Nathaniel Bartlett (1727 - 1810)

Born 22 Apr 1727 in Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut

Ancestors

Died 11 Jan 1810 at age 82 in Redding, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States

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This profile is part of the Bartlett Name Study.

Biography

Chaplain Nathaniel Bartlett performed Patriotic Service in Connecticut in the American Revolution.

Nathaniel Bartlett is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A007023.

Nathaniel Bartlett was born 22 Apr 1727 in North Guilford (New Haven) Connecticut, and died in 1810. He married 13 Jun 1753, Eunice Russell, daughter of Jonathan Russell and Eunice Barker. Eunice was born 7 Nov 1725.

Nathaniel served as a Chaplain during the American Revolutionary War.

Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett, second pastor of the Congregational Church of Redding, became a resident in 1753, and so remained until his death in 1810. He married, June 13, 1753, Mrs. Eunice Russell, of Branrd, Conn. Their children were: Russell, bapt. June 9, 1754; Daniel., bapt. January 16, 1757; Anne, bapt. February 25, 1759; Eunice, bapt. April 26, 1761 ; Jonathan, bapt. October 14, 1764; Lucretia, bapt. March 27, 1768. Russell married, February 28, 1776, Rachel Taylor, and had children: Clare, bapt. March 30, 1777, and Flora, bapt. August, 1779. Daniel C. married Esther Read, January 7, 1778, and settled Amenia, N. Y., where some of his descendants now reside. Rev. Jonathan Bartlett married, first, Roda, daughter of Lemuel Sanford ; second, Betsey Marvin, of Wilton ; and, third, Abigail, daughter of Lemuel Sanford. He had no children. ^[1]

Birth

Nathaniel Bartlet:Connecticut Births and Christenings, Name Nathaniel Bartlet, Gender Male, Birth Date 22 Apr 1727, Birthplace GUILFORD TWP,NEW HAVEN,CONNETICUT, Father's Name Daniel Bartlet, Mother's Name Ann. CITING THIS RECORD^[2]

Marriage and Children

Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett married Eunice Russell:
Eunice Russell, eldest daughter of Jonathan and Eunice (Barker) Russell, was born November 7, 1725, and married June 13, 1753, the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett of Redding, Connecticut, born April 22, 1727, son of Daniel and Ann (Collins) Bartlett of Guilford, Connecticut, who died January 11, 1810. She died August 12, 1810.^[3]
Children.

I Russell, bapt. June 9, 1754.

Married Feb. 28, 1776, Rachel Taylor of Danbury, Conn.; he d. Nov. 21, 1828, at Hartwick, N. Y

Children. 1 Clare, bapt. Mar. 30, 1777. 2 Flora, bapt. Aug. 29, 1779. ^[3]

II Daniel C, bapt. Jan. 16, 1757.

Married Jan. 7, 1778, Esther Read, bapt. Jan. 11, 1761, dau. of John and Sarah Read, who d. in 1809.

After her death he removed to Amenia, N. Y., where he d. Dec. 13, 1837. ^[3]

III Anne, bapt. Feb. 25, 1759. ^[3]

IV Eunice, bapt. Apr. 26, 1761. ^[3]

V Jonathan, bapt. Oct. 14, 1764. ^[3]

Married (1) Rhoda Sanford, b. Mar., 1773, dau. of Lemuel and Mary (Russell) Sanford, who d. Dec. 23, 1796.

He m. (2) Betsey Marvin, b. Sept. 4, 1772, dau. of Matthew and Deborah (Burnett) Marvin of Wilton, Conn., who d. Mar. 13, 1811.

He m. (3) Abigail Sanford, sister of his first wife, b. Apr. 18, 1784, who d. July 24, 1854.

There were no children.

