Jacob Ellsworth

DAR Ancestor #: A037964

Source: http://www.matherclan.com/trees/getperson.php?personID=I8833&tree=M...

An American Revolutionary War Soldier, Jacob Ellsworth was born in Rowan County, North Carolina "about 1751"; married in Augusta Co., Virginia "about 1771" to Hannah Bennett. In April 1771, Jacob Ellsworth patented 215 acres of land in Augusta Co., Va., near Deep Springs -- see Augusta Co., Va. Deed Book II, page 194.

In 1777 Jacob Ellsworth was appointed constable by Commissioner Isaac Hinkle for the North Fork District of the new Rocking- ham County in Va., and during the Revolutionary War, Jacob Ellsworth served as private, 2nd Battalion, Augusta County (Virginia) Militia - Captain Hull's Company, 1779.

He joined with his father Moses Elsworth, Sr., his brothers John and Moses Elsworth, Jr., in a settlement on Coburn's Creek a few miles above the present site of Clarksburg (WV in 1787). On September 25, 1786, Jacob sold his land in Deep Springs to George Negley (the deed is endorsed by both Jacob Ellsworth and his wife, Hannah) -- see "Burnt Deed Book", Rockingham Co. (in Harrisonburg, Virginia). Prior to the foregoing sale, Jacob Ellsworth had surveyed for himself a 400 acre tract of land from Henry Runyan, located on the west side of the West Fork River on Duck Creek in Harrison Co., Virginia (now West Virginia) on August 7, 1786 -- see book marked "Survey Record Book #2, page 521, Clarksburg. This land was deeded to Jacob Ellsworth on the 17th day of September, 1787.

On April 16, 1786, Jacob Ellsworth, Sr., conveyed to John Ellsworth, Jr., 51 acres, described as situate on a western branch of the West Fork River, called "Coburn's Creek" -- Deed Book 3, page 324. On November 1, 1786, Jacob Ellsworth conveyed to John Ellsworth 135 acres on Coburn's Creek. On December 17, 1787, Jacob Ellsworth and his wife Hannah conveyed to Abraham Hinkle 200 acres on the West Fork River -- Deed Book I, Page 46. On February 15, 1790, Moses Ellsworth, Sr., conveyed to Jacob Ellsworth 124 acres described as situate on a western branch of the West Fork River, called "Coburn's Creek" -- Deed Book I, page 373.

Jacob Ellsworth was in Harrison Co., Virginia as late as October 28, 1807 when he signed a marriage bond for his son, Elijah. He sold all of his holdings in Harrison County, Virginia (now West Virginia) prior to 1812, and went to Pleasant Township, Clark Co., Ohio where he secured a military grant of 160 acres from James Madison, President of the United States, on July 8, 1816.

In 1819, Jacob Ellsworth and his wife, Hannah, sold one-half of this farm land in Clark Co., Ohio for $200 to Peter Arbogast. In 1825, Jacob Ellsworth signed the deed alone for the other one-half of this farm land to Isaac Ellsworth, thereby indicating that his wife, Hannah, had died sometime between 1819 and 1825.

The exact date of Jacob Ellsworth's death is not yet determined. He is buried in Asbury Chapel Cemetery (near the gate in front of the chapel) in Pleasant Twp, Clark Co., Ohio, with a Sons of the American Revolution marker inscribed: Jacob Ellsworth, a soldier of the Revolutionary War. In 1913, Lagonda Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution in Springfield, Clark Co., Ohio, erected a tablet in Ferncliff Cemetery in memory of the men buried in Clark County who fought in the Revolution. An Account of this ceremony appears in "Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine" for November, 1913, page 652, by Adella Halsey, historian of Lagonda Chapter:

"Flag day, June 14, 1913, was chosen by Lagonda Chapter, D.A.R., as an appropriate day on which to pay tribute to 22 men who fought more than a century ago for the independence of our nation.

"These men lie buried in Clark County, and in memory with fitting ceremonies a monument was unveiled in beautiful Ferncliff Cemetery. This monument is a large gray granite boulder which was quarried in Vermont. On one side is a bronze tablet bearing the names of the soldiers, also following the inscription: 'In Memory of the men buried in Clark County who fought in the Revolution.

