Moses 4 BIGELOW
16A4 Moses 4 BIGELOW, fourth child
and third son of Ebenezer 3( Joshua2, John1),
and Hannah (BROWN) BIGELOW, was baptised 03 May 1730, place not
stated in Howe. He married, in Watertown, 15 June 1756 Mary Hammond,
born 01 April 1739 Newton, daughter of Ebenezer and Mary (Garfield)
Hammond.(Mary or Mercy Garfield, was the daughter of Bigelow, Mercy 3 ) They lived at one time
in Watertown. Joseph Bigelow jr sold a
saddler's shop in Watertown to Moses Bigelow on 17
June 1754; two years later, on 12 April 1756 Moses sold the same shop
to
Thomas Pottin, Saddler. He was "killed at Quebec," according to family
record, but no
date (This applies to Moses 4 BIGELOW instead of Moses
5 BIGELOW according to new source (see below)
Howe gives baptisms of four of his children, without stating in which
town, and the appendix to his book implies a fifth child, of which we
find but little
evidence.
Children of Moses and Mary (Hammond) Bigelow; presumably born in
Weston, MA:
16A41. Mary, bapt 14 May 1758; d 25
Jan
1827 Newton, MA; m 12 July 1779 Benjamin Mills; res Newton &
Needham.
16A42. Samuel, bapt 30 Aug 1761; he
may
be the Samuel Bigelow living in New Salem, Hampshire county, MA in
1790,
with his wife and 2 children.
16A43. Stephen
Moses, bapt 05 Aug 1764; "killed at Quebec," according to
family record, but no
date; m Phebe Wing, and had at least 5 sons, all of whom have been
proven. (see below)
16A44. Eunice, bapt 22 May 1768; m 17
Jan 1796 James Shepard of Newton.
16A45. Levi ? In the 1880's John
Bigelow corresponded with Gilman B. Howe, the Bigelow genealogist, and
wrote in part: "My
grandfather's name was Moses, what his brothers' names were I don't
know...My father's name was Moses..My father's brother was Levi, and my
father lived with a man by the name of Arnold in Providence, RI, after
his father was killed
at Quebec."
Sources:
Bigelow Family Genealogy Volume. I page. 75;
Howe, Bigelow Family of America;
census 1790;
research in Que., VT, NY, & MI on sons of Moses jr.
From: Tom Kress
< homer7700@live.com >
Its not clear, but I believe the website indicates that Moses-5
was killed at the siege of Quebec. Because the siege of Quebec
City during the French and Indian War took place in 1759,
Moses-5 whose birth date should be 1764 could not
have fought in the battle, which started 13 Sep 1759. It had to
be Moses-4, who was born about 1730 and would have
been the appropriate age to participate. This also
establishes an approximate death date of 1759 for him, and further
supports my suggestion that Moses-6 and Moses-5
should be the same person.
More from Tom:
My 4th Great Grandparents were Stephen Bigelow (1764-1839)
of Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts, and Phebe Wing (1774-1826),
born at Ashford, Windham, Connecticut. I believe they both
migrated into Vermont sometime around 1790, and were married
circa1795 in Vermont. Phebe (Wing) Bigelow died on 11 Aug 1826
and is buried at Berkshire Center Cemetery at Berkshire, Franklin,
Vermont (see Find A Grave Memorial # 20164254). I'm not sure if
Stephen re-married, but he relocated the family to Rochester, Monroe,
New York sometime after his wife's death. Stephen died in
1839 and is buried in Woodworth Cemetery at Ruby Corner, St. Lawrence,
New York (see Find A Grave Memorial # 25649736).
My 3rd GGmother is Sarah Bigelow (1812-1891),
daughter of Stephen and Phebe (Wing) Bigelow, who was born at
Berkshire, Franklin, Vermont. She married Martin Corley (1810-1873)
from Ireland, on 11 Apr 1839 at Rochester, Monroe, New York.
