Stephen GATES IV (1690 – 1782) was Alex’s 8th Grandfather; one of 512 in this generation of the Shaw line.

Stephen Gates IV was born about 1690 in Stow, Mass. His parents were Stephen GATES III and Jemima BENJAMIN. He married Hannah WOODWARD on 6 Nov 1713 in Preston, CT.   Two of their sons, Azariah and Phineas died of Yellow Fever in Cuba after the Battle of Havana in 1762. After Hannah died, he married Mercy Luce about 1763.  Stephen died 14 Mar 1782 in Preston, CT.

Gates Cemetery – In 1742 this Stephen Gates deeded an acre of land beside the Pachogue River to the town of Preston to be used as a burial place. Henry Palmer Gates of Johnstown, NY visited the place c. 1913 and made a list of the the stones that were visible. (His list does not include Stephen (1690-1782), who donated the land.) Some stones are visible in this photo, and in the background is the river and a bridge for Edmond Road. This is not too different from a photo made around 1910. And, a hundred years later, in 2010, a satellite image from Google shows the river, the bridge, and what might be some of these same buildings on the other side of the river. Google places the location at 41 deg., 36.557 min. N, and 71 deg., 56.332 min. W (On Edmond Road, upstream from a dam, and not far from Interstate 395). Neither the satellite imagery nor the topo map have a symbol indicating the presence of a cemetery.

Here is a Google Map Satellite View of these coordinates In 1898 the land was in the town of Griswold at Hopeville.   In 1898 there were 250 graves , 41 with inscriptions. It’s now called Hopeville Pond a mile or two east of Jewett City

At edge of river, across road from Gates Cemetery, Hopeville, CT This is how the scene looked in 2011. The river and buildings were not visible from the cemetery itself because a row of trees had grown up along the road, blocking the view. However the landscape remains essentially the same. Interesting to compare it with earlier photos.

Hannah Woodward was born on 7 May 1691 in Medford, Mass. Her parents were Daniel WOODWARD and Elizabeth DANA.  Hannah died 21 Oct 1762 in Preston, CT.

Mercy Luce was born in 1720.  She was the widow of Ephraim Withey or MacWithey.  Mercy died 14 May 1796.

Children of Stephen and Hannah:

Stephen Gates’ land is now underwater in Hopeville Pond State Park, in  Griswold, Connecticut.  From the park’s website:

Hopeville Pond State Park, Griswold, CT

The Pachaug River was a major fishing ground for the Mohegan Indians. At low water the stone weirs, constructed by the Indians at angles from the river banks, are still visible. These weirs directed water flow as well as eels, shad, and other fish toward the center of the stream where the Indians placed baskets to trap them. Until blocked up by a dam, constructed in 1828 at Greenville, shad passed up the Quinebaug River in great numbers.

In pioneer times, a gristmill and sawmill were among the first requisites of a community. In 1711, surveyor Stephen GATES was granted fourteen acres of land within the limits of the present state park for the purpose of constructing mills. He erected a sawmill and cornmill at the natural falls (now underwater) on the Pachaug River for the convenience of the inhabitants. In 1818, Elizah Abel purchased this mill privilege and erected a woolen mill at the site. John Slater later purchased the woolen mill, sawmill, and gristmill; he then built a satinet mill faced with local granite. He named his new mill the Hope Mill. The name Hopeville was derived from this and has remained to the present time. In 1860, the village of Hopeville reached its zenith with the tremendous demands for woolens. At this time, it was owned by Edwin Lanthrop and Company and prospered until 1881 when the mill was destroyed by fire, never to be rebuilt. At the turn of the century, the church and four houses in the community burned. Furthermore, in 1908, the gristmill which had operated from 1711 until that time also went up in flames.

