Rev. Aaron Cleveland

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Aaron Cleveland

Birthdate:
Birthplace: East Haddam, New London County, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America
Death: September 21, 1815 (71)
New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States
Place of Burial: Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, United States
Immediate Family:

Son of Rev. Aaron Cleveland and Susannah S. Cleveland
Husband of Abiah Cleveland and Elizabeth Cleveland
Father of George Cleveland; William Cleveland; Charles Cleveland; Francis Cleveland; Sarah Dodge (Cleveland) and 5 others
Brother of Dorcas Cleveland; Susanna Higginson; William Cleveland; Stephen Cleveland; George Cleveland and 4 others

Managed by: Alice Zoe Marie Knapp
Last Updated:

About Rev. Aaron Cleveland

Rev. Aaron Cleveland

Find A Grave Memorial ID # 41040766

BIRTH: 2 Feb 1744 East Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA
DEATH: 21 Sep 1815 (aged 71) New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA
BURIAL: Old Norwichtown Cemetery Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, USA
PLOT: Linden Ave West
MEMORIAL ID: 41040766 ·

Husband of Abiah Hyde, married 12 April 1768 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, USA

Parents:

Aaron Cleveland 1715–1757
Susannah Porter Cleveland 1716–1788

Spouses:

Elizabeth Clement Cleveland 1755–1826 (m. 1788)
Abiah Hyde Cleveland 1749–1788

Siblings:

Stephen Sewall Cleveland 1738–1801
Margaret Cleveland Hiller 1748–1804

Children:

William Cleveland 1769–1837
George Cleveland 1769–1851
Francis Cleveland 1774–1796
Sarah Cleveland 1775–1779
Aaron Porter Cleveland 1778–1780
Sarah Cleveland Dodge 1780–1862
Susan Cleveland Pratt 1784–1883
Jeremiah Clement Cleveland 1794–1836
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A Patriot of the American Revolution for Connecticut with the rank of Captain. DAR Ancestor #: A023053

Rev. Aaron Cleveland of Norwich, son of the preceding, was born at Haddam, Connecticut on February 3, 1744. His father dying when he was only thirteen years of age, the plan for giving him an education at college was defeated; and he was put by his friends in Connecticut to learn the hatter's trade, and followed that business many years. In 1779 he was a member of the Legislature of Connecticut; was ordained soon after to the Congregational ministry; and continued to perform his clerical functions in various places till his death. He was for some time resident in Norwich, Weathersfield and West Hartford; but never had a settlement in any congregation. He performed missionary service in Hartford County and vicinity and preached frequently as a supply in almost all its towns; and long afterwards was spoken of with profound respect by those who had heard him. And his wit, too, and agreeableness in company became proverbial. He published in 1775 a "Poem against Slavery;" and two sermons against War, preached just after the news of the battle of Waterloo, 1815. In the "Poets of Connecticut," were published in 1844 two poems of his "which show what he might have been with better advantages." He died of dysentery in New Haven Sept 21, 1815 at the house of a relative, Mrs. Porter; and lies buried in New Haven. (Allen's Biography; Letters of Prof. C.C. Cleveland 1846; and of Rev. A. Cleveland Coxe, 1847.) From History of Woburn



https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cleveland-107

When Aaron Cleveland was born on February 2, 1744, in East Haddam, Connecticut, his father, Rev. Aaron (III), was 28 and his mother, Susannah (Porter) Cleveland, was 27.

He was 13 years old when his father died, leaving him little. He was apprenticed to a hatter in Haddam. While learning his trade, he devoted all of his leisure time to study. At the age of 19, he wrote the poem, "The Philosopher and the Boy", which was later published in a biographical sketch of him by Charles W. Everest. About August of 1764, he was drafted into the English Army, serving 6 months. Soon after becoming 21 he became a journeyman employed by Jeremiah Clement of Norwich, Connecticut. He continued working in the hat business, while at the same time writing poems, essays, lectures, and sermons, on the prominent subjects of the day, many of which were published in local periodicals. He argued that free people should not have their laws and civil rights violated, and was the first writer in Connecticut to question the lawfulness of slavery and to argue against it. After hearing a pastor appear to speak in support of slavery, he wrote a 680 line "Poem against Slavery", published in 1775. In 1779, helped by strong popular support for emancipation, he was elected a member from Norwich to the House of Representatives, and introduced a bill for the abolition of slavery. He declined re-election after deciding that the duties of the position conflicted too much with business.[1]

