My 4th maternal great grandfather, Jesse Kimball was born March 19, 1760 in Preston Township, Connecticut. He married Elizabeth Roelofson (1773 - 1843) in the winter of 1793-94 in Red Banks Kentucky. Jesse died November 18, 1857 in Gibson County, Indiana at the age of 97 and was buried on his farm in what is now known as the Kimball cemetery.
Preston, CT (1760 - 1781)
Jessie spent his formative years in Preston, Ct. where he lived until approximately 1781. He was the son of John Kimball and Ruhama Sanders. Jesse came from a large family; according to Kimball family history records, Jesse had 2 brothers, Isaac and Samuel, and 13 sisters including Thankful, Prudence, Olive, Azuba, Silvia, Amy, Margaret, and Mary the names of the remaining sisters are unknown.
Jessie's family probably lived in a two-and-one-half story wood-framed home with gable roofs and clapboard siding that was typical of early homes in the area. Several homes built just prior to the Revolution still stand in the history district of Preston.
Revolutionary War Service (1781)
His Kimball ancestors were early American settlers having sailed from Ipswich, England on April 10th, 1634 aboard the "Elizabeth" and settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The family supported the Revolutionary war effort.
His father John served as a Private in the Light Infantry company of Capt Riley under the Marquis de LaFayette. His older brother Samuel served in the Connecticut militia.
According to Jesse's pension request filed August 20, 1847, Samuel contracted the measles near the end of his term, he came home to recuperate and Jesse returned in his place to complete his term of service. Jesse stated he served no less than 3 months under Captain Adam Shapley and was discharged in 1781.
Bowman's Creek, NY (1781 - 1791)
Soon after his discharge, Jesse moved to the frontier settlement of Bowman's Creek (current day village of Buel), near the present-day town of Canajoharie in Oneida country, New York.
While living in Bowman's creek, Jesse enrolled in the militia as required by New York law (the Revolutionary war was still ongoing.) During the American Revolution (1775–1783) Montgomery County was then part of Tryon County. In the lead up to the war, the county was fairly evenly split between the British loyalist and the rebellion-minded residents. Of the seven county judges, 4 were loyal to the crown. while the other three sided with the American cause.
While living in Bowman's creek, Jesse enrolled in the militia as required by New York law (the Revolutionary war was still ongoing.) During the American Revolution (1775–1783) Montgomery County was then part of Tryon County. In the lead up to the war, the county was fairly evenly split between the British loyalist and the rebellion-minded residents. Of the seven county judges, 4 were loyal to the crown. while the other three sided with the American cause.
According to the visitmontgomerycountyny.com website,
"The Tryon County Militia was formed in 1772 when the Province of New York authorized the establishment of a civilian armed force in each county. In August 1774, shortly before the outbreak of the American Revolution, some rebellion-minded residents of the county formed the Tryon County Committee of Safety. Their goal was to harass their Loyalist neighbors, and they did so rather effectively...
Before the end of the War, more than 1,200 farms would be abandoned and 354 families would leave the county. With the Loyalists out of the way, the Tryon County Militia became – in effect – an army of rebellion under the control of the Committee for Safety."
On April 21, 1789, Jesse purchased 97 acres of land for 270 pounds. On the same day he sold a 213 acre parcel for 340 pounds. Both parcels lay on Bowman's Creek 6 miles southwest of Canajoharie town. According to Jesse's pension application while living on Bowman's Creek his house where his discharge papers were located burned down.
According to family tradition, Jesse made an unfortunate first marriage that ended in divorce. It probably happened while Jesse was living in Bowman's creek. When the first US census was taken in 1790, Jesse was residing in Canajoharie, where he was head of the household containing 1 male over 16, 1 male under 16, and 4 females.
According to his bio in the Dartmouth College Library Digital Collections, Jesse entertained Reverend Samson Occom, a member of the Mohegan nation, from near New London, CT, who became a Presbyterian cleric. The two often fished in the creek, to Occom's delight.
Indian Wars - Cincinnati, OH (1791 - 1792)
According to Jesse's pension application after leaving New York, he served 3 years during the "Indian Wars" in the 2nd Regiment under Captain John Buel.
In the 1780's Indian tribes in the Northwest Territory were attacking American settlers at the encouragement of British agents who remained in the area in violation of the peace treaty that ended the Revolutionary War. In the Harmar campaign, in the fall of 1790, the First American Regiment was badly defeated during an attempt to put an end the Indian raids.
In March 1791, Congress authorized the creation of the 2nd regiment. In the Military Journal of Major Ebenezer Denny said "... the bulk of the army was composed; men collected from the streets and prisons of the cities, hurried out to the enemy's country..."
In the fall of 1791, General Arthur St. Clair and his troops, 1400 men strong headed for the western frontier. Captain Buel, Jesse's direct officer, was ordered to leave New Brunswick, NJ in August 1791. Jesse's regiment marched from New Jersey to Fort Washington, present day Cincinnati, Ohio.
St. Clair's Defeat, - In September 1791, General St. Clair 's forces advanced slowly north from Fort Washington, building a road and forts as it progressed. On the night of 3 - 4 November 1791 the force was routed, and St. Clair, having lost 637 killed and 263 wounded, returned to Fort Washington. Jesse was lucky to have survived.
In 1792, Major Anthony Wayne was named commander-in-chief of the Army. After reorganizing and training the troops, In October 1793, Wayne's troops advanced toward Fort Miami, a new British post on the present site of Toledo. They built fortifications along the way and wintered at Greenville. On 20 August 1794 the Indians were thoroughly defeated at Fallen Timbers. Jay's Treaty (1794) resulted in the evacuation of frontier posts by the British.
