Samuel Hitchcock, Revolutionary War Soldier

Samuel Hitchcock was born in New Milford, Litchfield County, Connecticut on February 28, 1731. I have the birth record. His parents were Samuel and Deborah Mallory and he was the eldest of 12 children. This much of the research had been done early on and I can still remember the phone call I made to the Town Clerk in New Milford, asking if she had birth records for the year of 1731. She asked his name and when I thought he was born. She said just a minute, put the phone down, came back and said she had the book of births from that year and would look it up. The book of records for that year - 1731. What a thrill. Don't you wish you had ancestors from CT?

Samuel was descended (and therefore I am) from Luke Hitchcock and Elizabeth Gibbons, from England. They were here by 1641 when they got married in Wethersfield, CT, in Hartford County. That is where their four children were born. There is a great deal written on the early Hitchcock family, both in the NEGHS Register and many other sources. It seems to get cloudy just before and after the Revolutionary War, at least for my Samuel.

The rest of Samuel's life - and death - is conjecture and is the basis of one of my BRICK WALLS. I wrote the following about this man and his family/life/death and have posted it on my website in hopes that others also searching might help. To date, even though I have corresponded with other descendants of Samuel's (b. 1731), we can not truly get documentation of his marriages/births of his four children or his death. The BRICK WALL (as it appears on my website):

Samuel Hitchcock - b. 28 Feb 1730/31 in New Milford, Litchfield, CT, d. 19 Feb 1801 in Sheffield, Berkshire, MA. He leaves no will/no grave/no evidence of actual death date.

Marriage1 -  Abt. 1766 in Middletown, Middlesex, MA, Sarah Sears - b. Abt. 1746 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, MA and d. Aft. 1771 in New Marlborough, Berkshire, MA. No real evidence of Sarah’s birth (although she is listed in the S.P. May book, the Sears Genealogy)/marriage/death/burial or births of children:

Ebenezer Hitchcock (b. 1767)
Reuben Hitchcock (b. 1769)
Jerusha Hitchcock (b. 1771)**     (my ancestor)

Marriage2 – Abt. 1773 in New Marlborough, Berkshire, MA, Elizabeth "Betsey" Sears (b. 19 Jun 1738 Yarmouth, Barnstable, MA and died abt 1809, probably in NY - and sister of Sarah). Child:

Silas Hitchcock (b. 1779)

The ONLY record I find for Sarah Sears is a Sarah listed in the family of Joshua and Rebecca (Mayo) Sears in the above book by Samuel P. May and reads: “married to a _____ Hitchcock.”  I believe this is my Sarah.  Her sister, Betsey Sears is also in this book and reads: “m. Samuel Hitchcock.”
Samuel May leaves no sources that I can find.


  1790 and 1800 Sheffield, MA Censuses show Samuel Hitchcock and family (but Sheffield can find NO  death record or grave for Samuel).
 
Samuel was a Rev. War Soldier from MA and his record shows Betsey as his widow.  Samuel served as a Private in Capt. Peter Ingersol's Company, Col. John Brown's Berkshire, MA Regiment. He is one of the supplementals I still need to prove for NSDAR. He has been approved in the past.