Martin was a river boat captain on the Genesee River, and in 1841,
relocated the family to Bureau County, Illinois and purchased
farmland. They had 10 children. Sarah died on 12 Jan 1891
and is buried in the Lost Grove Cemetery at Arlington, Bureau,
Illinois (see Find A Grave Memorial # 94693101). Martin died in
1873 at Westfield, Bureau, Illinois but I have not been able to locate
his grave site. This is my mother's side of the family.
There is a lot of information available regarding the
Wing genealogy (see the Wing Family of America website), but I could
not find much regarding this line of the Bigelows until I came across
your website. I believe that your Moses Bigelow-6
[16A43.11], son of Moses-5 [16A43] (Moses-4,
Ebenezer-3, Joshua-2, John-1) is probably the same
person identified above as Stephen Bigelow.
They were both born about 1764 in Massachusetts, and married a
Wing. The children you have listed for Moses-6
are the exact same that I have for Stephen and Phebe Bigelow.
I've seen other researchers who indicated Stephen came from Rhode
Island, but your information indicates that Moses-5
was killed at the siege of Quebec, which resulted in the family being
scattered, and the son Moses-6 being raised by a man
surnamed Arnold located in Providence, Rhode
Island. I believe there was a Thomas Arnold family
living in Watertown, MA who could have been family friends that
relocated to Providence, RI. This explanation seems to
work. However, I'm at a loss to explain how the name Stephen
and Moses are related. After
reviewing your genealogy information about this Bigelow branch, I
noticed a few possible errors that you should consider addressing.
- Its not clear, but I believe the website indicates that Moses-5
was killed at the siege of Quebec. Because the siege of Quebec
City during the French and Indian War took place in 1759,
Moses-5 whose birth date should be 1764 could not
have fought in the battle, which started 13 Sep 1759. It had to
be Moses-4, who was born about 1730 and would have
been the appropriate age to participate. This also
establishes an approximate death date of 1759 for him, and further
supports my suggestion that Moses-6 and Moses-5
should be the same person.
- Stephen and Moses-5 Bigelow both had a son Stephen
Jr. who was born 26 Dec 1805. Perhaps he should be Moses-6
in your database, given the confusion regarding the first names.
- My records indicate the ancestors of Stephen Bigelow are
Elisha-5, Elisha-4, Joseph-3, Jonathan-2, John-1. The only
correlation I could find with your Moses ancestors was with John-1.
More from Tom:
I've continued my Bigelow
research and learned there were two additional sieges of Quebec
after the British captured the city in September 1759 during the French
and Indian War (Seven Years War).
Six months after the fall of Quebec to the British in 1759, the
remaining French Army tried to recapture the City. During the
Battle of Sainte-Foy on 28 April 1760 at the Plains of
Abraham just outside the city defenses, the French defeated the
British and began their siege of Quebec. The French siege
failed when the British fleet arrived 5 days after the siege began.
At the start of the American Revolution, combined American forces
commanded by Major General Richard Montgomery and Colonel Benedict
Arnold invaded Canada and besieged Quebec in December 1775.
However, severe winter weather made American siege efforts
ineffective. The Americans attempted to storm the city in the
early hours of Dec 31 under cover of snowfall. Sixty Americans
were killed and 426 taken prisoner. Montgomery's death, the
wounding of Benedict Arnold and the capture of Daniel Morgan deprived
the Americans of decisive leadership. The siege continued until
the ice on the St. Lawrence melted and a British relief fleet arrived
on 6 May 1776, forcing the Continental Army to retreat.
Given these facts, it's possible that Moses-4 Bigelow could
have fought in either the British siege of Quebec in 1759, or the
American siege in 1775-1776. I doubt that Stephen/Moses-5
Bigelow who was born between 1764-1775 could have
participated in either battle due to his age. But this would
explain how it would be possible that the father of Moses-5
was Moses-4 who died at the American siege of Quebec
in 1775-1776.