Stephen’s first wife owned the covenant in the First Church in Preston, 17 April 1715, and became a member 27 Sept. 1719. On 30 Nov. 1720 she was a member of the Second Church, probably by transfer from the First Church. According to the History of Griswold, Conn. (p.32) Stephen Gates was a member of the Baptist Church in Groton, Conn., in January 173

In his will, dated 21 June 1779, he mentioned his wife Mercy. The witnesses deposed 27 March 1782. He did not name his children. From the record of the distribution of his estate, 23 Jan. 1790, it appears that all of his children were then deceased except his sons Nehemiah and Joseph. Widow Mercy was mentioned; also heirs of Hannah Perkins, heirs of Thankful Clark, heirs of Phineas Gates, heirs of Stephen Gates, Jr., and heirs of Azariah Gates.When Stephen’s will was proved Jan. 23, 1790, all children were deceased except Joseph and Nehemiah, widow Mercy,and heirs of Hannah Perkins, Thankful Clark, Phineas Gates, Stephens Gates and Azariah Gates are mentioned. (Sons were killed in Indian Wars.)

Children

Two of Stephen’s sons died in October and November 1762.  A 19th Century genealogy said they died in the French and Indian War.  I was confused because that the French and Indian War ended that September.  Researching their unit and commanding officer and through Major General Phineas Lyman I discovered that they were casualties of the Battle of Havana.

Azariah Gates (1725 – 1762) was a solider in the Seven Years War, Battle of Havana from 25 Mar 1762 until 14 Oct 1762 when he died, probably of Yellow Fever in Cuba.   He was in the First Connecticut Regiment under Major General Phineas Lyman, Fifth Company under Captain John Stanton.   In 1762 Lyman was sent with 2,300 men to command the colonial contingent of Lord Albemarle’s army in the capture of Havana.

Phineas Gates (1731 – 1762) was a solider in the Seven Years War, Battle of Havana from 20 Mar 1762 until he was died 30 Nov 1762, like his brother probably of Yellow Fever in  Cuba.   He served with his brother Azariah in the First Connecticut Regiment under Major General Phineas Lyman, Fifth Company under Captain John Stanton.

The Battle of Havana (1762) was a military action from March to August 1762, as part of the Seven Years’ War. British forces besieged and captured the city of Havana, which at the time was an important Spanish naval base in the Caribbean, and dealt a serious blow to the Spanish navy. During the siege the British had lost 2,764 killed, wounded, captured or deserted, but by 18 October also had lost 4,708 dead from sickness. One of the most depleted brigade was transferred to North America where it lost a further 360 men within a month of his arrival.  Havana was subsequently returned to Spain under the 1763 Treaty of Paris that formally ended the war.  but Spain was required to cede Florida and Minorca to Great Britain and pay the Manila Ransom. Spain received French Louisiana as a payment for intervening in the war on the side of the French and as compensation for having lost Florida.

On 28 Jul 1762  1,400 militia from Connecticut arrived in time to aid in the defense of the batteries from the one Spanish sally.

I counted 43 dead and 27 survivors in Azariah and Phineas’s 5th Company, 1st Connecticut Regiment from the Rolls of Connecticut men in the French and Indian War, 1755-1762, Volume 2 By Connecticut Historical Society.   Extrapolating this 61% casualty rate to the entire regiment gives 860 deaths.  I couldn’t find the actual total from this little remembered conflict.  The Connecticut Colony’s total population was 142,000 in 1760.  A similar casualty rate if applied today’s United States would equal 1.8 million deaths.  This was a lot of carnage for a fight not much in the interest of the Connecticut settlers, though maybe the commander did benefit.  In 1763, Phineas Lyman went to England where he remained until 1772, endeavoring to obtain a grant of land in west Florida, a tract near Natchez (now Mississippi) being granted by royal charter in 1772. Lyman led a band of settlers to the region in 1773.

1. Hannah GATES (See Oliver PERKINS Sr.‘ page)

3. Stephen Gates

Stephen’s wife Hannah Meech was born  4 Mar 1724, probably in Preston, CT. Her parents were John Meech and Sarah Hutchins.

5. Nehemiah Gates

Nehemiah’s first wife Elizabeth Baker was born 1724 in Norwich, Connecticut.   Elizabeth died 14 Jun 1759 in Preston, New London, Connecticut.

Nehemiah’s second wife Sarah [__?__] died 8 APR 1763.

