Jemima (James) Duval (abt. 1761 - 1857)

Wife of Caleb Hazel — married 8 Jul 1785 in Anne Arundel County, Maryland

Descendants

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Biography

Jemima James married Caleb Hazel(Hazle) in June, 1785.^[1] He was a Captain in the Revolutionary Army. He died on August 11, 1786. Eight years later she married Ephraim Duval, who was to die in 1807. She remained a widow for many years until she, herself, died on May 17, 1857.

She appears to have filed for a Revolutionary War widow's pension on the basis of her marriage to Caleb Hazel. There is a long file in the records of the Revolutionary War pensions office that is dated December 18, 1844 and includes documents up to 1846. Apparently there was no record in the War Department files that Caleb Hazel was ever in the Revolutionary War, but the file includes sworn affidavits that say that he was a member of the Maryland Militia off and on during the war. He was made a Lieutenant in "Captain Cromwell's Company" in 1779 and became a Captain 1782. Their orders were to guard the western shore of Chesapeake Bay from British attack and they were based in Annapolis, Maryland. The application was denied in 1846 for reasons that seem very arbitrary and despite the sworn testimonies of people who knew him and the military records in Annapolis. There was apparently an appeal, but it is not clear how that turned out. Why Jemima waited that long to file for the pension is not clear, but perhaps she found herself in need of funds.^[2]

Jemima Duvall died at the age of 96 on May 17, 1857 and is buried in Detroit near her grand-daughter, Julia (Louisa) Gillingham Terry.^[3] Her tombstone reads "MRS. JEMIMA R. DUVAL; GRANDMOTHER OF MRS. LOUISA TERRY; DIED MAY 17, 1857; AGE 96".

Sources

1. ↑ "Maryland Marriages, 1666-1970", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4J5-PQC : 16 January 2020), Jemima James in entry for Caleb Hazle, 1785.
2. ↑ Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files Publisher: NARA National Archives Catalog ID: 300022 National Archives Catalog Title: Case Files of Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Applications Based on Revolutionary War Service, compiled ca. 1800 - ca. 1912, documenting the period ca. 1775 - ca. 1900 Record Group: 15 https://www.fold3.com/image/22747666
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 14 January 2021), memorial page for Jemima R James Hazel Duval (unknown–13 May 1837), Find A Grave: Memorial #78270977, citing Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA ; Maintained by Twist (contributor 46920390) .

• The Gillingham Family, Descendants of Yeamans Gillingham, Compiled by Harrold Edgar Gillingham. Publisher: Patterson & White Company, Printers, 1901 Original from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, Digitized Oct 11, 2007, available on http://books.google.com