During the American expedition into Canada in 1775, Colonel Benedict
Arnold's army included a force of 1,100 men
from Massachusetts. Two New England battalions were led by
Lt. Colonels Christopher Green and Roger Enos. Deputies were
Major Timothy Bigelow (1739-1790), a blacksmith from
Worcester, Massachusetts, and Major Return Jonathan Meigs of
Connecticut. It's very possible that Moses-4 could
also have been included in this invading army.
It was in September 1775 that Maj. Bigelow volunteered
for the expedition to Quebec under Benedict Arnold going by way of the
Kennebec river through the wilderness of Maine. On this
expedition, he was ordered by Gen. Arnold to ascend a mountain near the
headwaters of the Kennebec, with a small party of men for the purpose
of reconnaissance. This mountain was later named for him and is now
known as Mount Bigelow.
Bigelow proceeded on the march to
Quebec, and on the 31st of December was taken prisoner by the British,
and kept prisoner until the following August. He was taken to New
York with other prisoners and then exchanged. He promptly reentered the
service as Lieut-Colonel under General Gates, and in 1777 was
commissioned a full Colonel, the highest rank of any Bigelow during the
Revolutionary War. He was at Quebec, Monmouth, Saratoga, Verplanck's
Point, Peekskill, Valley Forge, Yorktown, West Point, Rhode Island, New
Jersey, and the surrender of Burgoyne. (There is a plaque on a Monument
at Valley Forge). See the biography of "Timothy Bigelow
(soldier)" at Wikipedia.com for more info.
More from Tom:
Saw your email to Rod Bigelow at the Bigelow Society,
dated 30 Aug 2012 (see below) regarding your connection to the
Bigelows. I also descended from Martin Corley (1810-1873)
and Sarah Bigelow (1813-1891). They were my 3rd
Great Grandparents. My branch goes through their son John
Corley (1844-1922) who married Helen McMahan (1852-1929) from
Iowa. My mother was a Corley from this line. My records
(right or wrong) indicate the following:
Martin Corley immigrated from Ireland
to New York in 1834 aboard the ship "Eagle." Martin became
a riverboat captain on the Genesee River in the vicinity of Rochester,
New York. He married Sarah Bigelow on 11
Apr 1839 at Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA and they had one daughter,
Mary, in 1840 while living in New York. The family then relocated
to Bureau County, Illinois in 1841, where Martin purchased farmland and
they had 9 more children. Martin died 18 Jul
1873 at his farm in Westfield Twp., Bureau, Illinois, USA but I've
had no luck locating his grave site (probably at the farm). Sarah
died on 12 Jan 1891 and is buried in the Lost Grove Cemetery
at Arlington, Bureau, Illinois, USA (see Find A Grave Memorial
#94693101). I've seen various birth dates for both Martin (1805
-1810) and Sarah (1812-1816), and looked to the US Federal
Census for help, but that only provided more confusion.
Martin, Sarah and infant daughter Mary relocated to
Bureau County, Illinois in 1841.
From the 1850 US Federal Census (Westfield twp., Bureau,
Illinois, USA):
Martin Corley, age 40 (b abt. 1810), Ireland
Sarah Corley, age 38 (b abt. 1812), Connecticut
Mary Corley, age 10 (b abt. 1840), New York + 7 more children all born
in Illinois.
From the 1860 US Federal Census (Westfield, Bureau,
Illinois, USA):
Martin Corley, age 52 (b abt. 1808), Ireland
Sarah Corley, age 44 (b abt. 1816), Vermont
Mary Corley, age 20 (b abt. 1840), New York + 9 more children, all born
in Illinois.
From the 1870 US Federal Census (Westfield, Bureau,
Illinois, USA):
Martin Corlay, age 65 (b abt. 1805), Ireland
Sarah Corlay, age 55 (b abt. 1815), Vermont
9
children, all born in Illinois (Mary apparently married and left home).