Jonathan became colleague pastor with his father of the Congregational Church in Bedding, Conn., where he d. Mar. 22, 1858. ^[3]

VI Lucretia, bapt. Mar. 27, 1768.^[3]

Death

Nathaniel Bartlett : Find A Grave Index
Name Nathaniel Bartlett, Event Type Burial Event Date 1810
Event Place Redding, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States of America
Photograph Included Y
Birth Date 22 Apr 1727
Death Date 11 Jan 1810
Affiliate Record Identifier 13694890 Cemetery Great Pasture Road Cemetery^[4]

Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett: Connecticut Deaths and Burials
Name Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett
Gender: Male, Death Date:1810,
Death Place: Ct, Age: 83, Birth Date 1727^[5]

Research Notes

Russell Bartlet: Connecticut Births and Christenings
Name Russell Bartlet, Gender Male, Birth Date 03 Jun 1754
Birthplace FAIRFIELD TWP,FAIRFIELD,CONNETICUT
Father's Name Nathaniell Bartlet, Mother's Name Eunice^[6]

Bartlett, Russell — Bro. of Bartlett, Daniel Collins. Fifer in 6th Co., 5th Regt. Conn. Line. Served in Northern Campaign. Disc, Dec. 11, 1775- Apr. 26, 1777, captured at Danbury by Tryon's dragoons and confined in the old sugar house in New York, enduring its horrors ; was released and returned home. Settled at Hartwick, near Cooperstown, N. Y. D., Nov. 21, 1828, and is buried at Cooperstown, near James Fenimore Tooper, the novelist. ^[7]

Daniel Collins Bartlet: Connecticut Births and Christenings
Name Daniel Collins Bartlet, Gender Male, Birth Date 12 Jan 1757
Birthplace FAIRFIELD TWP,FAIRFIELD,CONNETICUT
Father's Name Nathaniell Bartlet, Mother's Name Eunice ^[8]

Daniel Collins Bartlett married Esther Read on Jan 7, 1778 in Redding, CT ^[9]

Bartlett, Daniel Collins — Son of Rev. Nathaniel. Served in ;th Regt. Conn. Line, and was present at the capture of St. Johns, Nov. 1775. Disc. Nov. 28, 1775, and volunteered to accompany Montgomery .gainst Quebec. Shared in the privations of that abortive campaign, served in the levies gathered to defend Danbury in 1777, and as a private )f the 5th Conn. Regt. in the Fishkill Campaign of the same year. D., Dec. 13, 1837, in Amenia, N. Y. ^[10]

Nataniel was born in 1727. He passed away in 1810.

Sources

1. ↑ Pages 225-226. Todd, Charles Burr.,The history of Redding, Connecticut, from its first settlement to the present time, with notes on the Adams, Banks, Barlow ... and Strong families. Publisher New York, The Grafton press. Published 1906. Pages 408. https://archive.org/stream/historyofredding00toddc#page/224/mode/2up/search/Bartlett
2. ↑ "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WY-XJF : accessed 14 April 2016), Nathaniel Bartlet, 22 Apr 1727; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7} Page 148-149. Gurdon Wadsworth Russell, Samuel Hart, J. R. Hutchinson; An Account of Some of the Descendants of John Russell, the Emigrant from Ipswich, England, who Came to Boston, New England, October 3, 1635, Together with Some Sketches of the Allied Families of Wadsworth, Tuttle, and Beresford. Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company, 1910 - 318 pages. https://books.google.com/books?id=XrxOAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=Bartlett&f=false https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=XrxOAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA148
4. ↑ CITING THIS RECORD: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVZ-5FMJ : 13 December 2015), Nathaniel Bartlett, 1810; Burial, Redding, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States of America, Great Pasture Road Cemetery; citing record ID 13694890, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
5. ↑ CITING THIS RECORD: "Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772-1934," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7HK-M46 : 3 December 2014), Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett, 1810; citing Ct, reference ; FHL microfilm 3,085.
6. ↑ CITING THIS RECORD: "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WY-XQH : 3 December 2014), Russell Bartlet, 03 Jun 1754; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
7. ↑ Page 65. Todd, Charles Burr.,The history of Redding, Connecticut, from its first settlement to the present time, with notes on the Adams, Banks, Barlow ... and Strong families. Publisher New York, The Grafton press. Published 1906. Pages 408 https://archive.org/stream/historyofredding00toddc#page/64/mode/2up/search/Bartlett
8. ↑ CITING THIS RECORD: "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WY-X3J : 3 December 2014), Daniel Collins Bartlet, 12 Jan 1757; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
9. ↑ page 75. Frederic William Bailey, Early Connecticut Marriages as Found on Ancient Church Records Prior to 1800. Genealogical Publishing Com, 1896 - Reference - 1000 pages. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCtkUmz95dAC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=Bartlett&f=false
10. ↑ Page 65. Todd, Charles Burr.,The history of Redding, Connecticut, from its first settlement to the present time, with notes on the Adams, Banks, Barlow ... and Strong families. Publisher New York, The Grafton press. Published 1906. Pages 408 https://archive.org/stream/historyofredding00toddc#page/64/mode/2up/search/Bartlett