Red Banks, KY (1794 - 1805)
Jesse was discharged in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1792 and headed towards New Orleans. Somewhere near Red Banks, (now Henderson) Kentucky, the River boat captain abandoned his ship and Jesse was stranded. Red Banks was a frontier town, the inhabitants were described as "horse thieves, rogues and outlaws". Residents faced greater threats from the local Indians.
Author B. Van Cleve, described the conditions of Red Banks in 1795 as: "... a refuge, not for the oppressed, but for all the horse thieves, rogues and outlaws that have been able to effect their escape from justice in the neighboring states. Neither law nor gospel has been able to reach here as yet."
In Nov. 1792, a Jesse Kymball was listed as an inhabitant of Red Banks, Kentucky. In the winter of 1793-94, Jesse married Elizabeth Roelofson (1773 - 1843). Elizabeth was a Dutch Holland descent. She has been described as fair haired, ruddy cheeked, stout, industrious, and "no taller than the back of a splint-bottomed chair." She and her family migrated to America when she was just a child. During his time in Kentucky, Jesse keep close ties with the Roelofson family. The Roelofson family were active in early county Presbyterian churches. He and Elizabeth started their family of 10 known children, most of whom were born in Red Banks.
In Kentucky, Jesse was a farmer and miller. Around 1797 Jesse made improvements on a tract of land in Hopkins county which was sold in 1812. On January 1, 1801, Jesse received a deed for 150 acres of land in Smith Mills county which he paid $200. In 1807 Jesse sold his farm in Henderson county.
According to his pension application, Jesse traveled back to Connecticut to visit his family. Although no dates were given, it possibly to place while he was living in Kentucky. Sometime after his visit to Connecticut Jesse's father, mother, brother Isaac and Isaac's sons followed Jesse west.
After several years of milling and farming Jesse had some difficulty with the local Indians. According to Tartt History of Gibson County, "one time, while he was out in a maple grove making sugar, they came and burned his cabin and carried off everything of value that suited their fancy."
According to Gilbert X. Drendel, Jr. in his book Footprints in Southern Indiana: Hullum Jones and Sarah Kimball (1796-1870), "...He also occasionally turned some of the ground corn into alcohol to quench the parched lips of his friends and customers. However, according to family legend, Jesse refused to sell liquor from his mill to Indians who burned his house in retribution. After Indians burned their home, Jesse and Elizabeth Roelofson Kimball and their children moved across the Ohio River in 1805-6 to an undeveloped area in the Indiana Territory."
Posey County, IN (1805 - 1857)
About 1805 Jesse left Henderson, KY. The family crossed the border to Indiana and settled in Posey County in what would become Montgomery township. On current day roads it is a distance of 35 miles. After putting a pole through the mill grinding stones for an axle, Jesse and his family drove their wagon along an old Indian trail to their new home.
The family settled on section 24, township 3 south, range 12, six miles south of Owensville. He built his home site of an old Indian village, and his humble cabin stood near a large perennial spring of pure cold water. He planted an apple orchard on his place from which fruit was harvested as early as 1812.
Jesse was among the first residents of Montgomery township. His closest neighbor was 6 miles away. The pioneers cultivated Indian corn and hunted game in the surrounding forest. Until a grist mill was built, the residents had to haul their corn to Red Banks. At some point he replaced his humble cabin with the first frame house in the area.
In 1810 Jesse built a flutter wheel water mill on Black river and ground corn for himself and few neighbors. In 1811, when the Indian' trouble appeared at its worst, a stockade was built south of Owensville, and the families gathered for protection. In 1813 Jesse built a horse mill that remained in operation until 1838.
The local Indians were plentiful and sometimes hostile. Jesse attempted to maintain good relations with them. He was very fleet of foot and frequently had foot races with the Indians. According to one story he beat an Indian chief in a foot race. Jesse seeing that the Indians observing the race had grown sullen announced that the race had been won unfairly, and proposed they rerun the race. Nearing the goal, Jesse purposely stumbled and fell. The Indian was acclaimed the victor and good humor was restored.
In appearance, Jesse was short, stocky, fair-skinned, and possibly red-haired. He wore his locks long, tying them on week days with a leather thong, and on Sundays with a black ribbon. He was a Whig and a staunch Methodist. He possessed a genial disposition, a keen sense of humor, and a decided gift for whimsical narrative.
His faithful wife Elizabeth died in 1843. Jesse died November 18, 1857 and was buried next to her in the family graveyard on their old homestead. Also buried in the family graveyard is Jesse's father and mother and three of his sisters, Margaret, Amy and Thankful.
Jesse's children
Mary (Polly) (1794 - 1856) married 1822 to James Gates
Sarah (Sally) (1796 - 1870) married 1811 to Jesse W. Kimball;
1819 to Hallum Jones
Elisha (1798 - 1839) married 1821 to Mary (Polly) Boyle
Amy (1799 - 1820)
Margaret (1800 - 1835)
Esther (1802 - 1871) married 1819 to Samuel Miller
Isaac (1804 - 1878) married 1825 to Phyllis Low
Enoch (1806 - 1855) married 1828 to Sarah (Sally) Boyle
Cynthia * (1809 - 1865) married 1825 to Ephraim Knowles
Mahalah (1812 - 1876) married 1832 to William L. Burton;
1847 to Andrew Baird
* my ancestor