Martin died in 1873, and Sarah
continued living until 1891, but I could not find her in the
1880 census. I believe she was living with her son Frank.
Sarah Bigelow was born 26 Nov 1812-15
in Berkshire, Franklin, Vermont, the daughter of Stephen
Bigelow (1764-1839) and Phebe Wing (1774-1826).
Stephen was born on 05 Aug 1764 at Watertown,
Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA. Phebe was
born in April 1774 at Ashford, Windham, Connecticut, USA. They
probably migrated to Vermont sometime around 1790, met and were married
about 1795 in Vermont, where they had 6 children. Phebe
(Wing) Bigelow died on 11 Aug 1826 and is buried in the
Berkshire Center Cemetery at Berkshire, Franklin, Vermont (see Find A
Grave Memorial #20164254). I'm not sure if Stephen re-married,
but he apparently relocated the family to New York some time after
Phebe's death. Stephen Bigelow died in New
York in 1839, and was buried in the Woodworth Cemetery at Ruby Corner,
St. Lawrence, New York, USA (see Find A Grave Memorial
#25649736). Our Stephen Bigelow (1764-1839)
appears to be the same person identified as Moses-5 Bigelow
(1764-?) at the Bigelow Society website, managed by Rod Bigelow.
Note that Leonard Hart sent an email to Rod Bigelow on
26 Apr 2000 indicating that some of the Stephen and Phebe Bigelow
descendants were living in St. Lawrence County, New York around
1851. Perhaps our Stephen Bigelow was living in the area at the
time of his death since he is buried there.
The birth date of the Stephen Bigelow buried at
Woodworth Cemetery is listed as 1775. This date more closely
matches Phebe Wing's birth date of 1774, but I have not been able to
resolve the discrepancy with his 1764 birth date.
I've been researching the Corley/Bigelow connection for
several years and have encountered a lot of frustration. I'm
familiar with the biography of Martin Corley from "The History of
Bureau County, Illinois, 1855" which raises a few questions.
-
The bio indicates that Sarah (Bigelow) Corley's father
(Stephen/Moses-5) commanded a vessel during the siege
of Quebec (Battle of the Plains of Abraham) during the French and
Indian War and was awarded a large tract of land in the Canadas from
the British Government for his participation. This battle
started on 13 Sep 1759 after a 3-month siege, which means that Stephen/Moses-5
would not yet have been born. Stephen's father
(Moses-4) was born about 1730 and was the correct age
to be participating in this battle. However, the Bigelow Society
website indicates that Moses-4 was lost or died at
the Battle of Quebec that occurred in 1759, so I don't understand how
the British Government awarded him lands in Canada after the battle,
unless it was to his heirs. Also, how could Moses-4 be
the father of Stephen/Moses-5 who was born in
1764-75 if Moses-4 died in 1759 at the Battle of
Quebec?
-
If Sarah (Bigelow) Corley's Grandfather
was an officer and fell (died) at the Battle of Bunker Hill, it must
have been on her mother's [Phebe (Wing) Bigelow] Wing
side of the family, since Stephen's father Moses-4
died at the Battle of Quebec in 1759. I believe Phebe
Wing's father, Capt. Thomas Wing marched
in the 1775 Lexington Alarm that started the Revolutionary War and
could have participated in the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, but I
have his death listed as 10 Oct 1790 in Connecticut, or 09 Sep 1800 at
Hemmingford, Quebec, Canada.
-
The bio indicates that Stephen Bigelow came from Rhode
island. The Bigelow Society website indicates that after his
father's (Moses-4) death at Quebec, the family
was scattered and Stephen/Moses-5 was raised by a man
surnamed Arnold located in Providence, Rhode
Island. I believe there were Arnolds who attended the same church
as the Bigelows in Watertown, Massachusetts and eventually relocated to
Providence, Rhode Island due to religious issues. This would
resolve the question of Stephen's birth location.
Does any of this sound familiar? If this
information differs from yours, I would love to discuss any thoughts
you may have about resolving the discrepancies.
