Loammi Baldwin (abt. 1745 - 1807)

Born about 10 Jan 1745 in Woburn, Middlesex, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Fowle) Baldwin — married 9 Jul 1772 (to 29 Sep 1786) in Woburn, Middlesex, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Husband of Margery (Fowle) Baldwin — married 26 May 1791 (to 8 Aug 1799) in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States

Descendants

Died 20 Oct 1807 at about age 62 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

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Loammi Baldwin is Notable.

Birth & Early Life

Loammi Baldwin, the son of James Baldwin and Ruth Richardson, was born in North Woburn, Massachusetts, then known as "New Bridge." Woburn records cite a birth date of January 10, 1744. Samuel Sewall, author of History of Woburn, in his own transcription of early town records, appears to cite January 10, 1744-5 ("10th. January 1744 [1744-5?]"). And Sewall wrote in History of Woburn that the date should be interpreted as "January 10, 1744, O.S. or January 21, 1744-5 N.S." The Woburn Historical Society, on the Pedestal of Baldwin's hometown statue, has decided to use "January 21, 1745 N.S." as his birth date, as this is the "New Style Gregorian" date, which also added 11 days.^[1][2][3][4]

He was, as a young man, a friend and schoolmate of his second cousin, once removed, Benjamin Thompson (later known as Count Rumford). They were accustomed to walk to school together from North Woburn to Cambridge to attend the lectures of Professor Winthrop. They fought on different sides during the Revolution, but renewed their friendship through correspondence after the war.^[4][5]

Marriages & Children

On July 9, 1772, he married, in Woburn, Mary Fowle, also of Woburn, daughter of James Fowle, Esq., Town Clerk of Woburn. They had five children, all born in Woburn:^[6][7]

1. Cyrus Baldwin, born June 22, 1773; agent of Middlesex Canal Company, res. Chelmsford, Massachusetts; married, April 28, 1799, Elizabeth Varnum, of Dracut.^[8][9][10]
2. Mary Baldwin, born April 24, 1775; died May 15, 1776, of scarlet fever, aged 1.^[11][12][13]
3. Benjamin Franklin Baldwin, born December 15, 1777; married, May 1, 1808, Mary "Polly" Carter Coolidge; died October 11, 1821, while returning to Woburn from the cattle show in Brighton, Massachusetts.^{[14][15][16][17][18]}
4. Loammi Baldwin, Jr., born May 16, 1780; became a civil engineer; married, intention May 5, 1816, Annie Williams of Boston; died 1838.^[19][20][21]
5. James Fowle Baldwin, born April 29, 1782; member, Massachusetts Senate, res. Boston; married, July 30, 1818, Sarah Pitkin; died May 20, 1862.^{[22][23][24][25]}

His first wife Mary died on September 29, 1786, at the age of 39.^[26][27]

He married second, in Woburn, on May 26, 1791, Margery (or Margaret) Fowle, also of Woburn, daughter of Josiah Fowle. They had two children, both born in Woburn:^[28][29]

1. Clarissa Baldwin, born December 31, 1791; married, January 20, 1812, Thomas B. Coolidge, of Hallowell.^[30][31][32]
2. George Rumford Baldwin, born January 26, 1798; married, November 19, 1837, Catharine R. Beckford of Charlestown; died October 12, 1888.^{[33][34][35][36]}

His second wife Margery died on August 8, 1799.^[37][38]

Death & Burial

Colonel Loammi Baldwin died in Woburn on October 20, 1807, at the age of 62. He was buried at the First Burial Ground in Woburn, where an obelisk bearing his epitaph reads, "To the Memory of the Hon. Loammi Baldwin Who died Oct. 20'th 1807 Æt. 63. Erected by his children."^[3][39][40]

Col. Loammi Baldwin's Burial Obelisk

Revolutionary War Service

Colonel Loammi Baldwin served with 26th Continental Regiment, Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Loammi Baldwin is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A005316.

