Silas Constant (1750 - 1825)

Born 15 Jan 1750 in Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Amy (Lewis) Constant — married 1769 (to 4 Jan 1805) in Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut

Died 22 Mar 1825 at age 75 in Yorktown, Westchester, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Randy Beebe [send private message]

Biography

Silas Constant, son of Col Joseph Constant, an officer of the French army, and Susan Terrell was born ^[1] 15 Jan 1750 in Waterbury, New Haven, CT. Both of his parents perished when he was a baby and his mother bequeathed him to the care of her sister. The ensuing course of events is unclear, but for some reason, Silas Constant came to be under the care of Lt. Jonathan Beebe and his wife Hanna Lewis Beebe, even to the point where the birth record of Silas Constant logged in the Barbour Waterbury Vital records ^[1] is listed under Jonathan Beebe. ^[2]

End of Biography.

Genealogical Records

The following section of this profile provides detailed information found in the collected information sources. The purpose of this section is to provide the reader access to the information contained within the cited sources; to examine the genealogical record for areas of data agreement and conflict, hence to identify the origin of potential data errors; and to establish a hierarchy of reliability for the cited information. In addition, this section provides a platform to analyze, cross-correlate, and comment on important aspects of the cited historical data record.

Birth Records

• Primary Source, Waterbury Vital Records 1686-1853 from The Barbour Collection ^[1]

1. ) Silas Constant Beebe son of Lieut. Jonathan Beebe was born 15 Jan 1750 at Waterbury, Connecticut. {Editorial the Barbour text seems to indicate that Silas Constant may have used the Beebe surname; but other sources ^[2] are very clear that though Silas Constant was under the care of Jonathan Beebe, he was clearly fostered rather than adopted as he did not acquire the Beebe surname, nor did he use the Beebe surname in his adult life, best illustrated by his Journal ^[3].}

Marriage Records

• Primary Source, U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930 ^[4] : Data Summary:

1. ) Rev Silas Constant married Jane Robinson in 1808. From the 3 Sep 1808 New York Weekly Museum newspaper.

Death Records

• Primary Source, (burial); Tertiary Source (biography), Find A Grave Index ^[5]: Data Summary:

1. ) Rev. Silas Constant, husband of Amy (Lewis) Constant (1751–1805), was born 15 Jan 1750 at Waterbury, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA and he died 22 Mar 1825 (aged 75) at Yorktown Heights, Westchester County, New York, USA
   1. ) BURIAL. Rev. Silas Constant is buried in the East-Yard Cemetery at Yorktown, Westchester County, New York, USA
   2. ) Second marriage, Rev Silas Constant married second, Jane Robinson (1748–1831)
      1. ) Children:
         1. ) Joseph Constant (unknown–1819)
         2. ) St. John Constant (1770–1847)
         3. ) Chloe (Constant) Hyatt (1776–1853)
         4. ) Sarah (Constant) White (1785–1806)
   3. ) Find A Grave Biography:
      1. ) Rev Silas Constant brought about the great split in the congregation of the First Presbyterian Church in 1806 when the church adopted a congregational form of government. A large group followed Rev Silas Constant to form a new church which was located where the East Yard Cemetery on Granite Springs Road is located. They met in the Manse, established their own cemetery and it wasn't until 1865, 60 years later did the rift heal. Rev Constant's first wife Amy (dec 1805) is buried alone in the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery, and he is buried in the East Yard with his second wife Jane (Dec Jan 4 1831). In 1865 the two cemeteries were joined under the administration of the Crompond Road church
      2. ) From the forward to His Diary: Mr. Constant's diary is a curious study. He chronicled so many unimportant, petty details of his daily life, and yet made no mention of the historic fact of the first inauguration of President Washington, although he was in New York City preaching at that date. It is a simple record of twenty years of patient toil in the service of the Master, and has a pathetic interest, quite apart from its value genealogically. The weary miles he rode in snow and heat, over wretched roads, sometimes so ill he could scarcely sit on his horse, and his gentle summing up of his own shortcomings, at the beginning of each year, bring his goodness and unselfishness so vividly before us, that it would be difficult to read the Journal through without adding after the name. Reverend Silas Constant, the title, "A soldier of Christ." Emily Warren Roebling 1909
         1. ) The Journal of Silas Constant is available online. ^[3]

