Ebenezer Sheldon (1691 - 1774)

Born 15 Nov 1691 in Deerfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Thankful (Barnard) Sheldon — married 3 Dec 1714 in Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 12 Apr 1774 at age 82 in Bernardston, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Biography

Ebenezer Sheldon was a Massachusettsan.

Ebenezer was born 15 November 1691^[1], in Deerfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. He was the son of John Sheldon and Hannah Stebbins.

On February 29, 1704, twelve-year-old Ebenezer was captured in a French and Indian attack^[2], known as the Deerfield Raid. His mother, Hannah, and three-year-old sister, Mercy, were killed in the attack and he and two siblings, Mary 16, and Remembrance 11, were part of the group of captives who were marched in the winter snow to Canada.

He was taken on as labor by Agathe de Saint-Père^[3] for her textile manufacturing. His father came to Montreal in February of 1705 with John Wells to discuss the exchange of English and French captives. While he was there, his father learnt of Ebenezer's whereabouts and managed to ransom him^[4]. He had been captive for just one year and returned to Deerfield.

Ebenezer married Thankful Barnard on December 3, 1714^[5].

Ebenezer and Thankful Barnard had 10 children according to George Sheldon's History of Deerfield:^[6] The Sheldon Magazine lists 11 children, the additional child being son Caleb.^[7]

1. Ebenezer Sheldon b. Oct 13, 1715, Sergt in French War, selectman, town treasurer 8 years, m. Mary Hoyt, d. April 3, 1787.
2. Remembrance Sheldon b. Oct. 16, 1717, sergt in French war; in charge of Fort in Bernardston in 1758, m. May 28, 1742 Mehitable Burke.
3. Thankful Sheldon Barnard b. Nov. 5, 1719, m. her cousin Joseph Barnard
4. Abner Stebbins Sheldon b. Nov 22, 1721, soldier in French war, d. about 1751, m. March 19, 1745 Lucy Bardwell.
5. Caleb Sheldon, ca 1722-1831^[8]
6. Elisha Sheldon 1723–1757, bap. Nov. 10, 1736; one of Capt. Hoyt. Burke's Rangers; captured at Fort William Henry Aug. 9, 1757; carried to France.
7. Mercy Sheldon b. July 26, 1724, m. 1743 David Hoyt
8. Capt. Amasa Sheldon b. Aug. 27, 1726, soldier in French war, Sergt in charge of Sheldon's Fort 1758-9, captain, selectman, m. Aug. 3, 1747 Sarah Bardwell, d. March 8, 1808.
9. Eliakim Sheldon b. July 15, 1728, shot by Indians while mowing at Bernardston July 15, 1747.
10. Hannah Sheldon Wells b. Aug. 21, 1730, m. May 20, 1751 Col. Samuel Wells
11. Elijah Sheldon b. Nov. 1, 1733, selectman, soldier 1748 in Capt. Burke's Rangers, Capt. at Ft. William Henry 1756, m. about 1759 Anna Denio.

He lived in the 'Old Indian House' in Deerfield and kept a tavern. He sold the property to Jonathan Hoyt in 1744^[9] .

In about 1740, he was one of the founders of Bernardston, or "Fall Town", as it was originally known. A meeting of the Proprietors was held at his house in the town on 17 October 1743. He undertook the building of Sheldon's Fort; he built the Fort for £360 of which the province remitted part of his Expense. He was lieutenant in 1747, with four sons in the service under him. He became a deacon and a leading man in civil and military affairs for many years^[9].

In his old age he was known in Bernardston as an "Old Indian Fighter", having fought against the French and Indians in King George's War and the French and Indian War, losing one son in each^[9].

Rev. Paul Coffin, D. U., in an itinerary of 1760 says he visited Sheldon's Fort in Fall Town, about 3 miles west of the River, where we pass over to Northfield. Father Sheldon was there. He was the only man who tarried here in the war of 1755. The good man received me very kindly. The pious Father, in his Evening Prayer, breathed forth his humble Petitions with such Fervour, and well chosen Texts, as not only rejoiced, but really astonished me.^[9]

He died on 12 April 1774."^[10] and was buried in the Old Burying Ground in Deerfield^[11][12].

