Daughters of Continental Line Officers who were Students at the Moravian Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Daughters of Continental Line Officers who were Students at the Moravian Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania THE ONSET OF THE REVOLUTION the Moravian town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania hoped to maintain a neutral position: "It is our desire to live at peace with all men. We wish well to the country in which we dwell. Our declining to exercise in the use of arms is no new thing, nor does it proceed from certain considerations, being rather a fundamental principle of the Brethren's Church, a point of conscience which our first settlers brought with them into this province." This stand made life very difficult for the citizens of Bethlehem. Their property was searched, their refusal to take the oath of allegiance and the refusal of their young men to serve in the militia, caused them to be harassed by the new government. However, there was no way to keep the War from their doorsteps, troops, bands of prisoners of war and couriers with news of battles were constantly in their midst. In December 1776, General Washington ordered that the General Hospital of the Army be removed to Bethlehem. Every available space in the town was soon filled with the wounded and dying. Officers were lodged in the famous Sun Inn. '1' he entire hospital staff and many of the officers attended the Christmas Eve service in the Moravian Churuh. For several years Bethlehem endured epidemics of Typhus, and the difficulties of mass burials of the soldiers. They depleted their own supplies caring for the sick and wounded. During the long years of the War there were many important visitors, one being General George Washington in 1782. His wife Martha had been an earlier visitor who was much impressed by the kindly Moravians. IV The Moravians were welt advance in the field of education. As early as 1742 they had established a school for girls in the Ashmead House in Germantown. In 1743 this school was transferred to Bethlehem and has remained in existence ever since. Until 1785 it was exclusively for the daughters of the Moravian families, and the daughter of Moravian missionaries in far-flung places. It is not entirely clear what it was that persuaded them to open the boarding 176 Daughters of Continental Line Officers 177 school to non-Moravians. The Moravians believed id a universal education for all, and were respected for their competence in education. Within a few years the daughters of a new American "aristocracy" were corning in great numbers to the Moravian Seminary for Young Ladies. Not surprisingly, among them were daughters of the officers of Washington's Continental Army. It may be presumed that they had been in Bethlehem during the Revclution and liked what they saw there. A remarkable and little known genealogical treasure is A History of the Moravian Seminaryfor Young Ladies, at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with a Catalouge of its Pupils, 1785-1899, by William C. Reichel & William H. Bigler, (Bethlehem 1901). There are earlier editions of the work, as well. The catalouge lists each student during the year of her admission, up to 1825 her birth date is given, the name of her parent or guardian and place of residence, in many instances it also includes the name of her husband, date of marriage, place of residence and date of death. From this record it is possible to document some of the daughters of Continental Line officers. There follows a list of those know officers and their daughters based on Bryce Metcalf's study Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the Society of the Cincinnati, 1783-1938. The dates in parenthesis indicate the year of admission of the student so she can be found in the catalouge. Commodore James Barron, Virginia Navy. Josephine Barron, born August 1806 (1820) Major Ephrain Bowen, Jr. Quartermaster-General, Rhode Island Militia. Julia Bowen, born 1 December 1779; married John Martin. (1792) Elizabeth Bowen, born 24 March 1789; married John H. Clark; died 3 July 1827. (1802) Captain James Bruff, 5th Regiment Maryland Continental Line. Eliza Bruff, born 3 December 1789. (1800) Lieutenant Edward Butler, 3rd Regiment Pennsylvania Continental Line. Caroline Butler, born 15 June 1787; married Robert Bell; Nashville, Tennessee. (1800) Colonel Richard Butler, 3rd Regiment Pennsylvania Continental Line. Mary Butler, born 10 April 1785; married 17 April 1805, Isaac Meason; Connellsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. (1792) 178 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Captain Thomas Butler, 3rd Regiment Pennsylvania Continental Line. Lydia Butler, born 9 March 1788; married Stokely D. Hays; Jackson, Tennessee. (1800) Captain Epaphroditus Champion, Assistant Commissary, Continental Army. Lucretia Champion, born 17 February 1783. (1798) Colonel John Chester, 6th Connecticut Regiment. Elizabeth Chester, born 10 November 1774; married 8 June 