Nehemiah’s third wife Mary Partridge was born 3 Aug 1727 in Preston, New London, Connecticut. Her parents were Samuel Partridge and Deborah Rose.  She first married 27 Jan 1748 in Preston, New London, Connecticut to Zephaniah Woodward (20 Jul 1723 in Preston, CT – 17 Apr 1760 New London, CT).  Mary died 26 Jan 1810 in Preston, New London, Connecticut

Nehemiah Gates Headstone — Hopeville Cemetery Hopeville, New London County, Connecticut

Nehemiah was one of the Connecticut soliders who marched in Aug 1757 on the alarm for the relief of Fort William Henry.  He was in the 3rd Regiment Connecticut Militia (New London, Norwich, Lyme) under Col. Eliphalet Dyer, Seventh Company under Captain Ichabod Phelps.   In August, 1755, this regiment was raised in eastern Connecticut to assist in the proposed expedition against Crown Point. Eliphalet Dyer was appointed lieutenant colonel of this regiment. Each town of the county was ordered to furnish its proportion of men.

In the French and Indian War Dyer was a Lt. Colonel in the militia. He was a part of the expedition that captured Crown Point from the French in 1755. In 1758, as a Colonel, he led his regiment to Canada in support of Amherst’s and Wolfe’s operations.  I’m not sure if Nehemiah participated in these other operations.

The Siege of Fort William Henry was conducted in August 1757 by French General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm against the British-held Fort William Henry. The fort, located at the southern end of Lake George, on the frontier between the British Province of New York and the French Province of Canada, was garrisoned by a poorly supported force of British regulars and provincial militia led by Lieutenant Colonel George Monro. After several days of bombardment, Monro surrendezred to Montcalm, whose force included nearly 2,000 Indians from a large number of tribes. The terms of surrender included the withdrawal of the garrison to Fort Edward, with specific terms that the French military protect the British from the Indians as they withdrew from the area.

In one of the most notorious incidents of the French and Indian War, Montcalm’s Indian allies violated the agreed terms of surrender and attacked the British column, which had been deprived of ammunition, as it left the fort. They killed and scalped a significant number of soldiers, took as captives women, children, servants, and slaves, and slaughtered sick and wounded prisoners. Early accounts of the events called it a massacre, and implied that as many as 1,500 people were killed, even though it is unlikely more than 200 people (less than 10% of the British fighting strength) were actually killed in the massacre..

In 1762 Azariah and Phineas served in the 1st Connecticut Regiment 5th Company

6. Azariah Gates

Azariah’s wife Mary Jones was born  xx.

Azariah was a solider in the Seven Years War, Battle of Havana from 25 Mar 1762 until 14 Oct 1762 when he died, probably of Yellow Fever in Cuba.   He was in the First Connecticut Regiment under Major General Phineas Lyman, Fifth Company under Captain John Stanton.   In 1762 Lyman was sent with 2,300 men to command the colonial contingent of Lord Albemarle’s army in the capture of Havana.

1st Connecticut Regiment 5th Company 1762 – Over half the company perished primarily from Yellow Fevor including Azariah and Phineas

1st Connecticut Regiment 5th Company 1762 – I counted 43 dead and 27 survivors

The Battle of Havana (1762) was a military action from March to August 1762, as part of the Seven Years’ War. British forces besieged and captured the city of Havana, which at the time was an important Spanish naval base in the Caribbean, and dealt a serious blow to the Spanish navy. During the siege the British had lost 2,764 killed, wounded, captured or deserted, but by 18 October also had lost 4,708 dead from sickness. One of the most depleted brigade was transferred to North America where it lost a further 360 men within a month of his arrival.  Havana was subsequently returned to Spain under the 1763 Treaty of Paris that formally ended the war.  but Spain was required to cede Florida and Minorca to Great Britain and pay the Manila Ransom. Spain received French Louisiana as a payment for intervening in the war on the side of the French and as compensation for having lost Florida.

El Morro fortress in Havana, stormed by the British in July 1762

The Conn Brigade under General Phineas Lyman joined the British in the Carribean and by July 1762 were encamped outside of Havana.

