Capt. Elijah Backus

• BIRTH 14 Mar 1726 Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, USA
• DEATH 4 Sep 1798 (aged 72) Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, USA
• BURIAL Old Norwichtown Cemetery, Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, USA GPS-Latitude: 41.5485671, Longitude: -72.092523
• MEMORIAL ID 132427366

William Backus 'the immigrant William Backus a great grandfather of Elijah was a cutler: one who makes knives. It seems only fitting that that skill be passed from one generation to the next. In America, the skill of taking raw metal into a finished form transformed into the making of nails, anchors, and other metal items needed by the colonies.

The Backus Ironworks - Elijah Backus was the owner and manager of the Iron Works at one point in time, himself a skilled mechanic. The remains of part of his papers show a wondrous amount of writing, and all in his own hand. He was one of King George's justices of the peace, and was, after the Revolution, one of the justices of the peace for his native state of Connecticut. He was a captain in the Norwich militia, going to New London to defend the soil in consequence of alarms of invasion many times. A leading member of the Committee of Safety, member of the Legislature, he was a valuable man of all affairs in all departments of civil life. He administered the rite of marriage in many cases, as his book of records now extant, shows. He was a very busy man, and prosperous.

The Backus Iron Works, with its lurid fires was quite an institution in its day, and quite an important factor in the growth and development of the country and its times. The iron works made bar iron, tires for wheels, plow irons, spindles and cranks for mills, sawmill saws; all kind of farming tools, such as hoes, axes, scythes; nautical needs such as spindles for buoys, anchors - about everything that was made of iron - and largely supplied the wants of that day. Nails were quite important at that time, all were hammered out by hand for all the purposes of domestic use, no nails being cut at that time.

Its customers were heard from in quite distant parts of the country, even from the new "Northwest Territory". The iron work for the first saw and grist mill erected in the Northwest Territory was made at these works, and transported by land and water, to and over the Allegheny mountains on pack horses, to the then far-distant land of hope - Marietta, Ohio, in 1789.

The iron was made at the melting fire, which was kept in blast by two huge bellows run by water power, and required a strong draft of air. The old structure was a large building having three tall chimneys, the roof partly covered with sheet iron as a protection from fire, and covering three forges, two water wheels, stamper run by water for pounding iron ore, the big shaft and the big hammer. To conduct the process of melting and hammering out into all required shapes required a skilled and strong man.

The Backus Iron Works was important for the only source for these products from within miles around. At Backus Iron Works, they hammered out tools for the farmers and the artisan - directly and indirectly helping materially to hammer out American Independence.

He served as Captain of the Connecticut 7th Co., 4th Btn.

Parents
Lieut Samuel Backus 1692–1740
Elizabeth Tracy Backus 1698–1769

Spouse
Lucy Griswold Backus 1726–1795 m. Jan. 9th 1753, Norwich, New London County, CT

Siblings
Samuel Backus 1717–1778
Ann Backus Abell 1718–1756
Elizabeth Backus Huntington 1721–1745
Simon Backus 1728–1764
Eunice Backus Post 1731–1753
Maj. Andrew Backus 1733–1796
Asa Backus 1736–1788
Deacon John Backus 1740–1814

Children
Elijah Backus 1754–1755
Lucy Backus 1756–1756
Lucy Backus Woodbridge 1759–1817
James Backus 1761–1762
Clarina Backus 1763–1763
James Backus 1764–1816
Clarina Backus 1769–1831

References

1. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/132427366/elijah_backus

2. http://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search_adb/?action=full... DAR Ancestor # A004349]
A Patriot of the American Revolution for CONNECTICUT with the rank of CAPTAIN.