I'm eagerly awaiting your response.
Thomas Kress
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
From: Pat Hubbell <
pathubbell@yahoo.com >
Subject: Our connection to the Bigelow family?
Date: Monday, August 30, 2012,
Hello, I hope to learn more about my family's connection to the Bigelow
family from your Bigelow Society's research. My great great grandmother
was Sarah Bigelow, born in Berkshire Township, Vermont on 26 Nov 1815.
Her mother was Phebe Wing, her father said to have been Stephen (or
Moses) Bigelow. We have found her gravestone as "Phebe wife of Stephen
Bigelow, died Aug 11,1826, age 49 years, 4 mos" buried in
Berkshire Center Cemetery in Berkshire, Franklin County, Vermont."
According to our family notes, Phebe (Wing) Bigelow's children were
Horace, Ward, John, Hardin and Sarah Bigelow. Our family story is
that with her parents deceased, Sarah Bigelow went to Rochester, NY
when young, to live with an older brother who was a riverboat pilot on
the Genesee River. There she met and married Martin Corley, a
river boat captain, and in 1841, they went to Bureau County, Illinois
where they bought farmland and raised a family of 10 children.
Their children are listed below in this biography of Martin Corley
found in the History of Bureau County, Illinois published in 1885.
CORLEY, Martin
Martin Corley, deceased, was a native of the Parish Ashgraw, County
Conard, Ireland, where his parents, Daniel and Mary Moulton, died.
Martin Corley came to America when quite young and became a captain of
a boat on the Genesee River . He was married in Rochester , N. Y. to
Sarah Biglow, born November 26, 1815, near the Canada line in Berkshire
Township , Vt. She is the daughter of Stephen and Phebe (Wing) Biglow,
the former a native of Rhode Island and of Welsh extraction, and the
latter of Connecticut and of English and Irish descent. Her father
commanded on of the vessels under Gen. Wolfe at the taking of Quebec ,
and participated in the battle on the Plains of Abraham, receiving as
reward a large tract of land in the Canadas from the British
Government. Her grandfather was an officer and fell at the battle of
Bunker Hill .
Mr. Martin Corley lived three years in Rochester, N. Y., and then, in
1841, came to LaSalle County, Ill., and in December, the same year,
bought 120 acres of Daniel Roth in Westfield Township, Bureau Co., in
Section 10, where he died July 18, 1873, aged sixty-seven years.
He was a good farmer and owned 480 acres when he died. He was respected
by all who came in contact with him for his many good qualities. Mrs.
Corley yet survives and is the mother of ten children, viz.: Mrs. Mary
McDonald, Daniel, John, Stephen, Mrs. Phebe A. Bartlett (deceased),
Martin, Mrs. Meriam Loehr, Frank, Mrs. Emma Grimes and Agnes Corley.
Frank Corley and his mother now own the homestead consisting of 120
acres.
Source: History of Bureau County , Illinois , H. C. Bradsby, Editor.
World Publishing Company, Chicago 1885
Note that the county in Ieland is probably parish "Ahascragh." This
biography was probably written with some of the information given by
Sarah Bigelow Corley as she was still living at the time the county
history was written.
Her daughter, Mary Theresa (Corley) McDonald, listed above as Mrs Mary
McDonald, was my great grandmother.
I have communicated with the Wing Family Society. They have, listed in
their Wing family history, a Phebe Wing, born in Ashford, Windham
County, Connecticut in 1774. Their notes indicate she first
married Orange Ellsworth 02 March 1807 in First Church of
Rockingham, Windham, Vermont, and then married Stephen Bigelow who was
from Rhode Island.
Do you have any additional information that would help me make a
connecion to the Bigelow Family? Could there have been a Moses
Stephen Bigelow who also went by his middle name?
Thanks ahead of time for any assistance you can provide.