He married first, on April 12, 1768, in Norwich, Connecticut, Abiah Hyde, the only daughter of Captain James and Sarah (Marshall) Hyde of Norwich. They settled in Norwich where they had ten children, all born in Norwich:[2][1][3] George, born January 9, 1769.[4]

William, born December 20, 1770.[5]

Charles, born June 21, 1772; died June 5, 1872.[6][7]

Frances, born March 9, 1774; died, unmarried, of yellow fever caught at New London, hatter, September 26, 1796.[8]

Sarah, born December 29, 1775; died November 27, 1779.[9][10]

Aaron Porter, born July 11, 1778; died July 11, 1780.[11][12]

Sarah, 2nd, born November 7, 1780; married David Low Dodge; died May 4, 1862.[13]

Aaron Porter, 2nd, born September 24 or 26, 1782; married 1st, May 3, 1808, Abigail "Abby" Salisbury, 2nd, May 7, 1816, Lydia A. Lathrop, 3rd, November 20, 1820, Mary H. Strong.[14][15][16]

Susannah "Susan", born September 26, 1784; married Harry Pratt; died August 19, 1883.[17]

Lucy, born June 17, 1787; married, December 13, 1809, John C. Smith.[18]

His wife, Abiah, died in Norwich on August 23, 1788 at the age of 38.[1][2][19]

He married second, on October 23, 1788, in Norwich, Mrs. Elizabeth (Clement) Breed, widow of David Breed and a daughter of Jeremiah and Mary (Mosely) Breed. They had five children:[1][2]

Anthony Benezet, born October 22, 1789; married, July 26, 1838, Mary W. Manning; died 1851, Cambridge, Massachusetts.[20][21]

Stephen Blythe, born February 15 or 18, 1792; married, May 28, 1817, Lucy C. Huntington; died 1837, in Cincinnati, Ohio.[22]

Jeremiah Clement, born June 14, 1794; married, October 14, 1819, Elizabeth Roberson; died 1837, in Batavia, New York.[23]

Abia Hyde, born April 24, 1796; married, April 7, 1817, the Rev. Samuel Cox, D.D.[24]

Francis, born March 22, 1798.

He engaged in business for 25 years or more, continuing in Guilford, Connecticut. He had various business partners and successors including: Thomas Tilestone, Oliver Phelps, Joseph Rogers, and Jeremy Hoadley. In 1793, Aaron and his son, George, moved to Norwich Landing, Connecticut, to manufacture hats on a larger scale, but within a week a disastrous fire consumed their factory. He had for some time desired to enter the ministry. He studied theology with Water King of Norwich, and in 1794 the church chose him Deacon. In 1797, now age 53, he was licensed to preach. He went as a missionary to new settlements in Vermont. He preached for a season in Canaan, New Hampshire, and was invited to settle, but the Norwich Association refused to allow it saying he was "too large a man to be wasted among the pine forests of New Hampshire." In 1800, he settled in Braintree, Vermont, then, for a year or two he worked as a missionary in Royalton, Vermont. From November 1803, to October 1804, he was pastor of the Congregational Church, Wethersfield, Society of Newington, Connecticut, succeeding the Rev. Joshua Belden and preceding the Rev. Joab Brace. He performed missionary services in Hartford County and vicinity, preaching in all the towns. In March, 1815, he delivered at Colchester, 2 sermons on Peace, which were published, and soon re-published in England. He lived mostly in West Hartford and then Hartford, Connecticut during the rest of his life.[1]

The Rev. Aaron Cleveland died suddenly while visiting a son-in-law in New Haven, Connecticut, on September 22, 1815, at the age of 71. He was buried in the Old Norwichtown Cemetery in Norwich, Connecticut. The inscription on his monument reads:[1][2][3]

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Rev. Aaron Cleveland's Timeline

1744
February 3, 1744
East Haddam, New London County, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America
1769
January 9, 1769
Norwich, New London Co., CT
1770
December 20, 1770
Norwich, New London County, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America
1772
June 21, 1772
Norwich, New London, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America
1774
March 9, 1774
1780
November 7, 1780
Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, United States
1782
September 24, 1782
Norwich, New London, Connecticut
1784
September 26, 1784
Norwich, New London Co., Connecticut
1787
June 17, 1787
Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, United States