A Guest Post by Cousin Gayle Neuhaus
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LIEUTENANT JAMES REYNOLDS
What a thrill it was to find my sixth great grandfather, Lieutenant James Reynolds, at Heritage Quest Online, Revolutionary War Records.
“In 1775 he entered the militia company of Captain William Taylor of North Kingston, answering alarms and serving short tours. During an engagement, defending the ferry boat, “Hawk”, a bullet was shot through his coat, one of the buttons being cut off.
In his continued service of 1776-77, James was a guard at Harragansett Bay. By 1878, he was serving in the Rhode Island Regiment, which captured the British frigate “Cypress” and some barges from a British vessel. At this time, he received a wound to his left hip. James served in many other expeditions.
In June of 1780, he was elected by the General Assembly of Rhode Island as a lieutenant of the 2nd Company of Militia of South Kingston. Lieutenant James Reynolds served in the Rhode Island Troops at Butts’ Hill and Newport.
After the Revolution, James returned to North Kingston. He applied for a pension, September 4, 1832. He died in 1846, at the age of 89 in South Kingston.”…Excerpts from a letter on the Heritage Quest Online site
Lieutenant James Reynolds was the father of my fifth great grandmother, Mary Reynolds Hopkins –>, William Clark Hopkins–>, Harriet Hopkins Hubbard–>, Charles Eugene Hubbard–>, Faye Hubbard Fredrickson.
James was born March 4, 1757 at South Kingston, Washington County, Rhode Island. He was the son of Thomas and Freelove Fowler Reynolds. A brother, Thomas, is known. When he was eleven years old, his family moved to North Kingston.
Before 1781, he married Rachel Peckham, daughter of Timothy and Mary Barber Peckham. They were the parents of seven children, one was my fifth grandmother, Mary Hopkins, mother of twelve, including a set of twins. Rachel died in April, 1796, when her youngest child was only two years old. James married a second time to Eunice Austin in August, 1796. They had ten children, including two sets of twins.
According to Daniel Stedman (Daniel Stedman ‘s Journal) , who married James and Rachel’s daughter, Freelove, “Father” James Reynolds died December 3, 1846 at the age of 91 years, 9 months, lacking two days. This conflicts with the age given in his military records and James handwritten record.
As thrilled as I was to find Grandfather James Revolutionary War records, the following pages, handwritten by him were even more exciting. These came from a very distant cousin, who is descended from Grandfather James’ son, James, born in 1794.
A Few Nuts From The Tree 