• https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search_adb/?action=full&p_id=A007023
• "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WY-XJF : accessed 14 April 2016), Nathaniel Bartlet, 22 Apr 1727; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown
• Hurd, D. Hamilton. History of Fairfield County, Connecticut with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers (J.W. Lewis & Co., Philadelphia, 1881) Page 578: "He married, June 13, 1753, Mrs. Eunice Russell, of Branford, Conn."
• Wikipedia: Nathaniel_Bartlett
• Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999, Fairfield Probate Records, Vol 10-11, 1808-1814 Page 228, Image 124: Nathaniel Bartlett, Last Will & Testament, dated April. 19, 1809.

• Wife Eunice. dau. Anna, son Russell, son Daniel Collins Bartlett (m. Esther), son Jonathan, granddaughter Sally (dau. of Anna), dau. Eunice (m. Ezchiel Jackson), dau. Lucretia (m. James Davies)
• Jonathan B/R? Sanford of Redding, a second trustee for dau. Anna

• "Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772-1934," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7JW-7Y3 : 9 February 2018), Nathaniel Bartlett, 11 Jan 1810; citing Redding, Connecticut, reference 2; FHL microfilm 3,360.

• Ancestry.com Sara Rawlins Tree

• "United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3Q-C3CX-Y?cc=2546162&wc=WD6Q-RM3%3A1588792203 : 24 January 2018), Connecticut > image 602 of 977; citing various published state rosters, United States.

See also:

• "Nathaniel Bartlett, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" This page was last edited on 11 August 2019, at 20:44 (UTC). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Bartlett

• The Bartlett Family of Redding, Connecticut (CT), by Gary Bartlett. Your Link to the Past and Present Times of History of Redding, Connecticut. http://historyofredding.net/HRbartlett.htm

Daniel Jr. and Ann (Collins) Bartlett of North Guilford, Connecticut had a son, Nathaniel Bartlett (Lineage #4), who attended Yale at the time when it was under the heavy handed administration of the Rev. Thomas Clap, who served as its Rector / President 1740-1766. During the 1740s, Rector Clap was assisted by three tutors. A tutor was assigned to each incoming freshman class and remained as its only teacher for their sophomore and junior years as well. The rector taught the senior class. Each student followed the same curriculum, and was closely supervised. Nathaniel's time at Yale must have been somewhat less than pleasant, as Rector Clap was thoroughly disliked by his students for his despotic ways. There were few quiet moments in Rector Clap's stormy 26 year career at Yale, but he did succeed in improving both the curriculum and the administration of the college, even while stirring up controversy.

