General Timothy Upham

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Upham

Timothy Upham (September 9, 1783-November 2, 1855) American soldier in the war of 1812. At the Siege of Fort Erie while he was in command of his regiment, he did gallant service with his regiment, in going to the rescue, by special order of Gen. Jacob Brown, of General Miller.

Biography

He was the son of Rev. Timothy Upham, of Deerfield, New Hampshire. His mother was Hannah, the daughter of Rev. Nathaniel Gookin, of North Hampton. Timothy Upham moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1807, and opened a store in Market street.

In June, 1811, he was appointed, by Governor John Langdon, one of his aids, with rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He continued in business as a merchant until 1812, when, in anticipation of a war with Great Britain, he was commissioned as Major of the 11th U.S. Infantry on March 12, of that year. In June following he was appointed to command the detachment of troops from New Hampshire ordered to garrison Fort McClary in Portsmouth Harbor, by Governor William Plumer.

In September he joined his regiment at Plattsburgh, New York, January 15, 1813, he was ordered to Portland as superintendent of the recruiting district of Maine. In the spring he joined his regiment, and was detailed to command a battalion which was to join Gen. Hampton's army preparing to attack Montreal. On this futile expedition, Major (now Lieutenant-Colonel) Upham fought his battalion with credit at the Battle of Crysler's Farm. Just before this expedition he had been promoted to the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the 21st Regiment on March 12, 1813. On September 14, 1814, he was in command of his regiment, at the "sortie of Fort Erie," and did gallant service with his regiment, in going to the rescue, by special order of Gen. Jacob Brown, of its former gallant commander, General Miller. At the close of this campaign, with impaired health, Col. Upham was ordered upon recruiting service.

At the close of the war he resigned his commission and was honorably discharged on June 15, 1815. In 1816 was appointed Collector of Customs at Portsmouth, and continued in that office for thirteen years. On May 15, 1819, he was appointed Brigadier General of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division New Hampshire Militia, and was promoted to Major General of the Division May 19, 1820, upon the resignation of General Clement Storer. This office he resigned May 13, 1823.

After leaving the Custom-House in 1829, he again entered upon commercial pursuits. In 1830 he made an unsuccessful bid for the office of Governor of the State of New Hampshire, running on the Republican Party ticket and losing to Matthew Harvey. In 1841 he was appointed Navy Agent at Portsmouth by President Harrison. He soon resigned this office, and in 1845 removed to Charlestown, Massachusetts, following his business of a merchant in Boston. Here his success did not meet his anticipations, and, impaired in health, he retired from active business.

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65. Rev. Timothy*' Upham (Timothy', Phineas^ Phineas', Phineas% John'), of Deerfield, N. H., b. in Maiden, Feb. 20, 1748; m. Hannah Gookin, May 18, 1773, who was born in North Hampton, Mass., April 22, 1754, and d. Aug. 4, 1797, in her 44th year. (She was the dau. of the Rev. Nathaniel Gookin, of North Hampton, and his wife, Love Wingate; the Rev. Nathaniel, a graduate of Harvard College, and the great-grandson of Maj.- Gen. Daniel Gookin, of Revolutionary fame. In Dr. Upham 's Notices is a personal note of Hannah Gookin.) He m. (2) Hepzibah Neal, of Stratham, N. H., Oct., 1799, who d. May 15, 1811, ae. 57.

Timothy Upham was a graduate of Harvard College, at the age of 20, in the class of 1768; he completed the study of theology with the Rev. Mr. Trask of Brentwood, N. H. In 1722, he was ordained minister of the First Congregational Church at Deerfield, being then 24 years of age, and was the first minister settled at that place. He remained at Deerfield during the remainder of his life, and died Feb. 21, 181 1, of pneumonia. He was buried in the old graveyard at Deerfield, where his stone bears the following inscription:

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE REV. TIMOTHY UPHAM,

First pastor of the Congregational Church in this town, over which he was ordained in Nov., 1772, and was continued to them, to mutual satisfaction, for 39 years; then this mortal put on immortality. In the joyful hope of a glorious resurrection, he departed this life Feb. 21, 181 1, aged 6^. As a testimony of their grateful remembrance of his long and affectionate services, the Congregational Society to whom he ministered, have erected this monument.

The following is the inscription on the stone which marks the grave of his wife, Hannah, also at Deerfield:

HANNAH CONSORT OF THE REV. TIMOTHY UPHAM,

Who departed this life Aug. 4, 1797, in the 44, year of her age.

