This file part of www.dodgejeffgen.com website

Patriots of the Revolutionary War

Watertown Daily Times, 05 22 2010

By Steve Sharp of the Watertown Daily Times staff

JEFFERSON — Few area residents realize they dwell among some of America's oldest heroes — patriots of the Revolutionary War. Granted, these men, once youthful thorns in the side of British imperialism, are lying at well-earned rest in cemeteries, but they are permanently woven into the historical fabric of south-central Wisconsin.

Eliada Brown

In fact, it is believed a trio of these patriots is buried in Dodge and Jefferson counties and one, Eliada Brown, is about to receive long-overdue honors.

According to information compiled by the Wisconsin Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (WISSAR), two revolutionaries are buried in Dodge County, with Brown in Jefferson County. On Memorial Day, the Jefferson Historical Society, in conjunction with WISSAR, will hold a service, plaque dedication and reception honoring Brown, whose gravesite is located in Jefferson's Greenwood Cemetery.

Cathi Nelson, secretary and a board member of the Jefferson Historical Society, said this week society members are excited about the upcoming event.

"It's always nice to have a celebration to honor one of our fallen," Nelson said. "We were aware he was there in the cemetery for quite some time and we marked his grave — there is a nice plaque up there already — but the Sons of the American Revolution do a much bigger thing than we do. This is very unique for us."

Nelson said members of WISSAR contacted the local historical society about three months ago, saying they were searching for Brown's grave. Nelson said her sister, Maryann Gleisner, president of the historical society, provided the Sons with information she had about the burial site.

Nelson said the WISSAR honor of Brown is a great thing for the city of Jefferson as a whole.

"Jefferson has always been a town that is proud of its history and we are elated to find that someone else is interested in it and is helping us preserve it," she said.

Nelson said her Jefferson historians' group is hoping for a large turnout on Memorial Day.

"We hope to attract a big crowd. It's Memorial Day afternoon, so people might be all paraded-out, or they might have family gatherings, but we are hoping to have a nice crowd," she said.

Nelson said the Jefferson Historical Society has learned that some of Brown's relatives, one of whom lives in Jefferson, will be attending the dedication.

"Joyce Thurston of Jefferson is a relative, in her 80s, and one of her sons is also planning on coming," Nelson said. "There might be a relative from Madison who is coming, as well."

Gleisner said a Thurston family history has been compiled and the lineage is traced back to Eliada Brown. She said she is pleased some of Brown's descendants are planning to attend the ceremony.

"We are always busy, but this is the biggest thing that has happened to us in awhile," Gleisner said. "The more we dig into our history, the more it boggles the mind."

Thurston, who turned 90 years old on Thursday, confirmed she will attend the event. However, she implied that the idea of honoring her ancestor is a bit abstract.

"I think it's my great-great-grandfather's grandfather. It is sort of overwhelming to me," Thurston said. "When I moved here to Jefferson in the late 1940s from Hancock, Wis., I didn't even know I had a (familial) connection. But I'm not really into stuff like this. I think more about today and tomorrow, rather than this old stuff. But I'll be out there on Memorial Day."

In the mid-1930s, WISSAR began researching, locating and documenting the final resting places of the state's patriots of the American Revolution. These men, in the twilight of their lives, moved with their adult children to what was then known as the "Wisconsin Territory" and they now lie in cemeteries throughout the state.

So far, WISSAR has documented the graves of 41 patriots and the sites are cataloged on the group's Web site, located at www.wissar.org/graves.htm. WISSAR has visited grave sites, photographed the markers and obtained the GPS coordinates of most of them. The actual burial locations of a few patriots, most from the Milwaukee area, are not known. Grave markers have not been located for them, but documentation has verified that they were buried in Wisconsin.

Brown was born on July 29, 1760, in Hadden, Conn., and he died in 1855.

"At age 20, Brown enlisted in July 1780 and served a three-month tour as a private in Capt. Stenen's Company of Col. Nichol's New Hampshire Regiment," WISSAR documents state. "Eliada was acting as a sentry to Gen. Benedict Arnold at West Point at the time of Arnold's desertion. Brown re-enlisted in April 1781 and served seven or eight months as a private in Capt. Charles Nelson's Company of Col. Benjamin Wait's Vermont Regiment. He assisted in building the fort at Corinth, Vt., and guarding the frontier and participating in scouting parties."

A portion of the WISSAR research on Brown, however, is disputed by his daughter's account published in the Jefferson Banner July 21, 1909. In her writing to the Banner, Helen M. Brown Whipple, who was living in Chicago at the time, said Brown enlisted in the military at the age of 15, on July 15, 1775, in New Hampshire. Brown Whipple writes that her father was in the Battle of Bunker Hill and many others.

"He fought hard and done his duty," she stated. "I have often heard him say they had but one ration a day and that the snow was covered with blood from his feet. They suffered every privation but determined to gain America's freedom. The officers were stern with them because they had so many traitors with them. My father ... was very kind and a good swordsman."

Brown lived in Vermont until 1838, when he moved with his wife and family to Jefferson. He moved back to Vermont in 1846 and, after a brief sojourn to Illinois, returned to Wisconsin. Brown died on June 23, 1855, at the age of 95 and is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery on East Greenwood Street in Jefferson, Section 2W. A bronze government maker and an upright stone family marker identify his grave.