Nathaniel Bartlett studied theology and successfully endured the regimented curriculum, graduating with a M.A. Degree in 1749. He became a Congregational minister, and soon after he was licensed to preach the Hartford South Association recommended him to the Congregational Church of Farmington, Connecticut as a pastoral candidate. This apparently did not work out, however, and beginning in January 1753, he was taken under consideration by the Congregational Church of Redding, Connecticut for a position there. (What the Rev. Nathaniel did during the period 1749- 1753 is unknown, but most likely he was a circuit preacher for small congregations without pastors, filled in temporarily for pastors who were ill, or perhaps he taught school, a common practice for recent college graduates). In April of 1753, the Redding church called him to be their permanent pastor. He was subsequently ordained on 23 May 1753. Per the Redding Church Records of that date, the pastors who assisted in his ordination were as follows: "The Rev. Mr. Eben White of Danbury gave the opening prayer- the Rev. Mr. Jonathan Todd of East Guilford preached the sermon- the Rev. Mr. Elisha Kent (unchurched at that time) gave the ordaining prayer- the Rev. Mr. Jedediah Mills of Ripston gave the charge- the Rev. Mr. David Judson of Newtown gave the right hand of fellowship- the Rev. Mr. Jonathan Ingersoll of Ridgefield gave the closing prayer". The Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett served at Redding for the next 57 years- i.e. until his death in 1810- thought to be the longest continuous pastorate in the history of the early New England churches up to that time. (The record was eventually lost, however, to the Rev. Samuel Nott, who served at Franklin, Connecticut 1782-1852, an unbelievable 70 years). The Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett succeeded the first minister at Redding, the Rev. Nathaniel Hunn- and was in turn succeeded by the Rev. Daniel Crocker. (The Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett's youngest son, the Rev. Jonathan Bartlett served as co-pastor with his father for a few years, but resigned due to ill health prior to his father's death. The Rev. Daniel Crocker likewise served as co-pastor for a few months, following the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett's 22 March 1809 petition to the church board, that he be released from active service due to old age and infirmity).

During the Revolutionary War, the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett was consistently a firebrand for the Colonial cause, as were many Congregational ministers who thundered anti-British tirades from their pulpits week after week during the conflict. So outspoken was the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett in his views, that the local Tories who were numerous in western Connecticut threatened to hang him if they could catch him. Due to these frequent and very real threats to his life, the Rev. Nathaniel was obligated to make his parochial rounds with a loaded musket in hand, as well as his Bible. He permitted gunpowder to be stored in a bin he constructed in the attic of his house, (discovered years later by his son the Rev. Jonathan Bartlett), which was quite dangerous- both politically and otherwise.

The atmosphere in Redding must have been very volatile throughout the war, as the local Episcopalians with their rector the Rev. John Beach were generally loyalists while the Congregationalists with their pastor the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett were generally rebels. Those of the Tory persuasion were sufficient in numbers to form themselves into the "Redding Loyalist Association", to which the Rev. John Beach lent his continuing support from the pulpit. The "Redding Loyalist Association" published a list of resolutions in support of the British Government, a document which was signed by 141 male residents (some of whom were minors), of whom 73 were from Redding with the rest being from outlying areas. With the village of Redding being split along political and religious denominational lines, there must have been considerable animosity between neighbors in so small a community, and no doubt many families experienced divided loyalties as well. The Bartlett family, however, was firmly united in support of the American cause.

In addition to verbal assaults on the enemy, the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett supported the war effort by officiating as Military Chaplain to Putnam's Division during their encampment in Redding the winter of 1778/79. His two oldest sons served in the Continental Army: Russell Bartlett (Lineage #5) who enlisted in Danbury in Capt. Noble Benedict's Company, and Daniel Collins Bartlett who enlisted in Redding in Capt. Zalmon Read's Company. One anecdote told about the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett, was that on a Sunday morning at the outbreak of the Revolution, he brought his own sword, newly ground, and presented it to his second son Daniel Collins Bartlett, instructing him to go and defend his country. (The eldest son Russell Bartlett had presumably already left home to serve an indentured apprenticeship, and was living in nearby Danbury, Connecticut at the time, as he enlisted in Danbury not Redding, and also got married there a year later).

The Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett was a teacher as well as a minister, which was a common practice in that era, preparing many young men for higher education. His most noted pupil was the poet Joel Barlow, one of the "Hartford Wits". While attending the village school which the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett taught in Redding, Joel Barlow composed poetry in his free time. Recognizing his talent, the Rev. Nathaniel showed the boy's poems to Joel's father, recommending that a youth with such promise should be prepared for college. Joel's father agreed, and Joel was tutored by the Rev. Nathaniel 1772-1773. Joel Barlow went on to write numerous poems, which were famous in their day. Joel went to France during the French Revolution, and died during Napoleon's disastrous retreat from Russia while serving with the French Army as a special envoy from President James Madison. The Rev. Nathaniel was said to be a fine scholar and an eloquent preacher, who tended to the spiritual and temporal needs of his flock until very near the end of his long productive life. Upon his death, an inventory of his estate revealed assets of around $5,000.00 in value, including a small library of some 24 volumes and 85 pamphlets.