Margaret Patricia Stahl Hubbell
Wrentham, MA
More from Tom:
P.S. - I forgot to mention that I have portraits of Martin
and Sarah Corley if your interested.
From: homer7700@live.com
To: pathubbell@yahoo.com
CC: rodbigelow@netzero.net
Subject: Bigelow/Corley Connection
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2015 22:50:22 -0800
More from Tom:
Went to the Genealogy Section at the Tacoma Library yesterday to
examine a book about the history of Watertown, MA and look for evidence
of Stephen Bigelow. The reference was "Genealogies of
the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown,
Massachusetts, including Waltham and Weston, Volumes I and II" by
Henry Bond, M.D., published by the N.E. Historical-Genealogical
Society, Boston, Second Edition, 1860.
There were 13 pages of Bigelow biographies in Vol. I, starting with the
immigrant John Bigelow [1617-1703], but I could find
only one Stephen Bigelow [1735-1756] identified in
all those biographies. He was the son of Capt. Joseph
Bigelow [1703-1783] of Shrewsbury and Martha Brigham
[1704-1782] of Marlboro, and could not have been our Stephen,
father of Sarah Bigelow Corley [1812-1891].
Could this be his father who died at the age of 21? Even this
does not fit the timeline very well. Maybe Stephen
Bigelow was not from Watertown, MA as previously
thought.
However, I found listings in Vol. I for both Moses-4
(1730-?) and Moses-5 Bigelow (1764-?). The
brief biography for Moses-4 indicates:
- He was the son of Ebenezer Bigelow [1698-1760]
and Hannah Brown [1699-1775]
- Baptized in Weston, May 3, 1730.
- Lived in Weston
- Married Mary Hammond (b 1 Apr 1739) on 15 Jun
1756 at Watertown
- Children included Mary, Samuel, Moses [Moses-5] and Eunice.
Moses-5 was listed as the son of Moses-4 Bigelow
and Mary Hammond, baptized on 05 Aug 1764. But no biography or
supplemental information was included.
A note on pg. 683 of Vol. II (that includes additions and corrections)
about Moses-4 states: Moses Bigelow, then "of
Wat.," belonged to Capt. Jonathan Brown's Co. at Lake George, in
1758. This is interesting because it implies he was involved in
the British siege of Quebec in 1759 where it is believed he died.
If this is true, then it again raises the question of how Moses-5
who was born on 5 Aug 1764 could be the son of Moses-4
who died in 1759 at the siege of Quebec, unless Moses-5
was actually born several years before he was baptized in 1764.
But that would make Moses-5 at least 36 when he
married Phebe Wing [1774-1826] in abt. 1795, and 53
years old when his daughter Sarah Bigelow Corley was
born in 1812. I find this improbable but not
impossible.
The information seems to confirm the information on the Bigelow Society
website. Unfortunately, this does little to resolve our questions
about Stephen and Moses Bigelow.
It's still possible they could be the same person although there is a
clear trail that both Stephen and Moses existed.
More from Tom:
My Corley ancestors
look like this:
Daniel
Corley and Mary Moulton (both lived and died in Ahascragh,
Galway, Ireland)
Martin Corley (1810-1873) and Sarah
Bigelow (1812-1891)
John Corley (1844-1922) and Helen McMahan
(1852-1928)
Francis Charles "Frank" Corley (1876-1938) and
Caroline V. Corwin (1879-1909)
Kenneth Francis Corley (1902-1952) and Ruth Keenan
(1902-1958)
Sara Joan Corley (1929-2011) - my mother
Modified - 03/05/2015
(c) Copyright 2015 Bigelow Society, Inc. All rights
reserved.
Rod Bigelow - Director
< rodbigelow@netzero.net >
Rod Bigelow (Roger Jon12 BIGELOW)
Box 13 Chazy Lake
Dannemora, N.Y. 12929
rodbigelow@netzero.net
BACK TO THE
BIGELOW SOCIETY PAGE
BACK TO
BIGELOW HOME PAGE