravestone - Amaziah Doolittle, Evergreen Cemetery, Winchester, NH, photographed by Jillaine Smith, 2003.
6. ↑ History of Northfield, MA (p. 434)
7. ↑ William Frederick Doolittle, M.D., Doolittle Family in America, Cleveland, OH: The Sayers & Waite Printing Co. (1901). HathiTrust.org has multiple volumes available digitally.
8. ↑ Mary Holman Lovering, The Scott Genealogy, Boston: (1919), p. 15, citing Hampshire Co., Mass., Deeds, 1:623 and 2:30
9. ↑ Town Records of Warwick, Vermont as recorded in Jonathan Blake, Jr., “History of the Town of Warwick, MA,” Boston, MA, USA: Noyes, Holmes, & Co. (1873); LDS #1321383, item 4; also available on Ancestry.com; Jillaine Smith owns a hard copy. Initially drafted in 1833-34; updated by author's brother in mid 1860s; ultimately published 1873.
10. ↑ Blake, op cit
11. ↑ Blake, op cit
12. ↑ Franklin land deeds, op cit., Bk 8, Pg 29.
13. ↑ Jonathan Blake, John Goldsbury, Hervey Barber, History of the Town of Warwick, Massachusetts: From Its First Settlement to 1854, Noyes, Holmes, and Company (1873) (Google eBook)
14. ↑ Jillaine S. Smith, "God, Love & Lust: The Tale of Four Revolutionary Families in Warwick, MA," unpublished manuscript, c 2012-2014; contact author for details.
15. ↑ William Frederick Doolittle, M.D., “Doolittle Family in America,” Cleveland, OH: The Sayers & Waite Printing Co., 1901
16. ↑ "Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G999-LDS8?cc=1987653&wc=Q8ZY-CY4%3A324710801%2C325254201%2C325258501 : 22 May 2014), Windham > Townshend > Births, marriages, deaths, deeds 1780-1803 vol 1-3 > image 69 of 757; citing various town clerks and records divisions, Vermont.
17. ↑ "Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8999-L8SF?cc=1987653&wc=Q8ZY-CY4%3A324710801%2C325254201%2C325258501 : 22 May 2014), Windham > Townshend > Births, marriages, deaths, deeds 1780-1803 vol 1-3 > image 94 of 757; citing various town clerks and records divisions, Vermont.
18. ↑ "Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G999-L8TM?cc=1987653&wc=Q8ZY-CY4%3A324710801%2C325254201%2C325258501 : 22 May 2014), Windham > Townshend > Births, marriages, deaths, deeds 1780-1803 vol 1-3 > image 200 of 757; citing various town clerks and records divisions, Vermont.
19. ↑ "Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G999-LD6F?cc=1987653&wc=Q8ZY-CY4%3A324710801%2C325254201%2C325258501 : 22 May 2014), Windham > Townshend > Births, marriages, deaths, deeds 1780-1803 vol 1-3 > image 109 of 757; citing various town clerks and records divisions, Vermont.
20. ↑ "Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G999-LD79?cc=1987653&wc=Q8ZY-CY4%3A324710801%2C325254201%2C325258501 : 22 May 2014), Windham > Townshend > Births, marriages, deaths, deeds 1780-1803 vol 1-3 > image 110 of 757; citing various town clerks and records divisions, Vermont.
21. ↑ John E. Goodrich., editor, Rolls of the [Vermont] soldiers in the revolutionary war, 1775 to 1783, Rutland, Vt., The Tuttle company, 1904; page 609
22. ↑ James H. Phelps, "Collections relating to the history and inhabitants of the town of Townshend, Vermont," Brattleboro, VT: G.E. Sellect (1987), pp. 75-76
23. ↑ "Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G999-LD91?cc=1987653&wc=Q8ZY-CY4%3A324710801%2C325254201%2C325258501 : 22 May 2014), Windham > Townshend > Births, marriages, deaths, deeds 1780-1803 vol 1-3 > image 125 of 757; citing various town clerks and records divisions, Vermont.
24. ↑ "Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8999-LZTM?cc=1987653&wc=Q8ZY-CY4%3A324710801%2C325254201%2C325258501 : 22 May 2014), Windham > Townshend > Births, marriages, deaths, deeds 1780-1803 vol 1-3 > image 154 of 757; citing various town clerks and records divisions, Vermont.
25. ↑ "Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L999-LD3R?cc=1987653&wc=Q8ZY-CY4%3A324710801%2C325254201%2C325258501 : 22 May 2014), Windham > Townshend > Births, marriages, deaths, deeds 1780-1803 vol 1-3 > image 142 of 757; citing various town clerks and records divisions, Vermont.
26. ↑ "Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L999-L8LW?cc=1987653&wc=Q8ZY-CY4%3A324710801%2C325254201%2C325258501 : 22 May 2014), Windham > Townshend > Births, marriages, deaths, deeds 1780-1803 vol 1-3 > image 186 of 757; citing various town clerks and records divisions, Vermont.
27. ↑ Town Clerk, “Vital Records of Townshend, VT," Town Hall, Townshend, VT. Original ledger of records researched and photocopied by Jillaine Smith, 2003.
28. ↑ Town Hall, “Townshend, VT Land Deeds.” A page buried between land deeds, dated 1785, lists the two families of 1) Thomas Barber & wife Hannah and 2) Amzi Doolittle and wife Jerusha; clearly written at one sitting. Found and photocopied by Jillaine Smith.
29. ↑ Franklin County Registry of Deeds in Greenfield (abstracted from Hampshire County): Bk 4, p 451
30. ↑ 1790 United States Federal Census (NARA microfilm publication M637, 12 rolls)
31. ↑ 1800 United States Federal Census (NARA microfilm publication M32, 52 rolls)
32. ↑ 1820 United States Federal Census (NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls)
33. ↑ History of Winchester, Cheshire Co., NH: Biographies and Genealogies of Early Settlers and Prominent Citizens
34. ↑ Donald Alan Smith, "Legacy of Dissent: Religion and Politics in Revolutionary Vermont 1749-1784," (Clark Univ., PhD, 1980), digitized as part of "Early Vermont Settlers Index Cards, 1750-1784," Vol: General Eastern VT, D-H, p 155; at AmericanAncestors.org: link for NEHGS members

See also:

• Godfrey Memorial Library, American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI), Middletown, CT, USA: Godfrey Memorial Library, 19520. On Ancestry.com; volume 45, page 12
• U.S. Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783; National Archives Microfilm Publication M246, 138 rolls; War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, Record Group 93

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