The year 1753 was an important one for the Bartlett family. In addition to becoming pastor at Redding, the Rev. Nathaniel married Eunice (Russell), eldest daughter of Jonathan and Eunice (Barker) Russell of Branford, Connecticut. Eunice (Barker) Russell was the granddaughter of Edward Barker Sr., one of the founders of Branford. Eunice (Russell) Bartlett's uncle, the previously mentioned Rev. Samuel Russell Jr., was pastor at the Congregational Church of North Guilford during the time the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett was growing up there. Her first cousin, Thomas Russell, was born the same year as the Rev. Nathaniel and also graduated from Yale in the class of 1749. It can be presumed therefore, that Eunice (Russell) and the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett became acquainted via the intermediary of these close relatives of hers in North Guilford.

On her father's side, Eunice (Russell) Bartlett's lineage was somewhat noteworthy. Her grandfather was the Rev. Samuel Russell Sr. (Harvard 1681), in whose house in Branford, according to tradition, a group of ministers met in 1701 to donate books for the founding of what was to become Yale University. His father, the Rev. John Russell Jr. (Harvard 1645), was a well known Connecticut Valley minister who founded Hadley, Massachusetts. His main claim to fame, however, was that he hid Major Generals (under Cromwell) William Goffe and Edward Whalley, fugitive members of the English High Court of Justice which condemned and executed England's King Charles I, giving them permanent, clandestine asylum in his house in Hadley when they fled to North America after the restoration of the monarchy. Tradition also has it that these fugitive regicides were also hidden on the property of Governor Leete in Guilford for a few days prior to their arrival in Hadley, and regardless of the truth of this legend, Governor Leete was less than cooperative with Crown authorities sent to Connecticut to investigate the whereabouts of the regicides. Another player in the regicide scenario was the compiler's ancestor John Meigs, who rode his horse from Guilford to New Haven to warn the regicides that the Royal Commissioners were on their way to apprehend them, and that it was time for them to escape. These actions by three of the compiler's ancestors constituted acts of treason against the British Crown a century before our Revolution, and this was the legacy passed down to the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett and his sons.

Also in the busy year 1753, the Rev. Nathaniel and Eunice began construction on a New England salt-box style house in Redding, on 20 acres of land donated by the church, being a common practice of the era. Per the Redding Church Records, the property was deeded over to the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett on 08 June 1753, by Deacon Lemuel Sanford. The Bartlett / Sanford house is still in use today, and is in good condition. In its external appearance, it remains virtually unchanged from how it must originally have looked, except for a wing added on to the east in 1847, and a patio out back. It is located on 10 Cross Highway, just off Route # 107 in Redding Center, directly across from the "Heritage House" senior center- near the site of the original Congregational Church, which burned down on 04 May 1942.

Sometime during the Revolutionary War period or just afterward (judging from their age and style of apparel) the Rev. Nathaniel and Eunice had their portraits painted. The portrait of the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett was reproduced in the work The Revolutionary Soldiers of Redding, Connecticut, by William E. Grumman, which can be found at the Toledo Public Library. In a letter to the compiler, a Sanford descendant indicated that the portraits always hung in the living room of the Bartlett / Sanford House until it was sold out of the family. She also provided photocopies of reproductions of the two paintings made by her aunt. Eunice Bartlett must have loved flowers, as she posed with a rose in her hand. Unfortunately, the writer has been unable to determine the present whereabouts of the original paintings, which likely still exist.

After the deaths of the Rev. Nathaniel and Eunice in 1810, the house was inherited by their youngest son, the Rev. Jonathan Bartlett, the only son who remained in Connecticut. He in turn passed the house down to his nephew by marriage and second cousin on the maternal side, Lemuel Sanford IV. (The Rev. Jonathan Bartlett's first and third wives, Rhoda and Abigail Sanford respectively, were also his first cousins, daughters of Mary (Russell) Sanford, his mother's sister). The Bartlett / Sanford House remained in the Sanford family until being sold to its present owners on 21 May 1969....