Loammi Baldwin is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: P-107679
Rank: Colonel

Loammi Baldwin was a Major in the 2nd Middlesex Co., Col. David Green's Regt., in service of the alarm of April 19, 1775, at Lexington and Concord. Soon after, he enlisted with Col. Samuel Garrish's Regt., rapidly advancing to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. When Col. Garrish retired from the army in August, 1775, Loammi was given command of the regiment, and later promoted to full Colonel. His regiment was originally the 38th, and consisted of eight companies, all of them stationed around Boston: four at Sewall's Point, Brookline, three at Chelsea, and one (Capt. Wood's company of Woburn) at Medford. In a reorganization of the army near the end of 1775, his regiment was increased to ten companies and became the 26th Continental Regiment.^[41][42][43]

Col. Baldwin remained near Boston until the end of 1775, but in April, 1776, he followed Gen. Washington to New York City, where on June 22, he was at the "Grand Battery" in command of the "Main Guard." On September 14, 1776, Washington, when confronted with a superior number of enemy troops, evacuated New York City. And when Washington retreated to the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River on about December 8, Col. Baldwin and his men followed him. Then, on the extremely cold and snowy night of December 25, 1776, Col. Baldwin and his troops again followed Washington when he recrossed the Delaware to the New Jersey side. The next morning at Trenton they surprised about 1000 Hessian troops commanded by Col. Johan Rall. Washington emerged victorious, dealing a huge blow to the British, and lifting the American cause and spirit.^[41]

Col. Baldwin was honorably discharged from the Continental Army in 1777, for health reasons.^[41]

Col. Loammi Baldwin's complete Revolutionary War record follows:

BALDWIN, LOAMMI, Woburn. 1st Major, Col. David Green's (2d Middlesex Co.) regt.; service on the alarm of April 19, 1775, 30 days; also, list of officers dated Cambridge,May 11, 1775; returned as serving on picket guard; also, Lieutenant Colonel, Col. Samuel Gerrish's regt.; engaged May 19,1775; service, 2 mos.13 days; also, Major; list of officers dated Cambridge, May 23, 1775; returned as serving on picket guard; also, lists of officers dated Cambridge, May 18 and 31, 1775, returned as performing fatigue duty; also, Lieutenant Colonel; list of officers dated July 2,1775, returned as serving on main guard; also, list of officers dated Camp at Prospect Hill, July 15, 1775, returned as serving on main guard; also, return for wages for Aug., 1775; also, petition dated Cambridge, Oct. 20,1775, signed by said Baldwin, asking for commissions for officers in his regiment; also, leave of absence dated Camp at Cambridge, Dec. 8, 1775; 3 days absence afterwards extended to 6 days; allowed by Gen. Heath; also, Col. Gerrish's (38th) regt.; pay abstract for rations from July 1 to Dec. 31, 1775, dated Chelsea; also, Colonel, 26th regt.; pay abstract for rations from Jan. 1 to April 1, 1776, dated New York; also, receipt for firearms dated Cambridge, April 1, 1776; also, receipt for muskets dated Peekskill, Dec. 2, 1776; also, letter delivered at Morristown asking an interview with Gen. Lee dated Camp at Chatham, Dec. 10, 1776; also, receipt for firearms dated Trenton, Jan. 1, 1777; also, order for money taken at Trenton, dated Chatham, Jan. 12,1777; also, return for mileage, etc., for the year 1776, dated Rowley; also,order for wages dated Wenham, Sept.1,1779. — Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War. ^[42]

Also Known For

The Baldwin Apple Monument

Baldwin is known as the Father of American Civil Engineering. His five sons, Cyrus Baldwin (1773–1854), Benjamin Franklin Baldwin (1777–1821), Loammi Baldwin, Jr. (1780–1834), James Fowle Baldwin (1782–1862), and George Rumford Baldwin (1798–1888) were also well-known engineers. He surveyed and was responsible for the construction of the Middlesex Canal, but today he is perhaps best remembered for the Baldwin apple which he developed at his farm, or rather he recognized its potential and propagated it throughout the northeast. The apple had been discovered on the farm of John Ball in Wilmington, Massachusetts, around 1750, and named Woodpecker by a later owner of the farm. Colonel Baldwin's promotion of the apple occurred after 1784. He was also a surveyor and plantation co-owner in Hartford, Maine, which at that time was known as East Butterfield. (Source: The Apples of NY (1905), and Lorraine Parsons in Hartford, Maine).