Levi Holcomb

According to WISSAR, Dodge County's Levi Holcomb, was born in Granby, Conn., on Jan. 15, 1763, and died in 1854. At the age of 16 or 17, Holcomb enlisted in Granby in September of 1779 or 1780 as a substitute for his brother, Enos. He is buried in Burnett Corners, north of Juneau.

"Levi served for two months in Capt. Phelps' Company on garrison duty at Stratford. In 1781 Holcomb again enlisted as a substitute, this time for his brother Ezra, who had been drafted for six months. Levi served the six-month enlistment in Capt. Elijah Owen's Company at the Simsbury Mines guarding British prisoners. He received his discharge and at once enlisted in Capt. Granger's Company of Col. Samuel Canfield's Regiment for a period of 13 months. During the final period of service Holcomb was stationed at Stratford, Conn.," WISSAR documents state.

After the war, Holcomb lived in New York and Pennsylvania. He moved to the Wisconsin Territory, where he died in Dodge County around 1854. He is buried in Burnett Corners Cemetery, immediately east of the entrance driveway. The cemetery is located on County Highway B, about two miles west of state Highway 26.

Gershom Noyes

Gershom Noyes was born July 8, 1764, in Stoningham, Conn., and died in 1850. He is thought to be buried in the town of Clyman.

"He subsequently moved to Guilford, Vt.," WISSAR states. "At age 17, Gershom enlisted for a nine-month tour with Capt. Blakely's Company of Col. Fletcher's Regiment of Vermont State Troop. During his tour, Noyes served as an Orderly Sergeant of the Rangers at Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Independence. He earned a pension for his service. Sometime after the revolution, Noyes moved to Preston in Chenango County, N.Y. Gershom lived with Nancy Stanton, the companion of his youth, for some 50 years. They raised nine children to a mature age, and saw the third generation. After Mary's death, Noyes moved to Wisconsin in 1845 to live with his son, Samuel."

Obituaries state Noyes died Oct. 1, 1850, at the age of 86. It is believed he is buried in his son's plot in the Clyman Center/School #3 Cemetery in Section 20 in the town of Clyman. Records show Samuel Noyes once owned the property where the cemetery is located. The location of the old cemetery is near the intersection of highways 16 and 60 and Highway 26, near Clyman.

Harold Klubertanz is past president of the Nathaniel Ames Chapter of WISSAR and is the chairman of the Patriot Graves Committee. He has been gathering information, visiting grave sites, and, with the help of others in WISSAR, the Wisconsin Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution members and others, collected photos of many of the grave markers.

Klubertanz, 75, has been involved with WISSAR since September of 1994. He said the idea to undertake the project to document the patriots of Wisconsin grave sites wasn't his idea, but he explained how the project evolved.

"Back in the 1930s, Earl Towers, of our state, was chairman of our National Revolutionary War Graves Committee," Klubertanz recalled. "He started collecting information as part of his chairman's responsibilities."

Klubertanz said that in the 1970s then-WISSAR President Harley Greene and Robert Carroon added to the work. Carroon, working for the Milwaukee County Historical Society, expanded the search as a bicentennial project.

Klubertanz said when he joined WISSAR he wanted to learn more about the man his chapter was named after, Nathaniel Ames.

"The Ames Chapter eventually placed a marker in the cemetery where Ames is buried," Klubertanz said. "We thought it would be a good idea to mark all of them that way and we are still working at it — there are six patriot graves to go."

Klubertanz said WISSAR knows there are 41 Revolutionary War patriots buried in 26 cemeteries in 18 Wisconsin counties and the group relies on donations to fund the $1,800 markers.

"We have been blessed by receiving a half-dozen matching grants from the George Washington Endowment Fund as well as local contributions from the likes of the Kachel Family Trust, the Koehler Foundation, to name only two," he said. "The hardest part is getting the money to match these generous contributors. We accept contributions and they are tax-deductible."

Klubertanz' ancestral patriot was Pvt. Thomas Harmon. Harmon was a member of the Commander-in-Chief's Guard — which means he was one of George Washington's personal bodyguards.

"I guess I get a kick reading about the unit and knowing he was involved," Klubertanz said. "He is buried in the Buxton Corners Cemetery in Maine. I have a photo of his headstone. It would be nice to install a marker at his grave."

Klubertanz said an interesting conundrum faces has group in its Dodge County investigation.

"We believe — we do not know for certain — that Gershom Noyes is buried in a Dodge County cemetery that is now abandoned and hidden by a grove of sumac," Klubertanz said of the site in Clyman. "When it is cleaned up, we will install an 'In Memory Of' marker. Hopefully, the Clyman Town Board will see to it that the cemetery is maintained. This cemetery has several discernible grave sites and broken markers."

Klubertanz said he is looking forward to the event honoring Brown.

"I guess my only feeling is to wonder, 'Why did it take so long?'" Klubertanz said. "And will we be able to dig up the money to finish the remaining six?'"

Klubertanz said he hopes to finish the project in 2011.

The dedication ceremony in Jefferson begins at 2 p.m. on Memorial Day with refreshments to follow in Sykes Chapel, also in Greenwood Cemetery. Parking in the cemetery is limited, so those attending are asked to park on the city's adjacent side streets.

"The public is welcome to attend," Klubertanz said. "We want to honor one of the veterans who helped form this great country of ours."