The heat and humidity were a trial to the English. “Even in the commencement of the siege, the distresses to which the soldiers were exposed, were sufficient to damp the ardour of any but the bravest; their labours were excessive; and yet they only led to severer toils. Their roads of communication were to be cut through forests that were almost impenetrable; and their heavy artillery was to be dragged, for a vast way, over a rough and rocky shore. To many their exertions and sufferings were intolerable; the powerful co-operation of labour, thirst, and excessive heat, became insupportable; they sunk beneath a complicated burden, and expired amidst the violence of their fatigues” . In the wake of the ship-to-fort duel, the Spanish knocked out an artillery battery on the ridge: “The labour of 600 men for 17 days was destroyed in a few hours, and all was to be constructed anew” (p. 276). Albemarle’s men, however, were able to force their way across the moat on 20 July and begin mining the Morro’s walls.

On 28 Jul 1762  1,400 militia from Connecticut arrived in time to aid in the defense of the batteries from the one Spanish sally. Prado gathered together a rather motley collection of 1,200 militia and threw them against the English lines. Although the opening attack was a surprise, the English recovered quickly and beat back three charges. On the 30th the engineers mining the walls finally had their charges set and blew a breach in the Morro’s walls. Albemarle’s two brothers led the English charge and they made short work of the defenders. Luis de Velasco, commander of the Morro, died defending his flag.

7. Capt. Joseph Gates

Joseph’s first wife Abigail Baker was born about 1723.  Abigail  died before 18 Sep 1757.  The date for Abigail Baker’s death is not definite. Neither is the date of Joseph’s marriage to Mabel Partridge. This makes it difficult to determine which wife gave birth to Joseph’s early children.

Joseph’s second wife Mabel Partridge was born 16 May 1738 in Preston, New London, Connecticut. Her parents were Thomas Partridge and Sarah Treat. Mabel died 31 Oct 1774 in Preston, New London, Connecticut.

Joseph’s third wife Dorothy Gates was born 25 Mar 1742 in Preston, CT.   Her parents were Daniel Gates (1707 – 1767) and Mercy Heald (1711 – 1803).  She was the widow of Jesse Seaton.  Dorothy and Joseph were second cousins, having a common great-grandfather, Stephen Gates 1640-1707. Joseph descended from one of Stephen’s sons (Stephen), and Dorothy from another of Stephen’s sons (Thomas). Dorothy died 9 Feb 1805 in her 63rd year.

Homestead of Joseph Gates

In his book of Gates Family Records, Henry S. Gates Jr. describes his visits to the Gates cemetery in Hopeville, CT. and this location. His visit was about 30 years after this photo was taken (probably by his father). He writes: “The Gates homestead is about 1/2 mile south of the cemetery at a curve in the road, on the east side. The farmhouse was still standing in the 1960s when I visited and brought home a brick from the fireplace and a wooden peg that had been used in construction. In 2010, a satellite image of the area shows a curve in the road about a half mile south of the cemetery and some buildings in the area, but does not provide enough information to make any certain conclusions about the homestead site. Also, land along the east side of the road here appears to be part of a state park.

Dr Joseph Gates Headstone — Hopeville Cemetery Hopeville, New London, Connecticut

8. Thankful Gates

Thankful’s husband Nathaniel Clark was born 1729 in Preston, New London, Connecticut. His parents were Theopholus Clark and Martha [__?__].  After Thankful died, he married 26 Sep 1768 to Jemima Allen.  Nathaniel died in 1802 in Plainfield, Connecticut.

9. Phineas Gates

Phineas’ wife Esther Herrick was born 16 Apr 1738 in Preston, CT.  Her parents were Ephraim Herrick and Rachel Fellows.

Phineas was a solider in the Seven Years War, Battle of Havana from 20 Mar 1762 until he was died 30 Nov 1762, like his brother probably of Yellow Fever in  Cuba.   He served with his brother Azariah in the First Connecticut Regiment under Major General Phineas Lyman, Fifth Company under Captain John Stanton .