• If truth, love, virtue, each attractive grace.
• That warms the heart, or animates the face;
• If tears, or sighs, or ardent prayers could save
• The kind, the generous, from the silent grave;
• Then death, relentless, must have lost his prey,
• And with it lost his cruel power to slay
• One who shall rise and shine in realms above,
• Forever happy in her Savior's love.

(Written by Elizabeth Champney Williams.)

Dr. Upham, in the Notices, thus refers to the Rev. Timothy, his grandfather :

" Rev. Timothy Upham was six feet tall, rather spare, but perfectly erect. His hair was black, eyes hazel, nose straight and rather prominent, and his teeth perfect till the day of his death. His voice was remarkably melodious and powerful; his enunciation was clear and distinct. His mind was perfectly balanced, his judgment excellent, and his temper, though naturally quick, was under perfect control. Distinguished for the rectitude of his character, for quiet dignity, and constant self-possession, he won the admiration of his people, while his hospitality and benevolence, extending to the very verge of his means, awakened their love and esteem. His professional duties were to him a source of constant pleasure, and were performed with constant assiduity. His teachings from the pulpit were chiefly marked by the exceeding care and anxiety which was manifested lest he should vary from the revealed doctrines and precepts of our holy religion, and be guilty

of preaching anything but the eternal truth of God. To this feeling was joined another, equally prominent — love for the welfare of the immortal spirit."

The Notices also contain extracts from his funeral sermon, and various other matters in connection with the life and work of the Rev. Timothy Upham.

Timothy Upham and his wife, Hannah, had:

142 I Nathaniel, b. June 9, 1774, at Deerfield ; Member of Congress from New Hampshire.

II. Timothy; d. in childhood.

III. Mary; d. in childhood.

IV. Mary and John, twins; d. in childhood.

143 V. Timothy, b. 1782 ; he was lieut.-col. of the 21st U. S. Infantry, in the war of 1812-14, afterward collector of the port at Portsmouth, N. H., and brig.-gen. N. H. militia.

VI. Hannah, b. July, 1789; principal of the Ontario Female Seminary at Canandaigua, New York, from 1830 to 1848; she d. there, Aug. 20, 1868.

Page 190

143. General Timothy' Upham (Timothy^ Timothy^ Phineas^ Phineas^ Phineas, John'), of Portsmouth, N. H., b. in Deerfield, N. H., in 1782; m. Eliza Adams, daughter of William and Hannah Adams, of Middleton, Conn., who d. March 18, 1854, in her 69th year. The following military — and otherwise — record of Gen. Timothy Upham is from Dr. Upham's " Notices ":

" Gen. Timothy Upham received his first appointment in the army as major, in March, 1812, and in July following received his commission in the 11th U. S. Infantry. In June he was placed in command of the forts and harbor of Portsmouth, with the superintendent of the recruiting service, in a district composing the southern part of New Hampshire and the county of York, in the State of Maine.

"In September he joined his regiment at Plattsburgh, N. Y. ; in November, advanced with the army to Champlain, on the Canada line; from whence, after some severe skirmishing, and much suffering of the troops for want of suitable supplies of winter clothing, the army returned to Plattsburgh. The 11th and some other regiments passed over to Burlington, and went into winter quarters.

" Major Upham was soon after ordered to Portland to superintend the recruiting service of the State of Maine and in part of New Hampshire. In April, 1813, having, with the officers under his command, enlisted upwards of two thousand men, and sent them forward to join their respective regiments, he repaired to Burlington with the winter clothing of his regiment, the first they had received. There he received an order to select a battalion of five hundred men from his regiment and proceed with all possible despatch to Sackett's Harbor. This march was accomplished in fourteen days, with a heavy train of baggage for the army, via Johnstown and the Northern State road. He arrived there in May and remained there and in the vicinity with his battalion until October, when the army, then under the command of Gen. Wilkinson, was embarked in boats, with orders to descend the St. Lawrence and form a junction with the troops then under the command of Gen. Hampton, at some point on the St. Lawrence, above Montreal, with a view to a joint attack on that place.

"Maj. Upham had, in October, 1813, previous to leaving Sackett's Harbor, been promoted to lieut.-col. of the 21st Infantry, Col. Miller's famous regiment, but remained with his battalion of the 11th to the close of the campaign. In descending the St. Lawrence he had the command of one division of the boats, and passed the enemy's batteries at Fort Prescott under a heavy cannonade with very trifling loss, and proceeded immediately down the river to the head of the Longue Saut, a rapid in the St. Lawrence of several miles in extent. At this point the troops, with the exception of those required to manage the boats, proceeded by land, leaving Col. Upham in his division of boats with about 300 men, selected from the several regiments which composed the division.