Sources

1. ↑ Johnson, Edward. Woburn Record of Births, Deaths and Marriages - From 1640 to 1873. Woburn, Mass: Drews, Cutler & Co., Steam Book and Job Printers, 1899. PART I. BIRTHS. Page 15. Citing: "BALDWIN, Loammi, s. of James and Ruth, Jan. 10, 1744."
2. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F4V2-KHL : 3 November 2017), Loammi Baldwin, 10 Jan 1744; citing Birth, Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 859,998. (Transcribed by Samuel Sewall, of Burlington, MA)
   Transcript of Image (Page 108): "Baldwin - Loammi [son] of James and Ruth Baldwin [born] y^e. 10th. January 1744 [1744-5?]."
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 16 July 2018), memorial page for Loammi Baldwin (10 Jan 1745–20 Oct 1807), Find A Grave: Memorial #1478, citing First Burial Ground, Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Sewall, Samuel. The History of Woburn, Middlesex County, Mass. From The Grant of Its Territory To Charlestown, In 1640, To The Year 1860. Boston: Wiggin And Lunt, Publishers, 1868. Page 385. Citing: "He was born at "New Bridge" (North Woburn) on January 10, 1744, O.S. or January 21, 1744-5 N.S."
5. ↑ University of Michigan Library, Loammi Baldwin and Loammi Baldwin, Jr. papers (1662-1864, bulk 1785-1835). Citing: "Baldwin was a boyhood friend and later correspondent of Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford."
6. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART III. MARRIAGES. Page 17. Citing: "Loammi Baldwin and Mary Fowle, both of Woburn, July 9, 1772."
7. ↑ Sewall, History of Woburn: Page 389. Citing: "Col. Baldwin’s first wife was Mary, daughter of James Fowle, Esq.; for many years Town Clerk of Woburn."
8. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART I. BIRTHS. Page 15. Citing: "BALDWIN, Cyrus, s. Loammi and Mary, June 22, 1773."
9. ↑ "Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910, 1921-1924", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCWL-ZBS : 28 July 2021), Cyrus Baldwin, 28 Apr 1799.
10. ↑ Sewall, History of Woburn: Page 389. Citing: "1. Cyrus, for many years the respected agent of the Middlesex Canal Company, residing at the head of the canal in Chelmsford."
11. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART I. BIRTHS. Page 15. Citing: "BALDWIN, Mary, d. Loammi and Mary, April 24, 1775."
12. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART II. DEATHS. Page 10. Citing: "BALDWIN, Mary, d. Col. Loammi, May 15, 1776."
13. ↑ Sewall, History of Woburn: Page 389. Citing: "2. Mary, who died young, of scarlet fever, May 13, 1776, when her father was absent in the war."
14. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART I. BIRTHS. Page 15. Citing: "BALDWIN, Franklin, s. Loammi and Mary, Dec. 15, 1777."
15. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART III. MARRIAGES. Page 17. Citing: "Maj. Benjamin F. Baldwin and Polly C. Coolidge, both of Woburn, May 1, 1808.
16. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHSD-7FM : 20 May 2022), Majr. Benjn. Franklin Baldwin, 1 May 1808; citing Marriage, Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009580.
17. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART II. DEATHS. Page 10. Citing: "BALDWIN, Col. Benjamin Franklin, s. of _____, Oct. 11, 1821; 43 y."
18. ↑ Sewall, History of Woburn: Page 389. Citing: "3. Benjamin Franklin, Esq., who died suddenly October 1821, as he was on his return to Woburn from the cattle show in Brighton."
19. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART I. BIRTHS. Page 15. Citing: "BALDWIN, Loammi, s. Col. Loammi and Mary, May 16, 1780."
20. ↑ Sewall, History of Woburn: Page 389. Citing: "4. Loammi, Esq, born in 1780, graduated at Harvard University, 1800, a well known and highly respected civil engineer; died in 1838."
21. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPZ2-54P5 : 11 May 2022), Loammi Baldwin and Annie Williams, 5 May 1816; citing Marriage, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009826.
22. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART I. BIRTHS. Page 15. Citing: "BALDWIN, James Fowle, s. Col. Loammi and Mary, April 29, 1782."
23. ↑ Sewall, History of Woburn: Page 389. Citing: "5. Hon. James Fowle, born in 1782; settled in Boston as a merchant; sometime member of the Senate of Massachusetts, for the County of Suffolk; and prominent among the Commissioners for introducing pure water into Boston from the lake Cochituate. He died after a very short illness, May 20, 1862."
24. ↑ "Connecticut Marriages, 1630-1997", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F759-88H : 22 July 2021), Jas. F. Baldwin, 30 Jul 1818.
25. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHQR-WMQ : 10 November 2020), James F. Baldwin, 20 May 1862; citing Death, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004273920.
26. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART II. DEATHS. Page 10. Citing: "BALDWIN, Mary, wife of Loammi, Esq., Sept. 29, 1786; 39 y."
27. ↑ Sewall, History of Woburn: Page 389. Citing: "Col. Baldwin’s first wife, Mary, dying September 27, 1786"
28. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART III. MARRIAGES. Page 17. Citing: "Loammi Baldwin, Esq., and Miss Margery Fowle, both of Woburn, May 26, 1791."
29. ↑ Sewall, History of Woburn: Page 389. Citing: "he married for his second wife, Margaret, daughter of Josiah Fowle, of Woburn."
30. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART I. BIRTHS: Page 15. Citing: "BALDWIN, Clarissa, d. of Col. Loammi and Margery, Dec. 31, 1791."
31. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART III. MARRIAGES. Page 17. Citing: "Miss. Clarissa Baldwin, of Woburn and Thomas B. Coolidge of Hallowell, Jan. 20, 1812."
32. ↑ Sewall, History of Woburn: Page 389. Citing: "1. Clarissa, wife of Thomas B. Coolidge."
33. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART I. BIRTHS: Page 15. Citing: "BALDWIN, George Rumford, s. of Col. Loammi and Margery, Jan. 26, 1798."
34. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHS8-ZLS : 20 May 2022), George R. Baldwin, 19 Nov 1837; citing Marriage, Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009580.
35. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151177928/george-rumford-baldwin: accessed 02 November 2022), memorial page for George Rumford Baldwin (26 Jan 1798–12 Oct 1888), Find A Grave: Memorial #151177928, citing Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA; Maintained by pstott (contributor 47527072).
36. ↑ Sewall, History of Woburn: Page 389. Citing: "2. George R., born in 1798, and now (1867) the only surviving child of Col. Loammi Baldwin. He is still the proprietor of the original farm of his ancestors, and the occupant of the spacious mansion of his father."
37. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART II. DEATHS. Page 10. Citing: "BALDWIN, Margery, wife of Col. Loammi, Aug. 8, 1799."
38. ↑ Sewall, History of Woburn: Page 389. Citing: "Col. Baldwin’s second Wife, Margaret, died August 8,1799."
39. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART II. DEATHS. Page 10. Citing; "BALDWIN, Hon. Loammi, s. of ____, Oct. 20, 1807 ; 63 y."
40. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART II. DEATHS. EPITAPHS, FIRST BURIAL-GROUND. Page 56*. Citing: "(267.) '[Marble tablet on granite obelisk.] 'To the Memory of the Hon. Loammi Baldwin Who died Oct. 20'th 1807 Æt. 63. Erected by his children.'"
41. ↑ ^{41.0 41.1 41.2} Sewall, History of Woburn: Page 386-387. Citing: Revolutionary War Service.
42. ↑ ^{42.0 42.1} Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War (Wright & Potter Printing Co., Boston, 1896). Vol 1 (1896) A-Ber. Pages 521. Citing: "Baldwin, Loammi Woburn"
43. ↑ Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution

See also:

• Thompson, Rev. Leander. The Baldwin Apple. New Hampshire Architecture. Seventeenth Annual Report of the Board of Agriculture. From May 1, 1887, to May 1, 1888. (John B. Clarke, Manchester, 1888).

