John Shotwell (1753 - 1826)

Born 6 Mar 1753 in Middlesex, New Jersey

Ancestors

Husband of Abigail (Shipman) Shotwell — married 17 Sep 1772 in Morris Co., New Jersey

Descendants

Died 9 Dec 1826 at age 73 in Mays Lick, Mason, Kentucky, United States

Biography

John Shotwell is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A104379.

Private John Shotwell served with Eastern Battalion, Morris County Militia, New Jersey Militia during the American Revolution.

John Shotwell was a Revolutionary War patriot/soldier, having served as a private in Col. Seeley's Eastern Regiment, Morris County Militia.^[1]

He was born in 1753. He migrated to Kentucky with his wife Abigail and family from Scotch Plains, New Jersey, around 1780, along with the Drake and Morris families. In the 1890 census John was in Mason County, KY. ^[2]

He prepared a large tract of land at Mays lick, 8 miles from Mason County, in order to move his family and mother there (which was then called Washington, now the seat of Mason county).^[3] In the 1810 census John was shown in Mays Lick, Mason, Kentucky, United States.^[4]

John had a large farm with a large number of slaves, the men doing the farm work and the women doing the housework. He later became the postmaster of Mays Lick and a Mason County magistrate.

John and his wife remained in Mays Lick until their deaths. John died on December 9, 1826,^[5] and Abigail on April 9, 1835.

Sources

Find-A-Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25555222/john-shotwell

1. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 4 March 2022), "Record of John Shotwell", Ancestor # A104379.
2. ↑ Kentucky, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1890: Ancestry.com. Kentucky, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. Original data: Jackson, Ron V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp.. Kentucky Census, 1810-1890. Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes. Ancestry Record 3549 #8727231 Tax list:

   Name:	John Shotwell
   Year:	1790
   Record Type:	Tax list

3. ↑ "Annals of our Colonial Ancestors, Genealogical Register of the Shotwell Family in America Ambrose M Shotwell; 1895. Robert Smith & Co., Printers And Binders, Lansing, Mich.’' pg141-145. Details of this first generation in Mayslick and following generations.
4. ↑ 1810 Census: "United States Census, 1810"
   Citing p. 300, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 7; FHL microfilm 181,352.
   FamilySearch (accessed 4 March 2022)
   FamilySearch Image Image number 00307
   John Shotwell in Mays Lick, Mason, Kentucky, United States.
5. ↑ Death: " Find a Grave, database and images "(https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25555222/john-shotwell : accessed 04 March 2022), memorial page for John Shotwell Jr. (6 Mar 1753–9 Dec 1826), Find A Grave: Memorial #25555222, citing Mays Lick Cemetery, Mays Lick, Mason County, Kentucky, USA ; Maintained by Pam Barns (contributor 46946976) .

   Name:	John Shotwell Jr.
   Birth Date:	6 Mar 1753
   Birth Place:	Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA
   Death Date:	9 Dec 1826
   Death Place:	Mays Lick, Mason County, Kentucky, USA
   Cemetery:	Mays Lick Cemetery

Research Notes

With the exception of Mary Shotwell's journal, much of this Life Sketch was taken from the writings of John Shotwell's grandson, Albert Shotwell of Bowling Green, Missouri. The journal itself, was discovered many years ago in some old papers of Mr. Billy Hixon, Mason County's first librarian. He had planned to write a history of that County, and did have a lot of material. But after he died in 1920 (or maybe earlier), some of it was burned - but Mary's journal survived. Some of the above stories are published in the "Annuls of Our Colonial Ancestors and Their Descendants; or, Our Quaker Forefathers and Their Posterity. Embracing a genealogical and biographical register of nine generations of the Shotwell family in America", Pages 143-144

The lengthy Biography in Shotwell "Annals" describes his birth to Quaker parents, in the Quaker Community around Woodbridge Plainfield MM. It is also clear from family stories that he was an active participant in the Revolutionary War, which suggests he had separated from that religion, and upon removing from New Jersey after the Revolution he was a notable resident in Kentucky and was a prominent member of the Baptist church there.

Ambrose Shotwell collected several lengthy and detailed stories from family sources, about the life of John Shotwell and his wife Abigail. The eldest son of John and Abigail was also named John, 1777-1824, and his son Albert Shotwell, b Dec 8 1811, made a number of substantial and detailed contributions to Ambrose Shotwell, profiling many individual descendants of John and Abigail's family in Mayslick KY and in Missouri.

They were so entertaining and helpful in understanding the time ad location where he lived, that I have attached a pdf page to this profile with the direct excerpts from page 141-142 of the "Annals of our Colonial ancestors". The stories are the perfect illustration of "Annals"

Find-A-Grave: John Shotwell BIRTH 6 Mar 1753 Scotch Plains, Union Co.,NJ DEATH 9 Dec 1826 (aged 73) Mason County, Kentucky BURIAL Mays Lick Cemetery, Mays Lick, Mason Co., KY Parents: John Shotwell 1727–1757 Spouse: Abigail Shipman Shotwell 1754–1835