Sources

1. ↑ The Stebbins genealogy, by Greenlee, Ralph Stebbins, 1838-; vol I, p Greenlee, Robert Lemuel, 1838-, pub. 1904, Publisher Chicago, Ill. : M.A. Donahue, https://archive.org/stream/stebbinsgenealog01ingree#page/120/mode/2up
2. ↑ A History of Deerfield, Massachusetts: the times when the people by whom it was settled, unsettled and resettled: by Sheldon, George, 1818-1916, Publication date 1895-96, p. 308, https://archive.org/stream/historyofdeerfie01shel_0#page/308/mode/2up
3. ↑ Captors and captives by Evan Haefeli, Publication date 2004, Publisher University of Massachusetts Press, Page 156 https://archive.org/details/captorscaptives100haef/page/156/mode/2up
4. ↑ Captors and captives by Evan Haefeli, Publication date 2004, Publisher University of Massachusetts Press, Page 167 https://archive.org/details/captorscaptives100haef/page/166/mode/2up
5. ↑ Massachusetts Marriages, 1633-1850, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Film # 0760648 & 1887384.
6. ↑ A History of Deerfield, Massachusetts: the times when the people by whom it was settled, unsettled and resettled: by Sheldon, George, 1818-1916, Publication date 1895-96, p. 295, https://archive.org/stream/historyofdeerfie02shel#page/294/mode/2up/search/stebbins
7. ↑ The Sheldon magazine: or, A genealogical list of the Sheldons in America, with biographical and historical notes, and notices of other families with which this intermarried. № 1-4, by Carew Sheldon, p. 4
8. ↑ The Sheldon magazine: or, A genealogical list of the Sheldons in America, with biographical and historical notes, and notices of other families with which this intermarried. № 1-4, by Carew Sheldon, p. 4
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3} A History of Deerfield, Massachusetts: the times when the people by whom it was settled, unsettled and resettled: by Sheldon, George, 1818-1916, Publication date 1895-96, p. 295, https://archive.org/stream/historyofdeerfie02shel#page/294/mode/2up/search/stebbins
10. ↑ The Stebbins genealogy, by Greenlee, Ralph Stebbins, 1838-; vol I, p Greenlee, Robert Lemuel, 1838-, pub. 1904, Publisher Chicago, Ill. : M.A. Donahue, https://archive.org/stream/stebbinsgenealog01ingree#page/120/mode/2up
11. ↑ The Stebbins genealogy, by Greenlee, Ralph Stebbins, 1838-; vol I, p Greenlee, Robert Lemuel, 1838-, pub. 1904, Publisher Chicago, Ill. : M.A. Donahue, https://archive.org/stream/stebbinsgenealog01ingree#page/120/mode/2up
12. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7550312/ebenezer-sheldon : accessed 19 May 2022), memorial page for Ebenezer Sheldon (15 Nov 1691–12 Apr 1774), Find a Grave Memorial ID 7550312, citing Old Cemetery, Bernardston, Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Kevin Avery (contributor 47024642) .

See also:

• A genealogical dict. of the first settlers of New England, showing three generations of those who came before May, 1692. By James Savage. Boston. 1861. (4v.)v.4:70, http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/newengland/savage/bk4/sheldon-shepley.htm
• History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, by L.H. Everts & Co, Pub. 1879, p. 689 https://archive.org/stream/historyofconnect02lhev#page/688/mode/2up
• Sheldon Family Association; https://sheldonfamily.org/
• True stories of New England captives carried to Canada during the old French and Indian wars, by Baker, Charlotte Alice, 1833-1909, Pub. 1897, p. 155-192, https://archive.org/stream/truestoriesofnew00bakeuoft#page/154/mode/2up