My People in 1776 America

In 1776 America, colonists were fighting a war of Independence for a freedom from English rule and taxes. I am proud to know the names of my ancestors who stood on this soil when the Declaration of Independence was signed. I am grateful to those of my ancestors who took up arms to defend and create the vision of what this country could become.

We are not perfect, nor are we equal, but we have freedoms many people in the world do not. I do not take them for granted. I know where, in this world, my bloodroots are tethered. I know of the soil where my ancestors were living the day the Declaration was signed.

There were many in Sharon, Massachusetts, including Lemuel Lyon, 47, and his wife Lydia Perry, 46, along with their daughter Silence, 20. Samuel Bird, age 47, and Anna Atherton also lived in Sharon with their son Enoch Bird, 24, who would marry Silence five years later. Thomas Ridel, 36, and Rebekah Moulton, 33, lived in Monson with their son Joseph, age 16. Capt. Freeborn Moulton, 58, and Rebekah Walker, 58, were in Brimfield, Massachusetts. Jacob Wicker, 53, and his wife Abiah Washburn, 50, lived in Leicester. Their son William Wicker, 28, and his wife Susannah Parker, 21, resided in Hardwick. John Parker, 51, and Jane Pearson, 50, were in Reading. James Kittredge, 49, and his spouse Mary Bailey, 45, were in Andover. Abner Whittier, Jr., 41, and Elizabeth Dow, 40, called Methuen, Massachusetts home.

In Ridgefield, Connecticut were James Sears, age 71 and Desire Tobey, age 68, as well as their son Knowles Sears, 37, and his wife Susannah Townsend, 35. Benjamin Eaton, 45, and Hepsibah Skiff, 44, lived in Tolland with their son Joshua Eaton, age 5. David Dutcher, 34, was located in Salisbury, Connecticut. Alexander Hannah, 49, and Mary Calhoun, 43, were in Woodbury. Wheeler Gillett, 31, and Julianna Merchant lived in Milford.

Some of my ancestors had already found themselves in New York, like young Jennie Palmer, 13, in Cairo and Oliver DeLozier, 28, and his wife Eleanor Erkells, 20, somewhere near New Amsterdam. Baltus Goedemoet, 53, and Gertrude Michel were in Kinderhook, New York with their young daughter Annatje, 16, as well as Walter F. Dixon, 21, the man Annatje would marry four years later.

And among those ancestors were the soldiers who took up arms, from oldest to youngest, were Capt. Freeborn Moulton, Jacob Wicker, Baltus Goedemoet, Lemuel Lyon, Thomas Ridel, William Wicker, Oliver DeLozier, and Joseph Riddle.

Today my family has spread across the country and the descendants of these few names are numerous and overwhelming. They were the seeds that sparked new life throughout a new world. They had the best of intentions and an open vision to the future, that served as the foundation for our constant growth and struggle towards equality.