John Wiley (1748 - 1829)

Born 1748 in Scotland [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 29 Jan 1829 at about age 81 in New York County, New York, United States

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Biography

Brigade-Major John Wiley served with 1st New York Regiment, Continental Army during the American Revolution.

John "Jack" Wiley was born in 1748^[1], likely in Scotland, to John Wiley and Mary (Tillinghast) Wiley.^[2]

John Wiley was a successful distiller in New York City. "The Wiley family owned the largest distillery in New York City during the years surrounding the Revolutionary War. John Wiley, depicted in this group portrait with his mother and sisters, took over the distillery business after his father’s death and became a successful merchant in his own right, operating a fleet of commercial ships. His older sister, elegantly dressed for the occasion, holds on her arm a tame squirrel– a symbol of her decorum and her suitability for marriage. The younger daughter, like many teenage girls, looks as though she’d rather be anywhere but with her fam​i​ly​.In the distance is a fanciful view of lower Manhattan.The presentation of colonial life as prosperous and idyllic reminds us of how eager the family was to see themselves as old world aristocrats in a new world setting." Portrait is by William Williams, "The Wiley Family, 1771, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum" https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/wiley-family-75442

John "Jack" Wiley also served in the New York Militia in April of 1775 and was commissioned as 1st Lieutenant of the Light Infantry Company in the 1st New York Battalion under Colonel John Lasher on September 14, 1775.^[2] On February 24, 1776 he was commissioned a Captain in the First New York Regiment, Continental Army^[3] and served with distinction in numerous notable battles in various capacities until around 1780, rising to the rank of Brigade-Major (see below). He married Phebe Halstead around 1780.^[2] In 1782 they lived in Essex County, New Jersey, based on a petition John signed.^[4] Wife Phebe died young on October 11, 1795 in Elizabeth, Essex County, New Jersey.^[5] After her death John eventually moved into New York City with son Charles Wiley. Charles died in 1826^[6] and John wrote his own will on September 28, 1827, and it was proved on January 29, 1829, naming as legatees daughter Rebecca Ballard and grandchildren Mary Wiley Ballard and Charles Wiley Ballard.^[7]

Ballard And Allied Families - Wiley
"John Wiley, usually referred to as Major Wiley, had a distinguished record in the War of the Revolution, the details appearing elsewhere in this volume. He was closely associated with General John Lamb, the famous New York artillery officer, and was one of those who met at Lamb's house in 1789 when a mob threatened the General because of some political feeling. Major Wiley is referred to as a relative of the General but this was only in that his uncle, Charles Tillinghast, was the son-in-law of the General. At one time Major Wiley carried to Colonel Alexander Hamilton a challenge to a duel with Colonel Eleazer Oswald. Major Wiley died at his home in New York City, 40 Reade Street, on Thursday, January 29, 1829, aged 81. According to his burial record he was buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery which must have been the yard of the First Presbyterian Church, but the church has no record of him, as many years ago all the bodies were placed in a single grave in the north lawn of the churchyard and there is no list of interments. The will of Major Wiley was dated September 28, 1827, and proved January 29, 1829, in New York City. In it he mentions his daughter Rebecca Ballard and leaves her his mahogany bureau and the large picture of the Wiley family 'now in her possession.' At her death the picture was to go to his granddaughter Mary Wiley Ballard and next to his grandson Charles Wiley Ballard. To Charles Wiley Ballard he also left 'my ancient silver watch as an index of time and a remembrance of his old revolutionary grand father.'"^[2]

Pension File of Major John Wiley
"Dear Mr. [William H.] Wiley: In response to your letter dated the 14th and received the 15th instant, I have the honor to advise you that John Wiley, Sur. File No. 44,223, Rev. War. was allowed a pension of $20 per month from April 1, 1818, on account of the following services in the Revolutionary War. He stated that he was commissioned February 24, 1776, Captain of the sixth company in Colonel Alexander McDougall's regiment, 1st New York Infantry, commonly called "Hairy Caps", was in the battle of Harlem Heights, and covered the American retreat from Long Island and New York, and served until December 1776, when the regiment was broken up; he then accepted an appointment as Captain in Colonel Lamb's regiment of 1st New York State Artillery, but was unable from circumstances to take up his commission; that in the beginning of 1777, he served as Brigade-Major for General McDougall during the absence of Colonel Platt; volunteered in 1778, as Brigade-Major under Colonel Henry Sherburne and was in the battle of Rhode Island; in 1780, was appointed Brigade-Major by Colonel Dayton and was in the battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield, and after that he voluntarily headed the New Jersey Militia against the common enemy; in 1780, he was appointed Commissary of Purchases by Governor and General George Clinton of New York, and served about six months. There are no further particulars of his services. In 1820, he state that he was seventy-two years of age and a resident of NEw York City, and that he had no family residing with him except his son Charles Wiley who was thirty-nine years of age. In 1847 it was stated that soldier died January 29, 1829, and that his daughters Rebecca Ballard and Phoebe L. Osborne survived him. In 1855, John Wiley of New York City, aged forty-six years, claimed to be one of the heirs of the soldier, but did not state their relationship. Very respectfully, J.L. Davenport, Commissioner, Revolutionary War Section, May 22, 1913"^[8]

