Elijah Humphrey (1747 - 1788)

Born 20 Sep 1747 in Simsbury, Hartford, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Chloe (Wilcockson) Humphrey — married 1772 in Hartford, Connecticut Colony

Descendants

Died 3 Jul 1788 at age 40 in At sea West Indies

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Biography

Sea Capt. Elijah Humphrey served with 6th Connecticut Regiment (1777), Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Elijah was born in 1741. He is the son of Ezekial Humphrey and Elizabeth Pettibone.

Elijah Humphrey was a sea captain who engaged in merchant service in the Atlantic waters between New London, Connecticut, and the West Indies. When the Connecticut General Assembly issued its call for volunteer militia men to march to the relief of Boston in July 1775, Elijah enlisted as a private in the 8th Connecticut Regiment under Colonel Huntington, Captain John Ripley’s 10th Company. He served first on Long Island and after September 1775 at Roxbury, Massachusetts, until his term expired in December 1775 [RSCMR, 90]. He enlisted again in 1777, this time receiving a commission as Captain, Colonel William Douglas's 6th Regiment, Connecticut Line, which was engaged in much of the action on the Hudson highlands; in 1778 it encamped at White Plains, New York, under General George Washington, and in 1780 it was ordered with other troops to repair to West Point in anticipation of an enemy advance expected to result from Benedict's Arnold treason [ibid., 206]. In 1781 the 6th Connecticut Regiment was retired in a general consolidation of army groups and Elijah Humphrey retired from the Continental Line; but he became a Major Commander in General David Waterbury’s 12th State Brigade [ibid., 564]

In the spring of 1782, Capt Elijah Humphrey embarked on a different and dangerous expedition, this time through the unexplored wilderness west of the Hudson River, where treacherous Indians still roamed at will. He planned a journey by water to Detroit for the purpose of trading merchandise and purchasing furs from the Indians. Captain Humphrey, with one interpreter and sixteen other men, left New London early in May, taking with them in four small boats merchandise, clothing, and provisions for the journey.

After coasting up Long Island Sound from New London to New York, they went up the Hudson to the Mohawk River, up the Mohawk to Wood Creek, up that creek to Oneida Lake, through the lake to the Oneida River, down that stream to the Oswego River and down that river to Lake Ontario, up the lake to the Niagara River, and up that river to a point just below Niagara Falls. Here they disembarked and carried their boats and merchandise by land for several miles around and above Niagara Falls, until they finally embarked for the long journey across Lake Erie to Detroit, Michigan. They arrived safely in July and spent two months trading and purchasing furs. "In September they parted from the redskins on the most friendly terms and set sail for their old home in Connecticut, where, after many hardships and privations, they arrived late in the fall of 1782 and were received with joyful manifestations and congratulations for having successfully accomplished a most daring and hazardous undertaking." [Harry Humphrey to this son, George Willmot Humphrey, in Humphreys, 337.]

In 1788 Captain Elijah Humphrey, as he was most commonly known, was lost at sea with all onboard-his ship, while in the midst of a terrific storm, having been sighted by a vessel which arrived in New London forty-eight hours after Elijah’s ship had left port. It was his third shipwreck.

In relating the events of one of his former disasters to his sister Lydia, Elijah wrote:. . . A circumstance occurred which undoubtedly prolonged our lives and saved us from starvation until the twelfth day, when we were sighted and picked up by a vessel bound for Spain. We had now been drifting about at the mercy of the winds for about eight days without provisions, they having been lost in the storm which carried away our masts. While in this forlorn condition some of our men were ransacking a lot of store tubs for a few scattered kernels of corn, when they discovered in one of them quite a number of wharf rats which had been trapped by running in through the bung-hole. They were at once captured and cooked without ceremony, and devoured by us with a more decided relish than that with which we had ever before eaten of the most dainty dish, for no morsel of food ever tasted half so well in my mouth [Mrs. Lydia Humphrey Webster to her brother, George Willmot Humphrey, 1841, ibid_].

The two children of Elijah and Chloe (Wilcox) Humphrey who survived to adulthood were both sons, Allen and Harry, both of whom married and had children. One of Harry Humphey’s descendants, Floyd Humphrey Bush of Bolivar, New York, has contributed to this volume of Pettibone genealogy and family history the records of his Humphrey family line to the present day (1993), as follows::

J411*21 Harry Humphrey m. at Glens Falls NY 6 Jun 1804 Hannah Hammond, b. Easton, Washington Co. 16 Aug 1785, dau. of Jonathan and Hannah (Fuller) Hammond. Harry was seven years old when his father was lost at sea. He afterward lived with his brother Allen, who promised him a clerkship in a store when he should obtain proper age. But, on a certain occasion, becoming suddenly displeased with Harry because he neglected to suitably care for and blanket his horse after his arrival home late at night, Allen decided Harry should learn a trade. Much against his wishes, Harry was bound out at the age of fourteen to a saddle and harness maker, James Hicks of Bennington, Vermont, until he became of age. Harry was always so chagrined by this event that he worked but little at his trade after he finished his apprenticeship. This disappointment in his early expectations had a great effect upon his character and actions throughout life.