Adults of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. The male on the left, females on the right. Only the female mosquito bites can transmit the disease

Excerpt from the Journal of the Rev. John Graham. Chaplain First Connecticut Regiment in the Havana Expedition, 1762. Published by the New York Society of Colonial Wars

Saturday, September 25, 1762.—A Pleasant morning, nothing extraordinary happened the last Night—but Sable night in gloomy Majesty sat upon the Camp, a Season, when men used to labour and fatague in ye day retire from Labour to recline their weary Limbs, and refresh themselves with rest. . . . But in Camp how wide the’ difference, the Season, true, invites to Rest but alas the heavy murmurs that humme among the Tents, and bursting groans from throbing hearts Seized with panick, horror and Surprise because febrile flame kindles upon their vitals, or Tyrant pain, Tyger like preys upon their Bones or as a harpy Devours their entrails, forbids repose—nor Sooner did I deposite my weary Limbs in Bed and embrace the delectable pillow, but groan echoes to groan, and Sigh rises upon Sigh not unlike the waves and billows of a Raging Sea. . . . Thus with our Melancholly Camp a fatal desease enters tent after Tent, and with irresistable force strikes hands with soldier after Soldier, and with hostile violence Seizes the brave, the bold, the hearty and the Strong, no force of arms, no Strength of Limbs, no Solemn vows, no piteous moans, no heartrending Groans, no vertue in means, no Skill of Physicians can free from the Tyrant hand, but death cruel death that stands Just behind, draws the Curtain, Shews himself to the unhappy prisoner, and with peircing Sound Cried thou art, and at once throws his fatal dart, and fast binds them in Iron Chains—or Some disease in a Milder way Salutes them, and more gently treats them, but by Sure and certain Steps flatters them along by Slow degrees till they are introduced into the hands of unrelenting death. . . . Others roll from Side to Side, and turn into every posture to find ease from pain that wrack their Tortured limbs—others that are yet untouch’d with diseases Called from their rest to help the distressed: hearken and likely you’l hear them as they pass along, return oaths for groans and Curses for Sighs horrible to hear! Thus death in Camp reigns and has Tryumphed over Scores already, and diseases has hundreds fast bound as prisoners—and how few alas how few are prisoners of Hope.

But are Soldiers the only persons attacked or exposed? Verilly no, where are the Capts. the Lt. and Ensign that lately appeared and adorned our Camp, now Succeeded by others in the Same Command; are they not becom victims to Death, and Now held prisoners in the Grave on this Barbarous land, their deposited with many of their bold Soldiers till the last trumpit shall wake the Sleeping dead. . . . But heark, mithink I hear a different voice, uttering heavy Groans where is it? Surely it’s in the next Tent, O the officers of the field, Certainly no defference paid to Rank—The 2d in Command in the Regiment is Seized with Cold Chills that pass through every part, throws all nature into violent agitation and Shakes the whole frame; a febrile flame Succeeds, this alternate, till his vigorous and active limbs becomes feeble, and his ruddy Countenance, put on a pale and Languide hue—yet he lives. . . . Thus night after night are we accosted with the cries and Groan of the Sick and dying. Lamentations, Mourning and Woe in all most every Tent; and what hearts so hard? Who so past all Sensation, thats invested with any Degree of humanitv, as not to feel a Sympathetic Smart. . . .

Sources:

http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/person.aspx?pid=16785785

http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/8146634/person/-918180857

http://newenglandgenealogy.pcplayground.com/f_75.htm#53

Genealogies of Connecticut families: from the New England historical and … By Judith McGhan, Genealogical Publishing Co

http://www.theharmons.us/harmon_t/names35.htm#GATES

Rolls of Connecticut men in the French and Indian War, 1755-1762, Volume 2 By Connecticut Historical Society

http://hubpages.com/hub/Battle-of-Havana-1762-AD

Public opinion, Volume 24

Stephen Gates of Hingham and Lancaster, Massachusetts, and his descendents : a preliminary work subject to addition and correction” 1898 Charles Otis Gates (Author)