Biographic and Genealogical References

• Secondary Source, The Town and City of Waterbury, Connecticut, From the Aboriginal Period to the Year Eighteen Hundred and Ninety-Five, ^[2]: Data extract from Anderson for Silas Constant:

1. ) Page Ap16. Silas Constant, son of Lt. Jonathan Beebe was born 15 Jan 1750.
2. ) AP39 Silas Constant married Amy Lewis daughter of John and died at Yorktown, NY on 22 March 1825. He was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church.
3. ) AP84 Silas Constant married Ame Lewis, daughter of John Lewis and his second wife Ame Smith. Ame, his wife was born 24 May 1751.
4. ) Ap162 & Ap163 Note the following is copied verbatum from the original public domain text:
   1. ) Rev Silas Constant is said to have been "son of Col Joseph Constant, an officer of the French army, who m. in March 1849, Susan Terrell, daughter of Elijah of Salem, Mass (?) Soon after this marriage, Col. Constant sailed for France to arrange his affairs. The vessel on which he sailed was never heard from, and Mrs. Constant died soon after the birth of Silas in Waterbury, bequeathing him to the care of her sister, who had married a Beebe." Although Silas Constant's name appears frequently on our records, and his birth is recorded with the family of Jonathan Beebe, there is no hint of his relationship to the family. Beebe's will--which he did not sign--gives "to Silas Constant £50 when he becomes of age." No Elijah Terrell has been found at Salem or Waterbury. It is said "he married in 1770 Amy Lewis his second Cousin." Mrs Jonathan Beebe and John Lewis were second cousins. After his thirtieth year, he became a minister. He probably studied under the direction of Rev. Jacob Green of Hanover, N. J., and was ordained May 29, 1783. He preached in various places in New Jersey, until Nov. 8, 1785, when he removed to Yorktown, and remained pastor of the Presbyterian Church for nearly 40 years.

*Primary Source, Constant, Silas, The Journal of Reverend Silas Constant^[3] Source Extraction:

1. ) Page xiv "As already stated, Mr. Constant married (i) Amy Lewis, the eldest daughter of Captain John Lewis, by his second wife Ame, daughter of Captain Samuel Smith, of New Haven, born at Salem in Waterbury, 24 May, 1751 ; died at Yorktown, 4 January, 1805, and was buried in the Presbyterian church-yard. He married (2) Mrs. Jane D. Robinson, born 2 October, 1748; died 4 January, 1830; by whom he had no issue, and who is buried beside her husband in the Congregational church-yard, now known as the east yard of the Presbyterian Church of Yorktown. "
2. ) Page xv Children of Reverend Silas and Amy (Lewis) Constant:
   1. ) St. John Constant, born at Waterbury, Connecticut, 7 May, 1770; died at Peekskill, New York, 13 February, 1847. He married, 2 July, 1792, Jane, daughter of Nathaniel Hyatt, born at Yorktown, 22 February, 1770, and died 3 April, 1817. Both husband and wife are buried in the Van Cortlandt Cemetery at Peekskill.
   2. ) Joseph Constant, born at Waterbury, 7 October, 1773; died 25 August, 1819. He was an officer in the United States army, colonel at the battle of New Orleans, and was also sheriflf of the county of New York; married Eliza Ackley, and had son Joseph Anthony Constant, and a daughter who married Mr. Kuphausen, of Philadelphia.
   3. ) Chloe Constant, born 7 July, 1776, probably in the town of Waterbury, and died at Yorktown, 28 April, 1853; married, 17 May, 1792, David Hyatt, born 4 September, 1769; died 4 May, 1844.
   4. ) Sally Constant, born probably at Oxford, Orange County, New York, 8 September, 1785, and died at Yorktown, New York, 20 June, 1806; married, 20 March, 1805, Dr. Henry White. Two gravestones mark the date of Mrs. White's death, one in the Presbyterian church-yard and the other in the east yard.