The same pension file contains a statement by John Wiley that ends with: "lost the most of his property by the depreciation of the Continental money & all his houses, distillery, stables & furniture was burned in the Great Fire at New York to which he returned poor and penniless."^[8]

Excerpt of recollection of Major Wiley by grandson Charles Wiley Ballard:
"My Grandfather, prior to the war, was for those days quite wealthy, owning several small brigs and schooners which brought sugar and molasses to his distillery, and took back to the West Indies 'Old Jamaica' freshly made. What they did with it, you and I are not accountable for. He was well educated —spoke French and German, or Dutch, as well as 'army United States.' He was vastly more patriotic than amiable, loved his friends devotedly, hated his enemies fervently; used a great deal of bad language and 'old Jamaica.' He was an honest man, a brave soldier, a true patriot. I revere his memory. I love the old picture of him more than any property I have, and am proud of being his grandson; and next to the portrait itself, I take pride in the golden eagle, which I am entitled to wear as one of the 'Sons of the Revolution.'"^[2]

Ballard And Allied Families - War Of The Revolution
"One of those to pull down the statue of George III in Bowling Green, New York City. 'John Wiley, a relative of the family (of General John Lamb), a gentleman of well-known courage and resolution; and one who had figured largely in the prostration of the King's statue in the Bowling Green, on the day that the news of the declaration of Independence was received.' (Leake, 334-335.) 'Another of his (General John Lamb) tried associates was John Wiley, to whom he offered a captain's commission, and for some time kept it at his disposal, in hope certain domestic arrangements might be satisfactorily adjusted, so as to enable him to accept it. The estimation in which that gentleman was held by his friends was such, that many young officers were desirous of serving under him.' (Leake, 151.)"^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Newspapers and Periodicals. American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts, Columbian Centinel, Deaths, February 4, 1829, "Wiley, John, Maj. d. in Brooklyn, N.Y. aged 81 yrs."
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} DeForest, Louis Effingham, A.M. "Ballard and Allied Families." New York, NY: Privately Published, 1924; reprinted Higginson Book Company, pp 45-50, 56-59.
3. ↑ New York in the Revolution as colony and state. Albany, N.Y.: J.B. Lyon Company, Printers, 1904, pp 17.
4. ↑ Record Group: Legislature; Series: Petitions, Resolutions, Transactions, Accounts and Miscellaneous Papers, ca. 1700-1845 [New Jersey State Archives]; Call Number: Box 1, Folder 24; Page Number: 1; Family Number: 19.
5. ↑ Arnold, James Newell. Rhode Island Vital Extracts, 1636–1850. 21 volumes. Providence, R.I.: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1891–1912. Digitized images from New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. Vol. 14, Providence Gazette--Deaths, pg 427. "Willey, Mrs. Phebe, wife of Capt. J___ Willey, at Elizabethtown. Gazette of Oct. 24, 1795."
6. ↑ Barber, Gertrude A., comp. Deaths taken from the New York Evening Post. Volumes 1-54. n.p.: n.p., 1933-47. Tuesday, January 10, 1826: "Yesterday, Charles Wiley, 45."
7. ↑ New York, New York County, Wills Volume 063, 1828-1835, pp 27-29,
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files (NARA microfilm publication M804, 2,670 rolls). Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C., "W, Wildes, Benjamin--Wiley, William." John Wiley, Pension File 44223.

https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/wiley-family-75442

• Wheeler, William Ogden. The Ogden Family in America (Printed for Private Circulation by J.B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, 1907) Pages 86, 144