" On arriving at Cornwall, below the rapids, it was ascertained that the enemy were following with considerable force, and a flotilla of gunboats. In consequence of this information, Col. Upham now received orders to place his boats in safety, land his men and hold them in readiness for such service as might be required. The main body of the army, under Gen. Brown, having proceeded down the river, the enemy commenced an attack on its rear guard, under Gen. Covington, who, being pressed hard. Col. Upham was ordered to reinforce him. While advancing to execute this order, he met the general mortally wounded, who directed him to press forward and report to Gen. Boyd.

" On his arrival near the field of battle, known as Chrystler's Field he met the troops retreating for want of ammunition through the woods which skirted the field. Col. Upham was directed by Gen. Boyd to push forward and hold the enemy in check until ammunition could be procured from the boats. His division immediately engaged the enemy and held them in check for nearly an hour, when he received an order to retreat and embark his men on board the boats, which he succeeded in doing, having effectually checked the enemy.

" His loss in this action, in killed and wounded, was large in proportion to the number engaged, being nearly one-fifth of the whole. The boats then passed down the river to take in a large detachment which had proceeded by land and which had not been engaged.

" On arriving at the mouth of French Creek, information was received from Gen. Hampton that he was on his return to Plattsburgh, having been somewhat severely handled by the enemy in the neighborhood of Chateaugay and fallen short of provisions. The object of the expedition was therefore defeated, and the army retired up French Creek to a convenient place and commenced building huts for winter quarters.

" Col. Upham was now ordered to repair to the seaboard on recruiting service, on which duty he was employed till the July following, when he was ordered to join the 21st Infantry at Buffalo. On his arrival there, he found his regiment at Fort Erie, and he immediately crossed over and assumed command of it. Fort Erie was at this time closely invested by a force double in number to the garrison. After suffering a severe loss by the cannonade and bombardment, which continued without interruption for nearly forty days, our troops having been reinforced by a brigade of New York militia, it was determined to try the strength of the enemy by a sudden attack on their works. Accordingly, about the middle of September, a sortie was made at noon, the enemy's works all carried, and his guns spiked before his reserve, which was encamped at some distance, could be brought up. Our troops then retired to the fort. In this action the loss of the enemy in killed, wounded and prisoners was over six hundred men; and our own was not much less, and included a large number of the higher grade of officers — being the most bloody action which was fought during the war, in proportion to the numbers engaged. The next day the enemy abandoned his works and retreated toward Kingston. The regiment was much reduced, and Lieut.-Col. Upham's health having become greatly impaired, he was again ordered to the seaboard, and instructed to report to Gen. Dearborn, at Boston.

" The command of the station at Portsmouth was assigned to him, but his health was so severely affected he was unable, during the winter and for several months after, to leave his quarters. On the cessation of hostilities he resigned his commission in the army, and in the spring of 1816 was appointed by President Madison collector of customs at Portsmouth, which office he continued to hold, under the appointment of Presidents Monroe and Adams, until 1829. In 1819 he was appointed brigadier-general of the First Brigade New Hampshire Militia, and, in 1820, major-general of the First Division. In 1841 he was appointed navy agent at Portsmouth by President Harrison, which office he resigned in the spring of 1845. He then removed to Charlestown, Mass., where he died November 2, 1855."

Timothy Upham and his wife, Eliza Adams, had:

I William Adams; d. July 25, 1843, at New Orleans, La., ae. 31.

II Eliza Adams, b. May 1, 1813; m. Charles Ely, of Brooklyn, N. Y., June 23, 1840; d. May 11, 1885.

III Martha Ann; m., ae. 36, June 23, 1852 (2d wife), on. Hovey K. Clark, of Detroit; d. June 1, 1869.

IV Charles Wood.

V Charlotte Mary.

VI Anna Maria; m. John S. Botts, of Canandaigua, N. Y.

VII George Timothy, of San Francisco, Cal.; d. in San Francisco in 1857.

VIII Hannah Louisa; m. Oct. 5, 1857, William Lathrop Kingsley, b. April1, 1824, editor of the New Englander.

IX Franklin Morris; d. Feb. 4, 1853.

Bibliographic information:

• Upham genealogy; the descendants of John Upham, of Massachusetts, who came from England in 1635, and lived in Weymouth and Malden..
• by Upham, Frank Kidder, 1841-
• Publication date 1892
• Topics Upham, John, 1600?-1680?, genealogy
• Publisher Albany, N.Y. Munsell
• Collection allen_county; americana
• Digitizing sponsor Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
• Pages 700
• Pages 115 and 190
• https://archive.org/details/uphamgenealogyde00upha/page/193