"Besides the members of the Chapter, there gathered for the ceremonies, a number of others, many of whom were members of other patriotic societies.

"After several opening selections by the band and invocation, the address of the afternoon was made by J. Franklin McGrew. In this address, which was full of patriotism, he spoke of the significance of the efforts to perpetuate the memory of the soldiers who long ago passed to their reward. He referred to the thought which Lincoln expressed in his famous address at Gettysburg, to the effect that although the world might soon forget what was said at the unveiling of the monument at Gettysburg, the deeds performed on the battlefield would always be remembered. In like manner, the speaker believed the words spoken at the unveiling of the monument might be forgotten, but he hoped the monument itself would stand many years in commemoration of the dead heroes - these heroes who did not command, or wear shoulder straps, but were as Lincoln would call them, "God's common people". He gave a brief history of the opening scenes of the Revolution and the famous ride of Paul Revere, and described the tablet and boulder in memory of those who gave their lives in the Battle of Lexington.

"The formal presentation of the boulder and tablet to Ferncliff Cemetery was made by Miss Anna Hollenbeck, regent of the chapter, who at the same time gave a brief history of the D.A.R. and the object of its formation, also of its work in erecting monuments, markers and memorials to the Revolutionary soldiers, conducting historical research work and fostering true patriotism. She expressed a hope that passers-by would pause and read the inscription of the tablet, and pay in thought, a tribute to those whom it honors, and that the monument would stand as a reminder to this generation and many following ones, of the brave men who fought for the freedom of our country.

"After the regent's presentation, Miss Nora Anderson and Miss Marcelene Fairbanks unveiled the monument by removing a large American Flag which had covered it; the band playing "America". Standing, the audience sang this hymn, taps were sounded on the coronet and the ceremonies were over."

In "Standard History of Clark County, Ohio" by Dr. Benjamin F. Prince, President, Clark County Historical Society in 1922, Volume I, Page 313, Chapter XXXIV, appears:

"In a summary of the past, General J. warren Keifer said: 'There came to what is now Clark County and other parts of the West, some Revolutionary Soldiers, bringing with them their patriotism and their poverty. Their love of liberty was put into practice, and by example these veteran soldiers did much to build up peaceful communities. In 1913, Lagonda Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution erected a tablet in Ferncliff Cemetery in memory of the men buried in Clark County who fought in the Revolution, and the names:

1. Lt. John Bancroft

2. William McIntire

3. Samuel Lippincott, Sr.

4. Cornelius Toland

5. Lt. Jesse Christy

6. Elijah Beardsley

7. Merrifield Vicory

8. Capt. Richard Bacon

9. Stephen Harriman

10. Lt. Henry Dawson

11. John Craig

12. George Lane

13. Jacob Ellsworth

14. Frederick Brown

15. James Kelly

16. Isaac Davisson

17. Benjamin Bridge

18. John Kellar

19. George McCleace

20. Jacob Ebersole Farnum

21. James Galloway

22. Mely Baker

are inscribed upon it. General Keifer adds the names of William Baird, Andrew Pinneo, Abraham Rust and William Holmes as local citizens.

"While these wilderness patriots had their rendezvous with death in different communities, and they lie buried in different cemeteries, the Daughters of the American Revolution were fulfilling their filial obligations when they collated the names. The enduring monument - a shrine for all time - is located on a southern hill slope in a secluded spot. 'Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, and while all that was mortal had long ago moldered back to earth in other cemeteries, some of them on Columbia Street and Greenmount and in sequestered vales among Clark County hills, it was a gracious thing that Lagonda Chapter, D.A.R. should muster them all in 'one red burial where posterity may receive inspiration from this silent testimonial to the age, gallantry in the wilderness - the men who helped make the nation."

Sources: Harriet Ellsworth Siebert and Willard Ellsworth, M.D., "Ellsworth Genealogy - Male Descendants of Moses Ellsworth of North Carolina and Virginia" (Library of Congress genealogy)

• Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: May 28 2018, 15:13:55 UTC