• Secondary Source, Clarence Beebe in his book Monograph of the Descent of the Family of Beebe ^[6] cites Silas Beebe in profile (230). Data summary;

1. ) Page 40. Silas Beebe (230), son of Jonathan Beebe and Hannah Lewis was born in Waterbury, Ct. 1750. Married Polly Stephens. {Editorial: Clarence does not denote Silas to be Silas Constant. No supporting documentation has been found to support the assertion of marriage to Polly Stephens.}

• Secondary Source, Clifford Beebe, Genealogy of the Family of Beebe, ^[7] Data Extract:

1. ) Page21. Jonathan Beebe and Hannah Lewis were the parent of Silas Constant Beebe.
2. ) Page 48. Vital data: Silas Constant Beebe (158) was born 15 Jan 1750 at Waterbury, Conn. {Editorial, other sources show that Silas Constant did NOT use the BEEBE surname in his adult life}
   1. ) Marriage. None Cited.
      1. ) Children. None Cited.
   2. ) Biography. He is said to have been the adopted son of the family, and to have been a nephew to Hannah Lewis, Jonathan Beebe's wife.

Research Notes

1. ) From Mysterious Beebes of VT: Silas (b. 1750) married Polly Stephens. This is likely Silas Constant. No Source info. {Incorrect, Polly was the second wife of Silas Beebe son of Zera}
2. ) 2021-11-19 Silas Beebe (1750-1850) is a duplicate and need to be merged.
3. ) The following definitions and syntax conventions apply to the preceding text of this profile:
   1. ) A Primary Source contains data that was recorded by the person in the profile; or by someone known to or with first hand knowledge of that person, during the person's lifetime, death or within two generations thereafter.
   2. ) A Secondary Source is a genealogical reference created as the result of a extensive study of available source material and it provides some evidence of the source documentation used to generate the text data.
   3. ) A Tertiary Source is a genealogical data source which is a collection of genealogical information that does not cite Primary or Secondary information sources, and the data may be factual or hearsay.
   4. ) Braces {Editorial Note Example} are used to insert editorial comments; that is to say, information or clarification that is not contained in the original, cited source material.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Waterbury Vital Records 1686-1853 from The Barbour Collection, Ancestry.com. Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) database on-line. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. White, Lorraine Cook, ed. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Edited by Joseph Anderson, D. D., The Town and City of Waterbury, Connecticut, From the Aboriginal Period to the Year Eighteen Hundred and Ninety-Five., New Haven, The Price & Lee Company, 1896, page Ap15 {Appendix page 15}, Ap39, Ap84, and Ap162. Beebe's of Waterbury CT.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Roebling, Emily Warren, The Journal of Reverend Silas Constant, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Yorktown, New York. Transcribed by Emily Warren Roebling, Printed for Private Circulation by J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, 1903.
4. ↑ U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930 Ancestry.com. U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930 database on-line. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Rev Silas Constant marriage record
5. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVKG-X6W1 : 13 December 2015), Silas Constant, 1825; Burial, Yorktown, Westchester, New York, United States of America, East-Yard Cemetery; citing record ID 51350333, Find a Grave, Beebe burial record and tombstone photo
6. ↑ Beebe, Clarence, Monograph of the Descent of the Family of Beebe, from the earliest known immigrant--John, of Broughton, England, 1650, compiled and edited by Clarence Beebe, 150 Nassau Street, New York,1904; Profile (230), page 40. Clarence Beebe Genealogy online -Title Page
7. ↑ Beebe, Clifford, Genealogy of the Family of Beebe From the Earliest Known Immigrant John Beebe of Broughton, England, Higginson Book Co., 10 Colonial Road, Salem MA 01970. 1991.

Other Sources

The following section provides a listing of source material that is pertinent to the profile subject, but not presently cited in the narrative text of the profile.

• "United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHK5-KRQ : accessed 17 August 2018), Rev'D Silas Constant, York, Westchester, New York, United States; citing p. 210, NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 6; FHL microfilm 568,146.

• "United States Census, 1800," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH5B-YMM : accessed 17 August 2018), Silas Constant, North Salem and York, Westchester, New York, United States; citing p. 32, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 27; FHL microfilm 193,715.

• "United States Census, 1810," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH2Z-RRL : accessed 17 August 2018), Silas Constant, Yorktown, Westchester, New York, United States; citing p. 1019, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 37; FHL microfilm 181,391.

• "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHLD-JKC : accessed 17 August 2018), Silas Constant, Yorktown, Westchester, New York, United States; citing p. 340, NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 75; FHL microfilm 193,730.

• Wills and Letters, 1777-1983; Author: Westchester County (New York). Surrogate's Court; Probate Place: Westchester, New York. Ancestry.com. New York, Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999 database on-line. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Last Will and Testament of Silas Constant