When Harry was twenty-two years old he came into possession of a legacy from his grandfather. He became a man of extensive reading, gifted with a remarkable memory. He was especially interested in the civil and political issues of the country, and points in question were often submitted to him for decisions. In the later part of his life, he received by general consent the honorary title of "Judge" [Floyd H. Bush, "Bush—Humphrey—Pinney-Wilcox Family Records", Bolivar NY]. Harry and Hannah (Hammond) Bush had eight children, surnamed Humphrey:

• 231 Delia Mary, b. Glens Falls NY 1805, m. at Jefferson Co. OH Thomas Skinner

Brownville, and had twelve children, surnamed Skinner;

• 232 Harry, b. 1806, d. ae. 3;
• 233 Emily Jane, b. 23 Apr 1809, d. ae. 1;
• 234 Sarah Jane, b. 17 Sep 1817; school teacher, unm.;
• 235 and *236, twins, Henry and Henrietta, d. ae. 1 mo.;
• 237 George Willmot, b. Queensbury NY 13 Apr 1817 m. Sylvia P. Pease, dau. of William and Obedience (Stone) Pease, of Pompey Hollow, NY;
• 238 Allen. b. 14 Jul 1830, m. (1) Ellen Olive Palmer; (2) Sarah Palmer. –

George Willmot Humphrey was reared on a farm and showed signs of early mechanical proficiency prior to the age of eight, when he competently made water wheels. In 1833 he and a young friend, J. Monroe Taylor, left the farm to seek their fortunes. George was sixteen years old. He first became a school teacher, and J. Monroe Taylor opened a store in Delphi, New York. After a while George began selling goods in the Taylor store and soon took full charge of its operations. With the exception of three years during which he worked as contractor for the enlarging of the Oswego Canal in 1854-56, he continued to work as General Agent and Commercial Traveler for J. Monroe Taylor. Over the years he designed and superintended the construction of five factory buildings for Taylor for the manufacture of Gold Medal Saleratus, Cream Yeast Baking Powder, Bicarbonate of Soda, and other chemicals, for all of which he invented valuable manufacturing processes. George W. Humphrey had a lifelong enthusiasm for study of the laws covering physical phenomena, and one of his chief enjoyments was to construct original theories from calculations derived from his own observations of nature, especially of astronomical objects [Bush, ibid.,].

George W. and Sylvia (Pease) Humphrey had four children:

• 2371 George Clarence Humphrey, b. 13 Nov 1848, m. Emma Losey. They lived in Syracuse, New York and had two children: George Archibald and Bessie;
• 2372 Walter H., b. 16 Feb 1852, d. ae. 8
• 2373 Florence Viola, b. 11 Jun 1855, m. Leverriere Oliver Bush, lived in Syracuse and

had two children:

• 23731 Sylvia d. in childhood;.
• 23732 Humphrey LeVerriere Bush, b. N. Rose NY 28 Oct 1881, m. Julia Franzen; they lived in Syracuse, New York, and had three children:

Donald Bush, b. Sep 1903, m. Roberta Tumer and had two sons, Wendall and George Bush.

Hazel Bush, b. Mar 1809, m. George Close and had one son, Peter, b. Sep 1944; Floyd Humphrey Bush, b. 15 Mar 1915, m. Elaine Russ. They had no children, but took an active part in helping care for several of the children of their siblings and cousins. Floyd H. Bush lives in Bolivar, New York; he has contributed all of the data of the Harry H. Humphrey branch of the Pettibone lineage.

• 23734 Valencia Odessa, b. 25 Sep 1859, m. James K. Moore and had one child, James

Humphrey Moore.

• 238 Allen Humphrey, b. 14 Jul 1830, m. (1) Ellen Olive Palmer, (2) Sarah Palmer.

He passed away in 1788. ^[1]

Sources

• Tom Bredehoft, Pettibone Registry, pages 214-217, see K. Pontius.
• Tom Bredehoft, information is from LDS FamilySearch User Submitted Trees. Click the Changes tab for the details of edits by Tom and others.
• "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F74G-GY2 : 7 January 2020), Elijah Humphry, 1747.
• "United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2DG-X4ZP : 20 February 2021), Elijah Humphry, 01 May 1779; citing 01 May 1779, Connecticut, United States, citing NARA microfilm publication M246. Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Services, 1980. FHL microfilm 830,296.
• "Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772-1934", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7DZ-J3V : 16 January 2020), Capt. Elijah Humphrey, 1788.
• Information developed from Find A Grave Memorial No. 78866659^[2]

1. ↑ Entered by Tom Bredehoft, Jun 9, 2012
2. ↑ Entered by Tom Bredehoft, 16/4/2013

Acknowledgements

• This profile has been edited by Tom Bredehoft 16/4/2013