• David Hackett Fischer, Paul Revere's Ride (1994), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508847-6, pg. 141, 158, 224-227, 288.
• David Hackett Fischer, Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History) New York, Oxford University Press, (2004) ISBN 0-19-517034-2, pg 110.

• The Massachusetts Magazine (Salem, Mass., 1908-1918); Vol. 4, No. 4, p. 228

• Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org($). New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. Digitized images provided by FamilySearch.org); Case #847, Loammi Baldwin, 1807 ($)

• Beach, S. A. (Spencer Ambrose), 1860-1922, The Apples of New York, Series: Report (New York Agricultural Experiment Station : 1903), 2 , pg 56-60. (accessed 14 Sep 2022).

• Harvard, Houghton Library, Loammi Baldwin papers. (accessed 14 Sep 2022).

• Loammi Baldwin and Loammi Baldwin, Jr. papers (1662-1864, bulk 1785-1835), Collection processed and finding aid created by Clements Staff, Manuscripts Division, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan, , (accessed 14 Sep 2022).

• George Washington Papers, Series 4, General Correspondence: Loammi Baldwin to George Washington. 16 Aug 1775. Manuscript/Mixed Material.

• Founders Online, National Archives. To George Washington from Lieutenant Colonel Loammi Baldwin, 6 August 1775. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 1, 16 June 1775 – 15 September 1775, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1985, pp. 250–252.] See also: List of Letters.

• Maine Memory Network. Loammi Baldwin of Woburn, Massachusetts, wrote to Ruth Simonds Thompson Pierce (1730-1811) of Flintstown (Baldwin), copying for her a letter from Count Rumford, who was in Britain. Rumford sent some bills for Mrs. Pierce, his mother. Count Rumford, Benjamin Thompson Jr., was a friend of Baldwin. Ruth Pierce also was the mother of Josiah Pierce (1756-1830) with whom she lived in Flintstown. Baldwin and Pierce were business partners. Rumford, a loyalist, moved to Britain after the American Revolution. (accessed 08 Apr 2022).

• Letter from Loammi Baldwin Describing the March from White Plains, NY to near Trenton, NJ, Dec. 21, 1776. (accessed 08 Apr 2022). "I saw one of Mr. Ebenezer Richardson's sons since I have been upon this march and he was well" Ebenezer Richardson Sr. (1724-1808)?

• Vose, George Leonard. A Sketch of the Life and Works of Loammi Baldwin: Civil Engineer, Read Before the Boston Society of Civil Engineers, Sept. 16, 1885. (United States: Press of G.H. Ellis, 1885). (accessed 08 Apr 2022).

• Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator. Colonel Loammi Baldwin Mansion, Elm Street, Woburn, Middlesex County, MA. Woburn Massachusetts Middlesex County, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. Photographs. (accessed 12 Sep 2022).

• Heitman, Francis Bernard. Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution (W.H. Lowdermilk & Co., Washington, DC, 1893); p. 24, p. 83.

• Wikipedia contributors, Loammi_Baldwin. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. (accessed 14 Sep 2022).
• Wikidata: Item Q3307417, en:Wikipedia .
• Wikipedia contributors, Battle of Trenton. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. (accessed 14 Sep 2022).
• Wikipedia contributors, Baldwin House (Baldwin Mansion). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. (accessed 14 Sep 2022).
• Wikipedia contributors, The Baldwin Apple. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. (accessed 14 Sep 2022).
• Wikipedia contributors, New York and New Jersey Campaign. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. (accessed 14 Sep 2022).
• Wikipedia contributors, Battle of Pell's Point. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (accessed 9 Sep 2022).