1807, E. F. Backus. (1789) Mary Chester, born 20 April 1779; married 8 June 1806, E. Welles; Brattleboro, Vermont. (1793) Lieutenant Peter Colt, Deputy Commissary-General of Purchases. Sarah Colt, born 22 January 1782. (1796) Catherine Colt, born 16 May 1784. (1797) First Lieutenant Edward Crawford, 3rd Regiment Pennsylvania Line. Catherine Crawford, born 4 July 1789; married Mr. Munro. (1800) Captain Jonathan Dayton, Cummings New jersey Continental Battalion. Phoebe Woodruff Dayton, born 28 October 1777; married Mr. Wade. (1790) Colonel William Richardson Davie, North Carolina State Calvary. Mary Davie, born 25 June 1789. (1802) Captain Ely Dorsey, 2nd Regiment Maryland Continental Line. Mary Dorsey, born October 1784. (1797) Elizabeth Dorsey, born July 1786. (1797) Surgeon's-Mate Nathan Dorsey, Hospital Detachment, Continental Army. Ann Dorsey, born 3 May 1789. (1802) Lieutenant Ephraim Douglas, 2nd Regiment Pennsylvania Continental Line. Sarah Douglas, born April 1786; married Daniel Kellar. (1797) Captain Samuel Flower,f3rd Regiment Massachusetts Continental Line. Mary A. Flower, born 4 June 1805. (1815) Eliza Flower, born 31 August 1807. (1815) Lieutenant Thomas Glascock, 1st. Regiment Continental Dragoons. Ann Glascock, born 10 November 1 793; married 1st John Malone; 2nd David Savage; died 10 June 1828. (1806) Daughters of Continental Line Officers 179 Major-General Nathanael Greene, Continental Line. Martha Washington Greene, born 14 March 1777; married 1st Jonathan Nightengale, before 1.797; 2nd Henry Turner, M. D. (1788) Cornelia Lott Greene, born 23 September 1779; married 1st Mr. Skipwith; 2nd Edward Littlefieldjackson, Mississippi. (1788) First Lieutenant Abijah Hammond, 3rd Regiment Continental Artillery. Martha Hammond, born 27 January 1778; married David L. Ogden. (1790) Abigail Hammond, born March 1792. (1806) Lieutenant Nehemiah Hubbard, Deputy Quartermaster-General, Sarah Hubbard, born 11 January 1780; married 1st, I1 November 1798, Mr. Rosekrans; 2nd Enoch Parsons; Middletown, Connecticut, moved to Ashtabula, Ohio. (1789) Brigade-Chaplain Andrew Hunter, New Jersey Continental Brigade. Ann Hunter, born March 1780. (1793) Brigadier-General jedediah Huntington, Continental Army. Eliza Moore Huntington, born 20 January 1779; died 21 March 1823. (1790) Ann C. Huntington, born 9 October 1780; married Peter Richards; died 9 January 1857. (1791) Faith Huntington, born 7 October 1782; married Benjamin Huntington; New York; died 5 April 1838. (1792) Harriet Smith Huntington, born 24 July 1784; married John DeWitt; died 6 September 1849. (1793) Ensign Ephraim Kirby, Olney's Rhode Island Continental Battalion, Fanny Kirby, born 6 April 1785; married Colonel Joseph Smith. (1797). Second Lieutenant John Lawrence, Judge Advocate-General. Ann Lawrence, born I May 1784. (1793) Elizabeth Lawrence, born 2 April 1786; died May 1862. (1793) Brigade Major Daniel Leet, Virginia Continental Brigade. Elizabeth Leet, born 27 February 1784; married 10 November 1803, David Shields; Sewicklyville, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. (1.797) Colonel Nicholas Long, Deputy Quartermaster-General, Southern Dept. Margaret Long, born 31 January 17--; Married Thomas Telfair; Savannah, Georgia. (1801) 180 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Lieutenant Claude-Antoine Villet de Marcellin, 2nd Regiment Pennsylvania Continental Line. Louisa Marcellin, born 5 May 1792; married Robert Chew. (18{2) Eliza Marcellin, born 20 March 1798. (1810) Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs, 6th Regiment Connecticut Continental Line. Mary Sophia Meigs, born I January 1792; married 19 July 1809, John G. Jackson; Clarksburg, Virginia. (1802) Major Nathaniel Mitchell, Gist's Additional Continental Regiment. Mary Ann Mitchell, born 3 April 1795; married 13 February 1817, John King; Georgetown, D. C.; died 1822. (1806) Captain Thomas Parramore, 9th Regiment Virginia Continental Line. Margaret Parrarnore, born 26 July 1789. (1803) Captain Thomas Pemberton, 1st Regiment Continental Dragoons. Ann Coleman Pemberton, born 4 December 1792; married Mr. Crenshaw. (1805) Mary Baily Pemberton, born 23 May 1794; married Mr. Brice (1805) Dice K. Pemberton, born 13 June 1797; married 4 August 1814, Isaac Quarles; Richmond, Virginia. (1809) Captain Samuel Postlethwaite, Assistant Deputy Quartermaster. Amelia Postlethwaite, born 1 March 1780; married Mr. Coulter; Greensburg, Pennsylvania; died 1817. (1793) Lieutenant-Colonel Ebenezer Sprout, 2nd Regiment Massachusetts Continental Line. Sarah Sprout, born 28 January 1782; married Solomon Sibley; Detroit, Michigan. (1792) Brigadier-General Thomas Sumter, South Carolina Troops. grandaughter, Eliza Sumter, born 22 December 1787. (1799) Captain William Van Lear, 5th Regiment Pennsylvania Continental Line. Eliza Van Lear, born 2 March 1790. (1803) First Lieutenant William Witman, 9th Pennsylvania Regiment Cont. Line. Hester Witman, born 1 September 1795; married Daniel Otto; Philadelphia. Sarah Witman, born 18 April 1797; married John B. Otto, M.D. (1809)