The 10th in the Series

Samuel Pease Jr. is the fourth and final of the Revolutionary War soldiers buried in the Burbank – Goodwin – Morrison – Pease cemetery in South Parsonsfield.

Samuel was born on 10 March 1754 in New Market, Rockingham County, New
Hampshire, the son of Samuel and Dorothy (Clark) Pease.

I can only imagine what it must have been like in the early days after the Battles of Lexington and Concord took place on April 19, 1775. Especially for the young men in the Northeast.

On May 22, 1775, the New Hampshire Provincial Congress voted to raise a volunteer force of 2,000 men to join the patriot army at Boston. These “provincials” were organized into three regiments, each regiment having an official establishment of 648 officers and men in ten companies. The troops were enlisted to serve until December 31, 1775.

On the 10th of May, Samuel enlisted as a drummer or drum major in the
Continental Army for the term of eight months under Captain Aaron Kinsman under the command of Colonel John Stark of the New Hampshire Line.

This term was followed by a second term of one year in the Company of Joshua Abbot of the same Regiment.

The New Hampshire Line was a formation in the Continental Army. The term “New Hampshire Line” referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to New Hampshire at various times by the Continental Congress. These, along with similar contingents from the other twelve states, formed the Continental Line.

Colonel John Stark, of Derryfeld commanded the First New Hampshire
Regiment. In August 1775, Stark’s Regiment was designated “The 7th Regiment of Foot.” In 1776 The old 1st New Hampshire Regiment became the 5th Continental Regiment, under Colonel John Stark.

Records on file with the Sons of the American Revolution give us the following information as to Samuel Pease Jr’s service.

Qualifying Service Description:

1. Drummer – Captain Aaron Kinsman’s Company – Colonel John Stark’s 1st Regiment NH Continental Line, entered 10 May 1775, Battle of Bunker Hill
2. Drummer – Captain Joshua Abbot’s Company – Colonel John Stark’s 1st
   Regiment NH Continental Line / 5th Continental Regiment, service at Mount Independence, 1776

According to the History of Parsonsfield, in November 1779 Samuel’s father, Deacon Pease as he was called, moved his family to Parsonsfield. He was the eleventh of the original settlers of the town.

Also according to the Parsonsfield History, his son Samuel settled near his father in the orchard of the present town farm.

Samuel was married on 21 August 1780 in Parsonsfield, York County, Maine to Comfort Marston. The following children were recorded in the records at Parsonsfield:

• Comfort was born in August 1781.
• Nancy was born on 10 July 1784.
• John was born on 21 March 1786.
• Sarah “Sally” was born in June 1788.
• Asa was born in June 1791 and died in 1806.
• Philinea was born on 8 May 1794.

Samuel appears on the pension list, applying May 14, 1818 # S36726, at the rate of eight dollars per month

Samuel died on 7 September 1831 in Parsonsfield, York County, Maine.
His wife, Comfort, predeceased him in 1824. ‘

They are interred in the Burbank – Goodwin – Morrison – Pease Cemetery in South Parsonsfield.

According to Find-A-Grave, there is some confusion about Samuel Pease’s dates and the fact that there seems to be 2 stones for him.

Even the U.S. Veteran Record gives the wrong year of death

About 100 years after his death a memorial committee ordered a Revolutionary War memorial from the government with the wrong death date.

But this newspaper extraction from the Columbian Centinal published on October 12, 1831 clearly fixes his year of death as 1831.

A Heartfelt Thank You to Samuel Pease
for his Service in the Founding of Our Country

Ninth in the Series

James Morrison is the third of the Revolutionary War soldiers buried
in the Burbank – Goodwin – Morrison – Pease cemetery in South Parsonsfield. Of Scotch-Irish descent, he was born in 1753 in Nottingham, New Hampshire, to Daniel Morrison III and Mary Nason Morrison.

James enlisted in the 2nd New Hampshire Regiment which was
formed in early May 1775, as the second of three Continental
Army regiments raised by the state of New Hampshire for the defense of
Boston.  Its first commander was Colonel Enoch Poor, with Joseph
Cilley as major. The Captain of his company was Zebulon Gilman.

James marched along with his company to the Boston area where he
participated in the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775.

The battle was a victory for the British, but a costly one, and a
sobering experience for them; they incurred many more casualties than the Americans had sustained, including many officers. The battle had
demonstrated that inexperienced militia were able to stand up to regular
troops in battle and discouraged the British from launching any further
frontal attacks against well-defended front lines. American casualties were much fewer.

The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the
opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. In the siege, American patriot militia led by newly-installed Continental Army commander George Washington prevented the British Army, which was garrisoned in Boston, from moving by land. Both sides faced resource, supply, and personnel challenges during the siege. British resupply and reinforcement were limited to sea access, which was impeded by American vessels. The British ultimately abandoned Boston after eleven months.

James served out the entirety of his 8 month enlistment taking part in
the Siege of Boston. At the end of that enlistment, James reenlisted in the same regiment for a period of 12 months at the end of which he returned home to Newmarket, NH. He advanced to the rank of captain and joined the personal bodyguard of General Charles Lee, participating in the 1776 New York and New Jersey campaign.

He enlisted again in 1777 in Colonel Evans regiment of the New
Hampshire Militia and fought in the Battle of Saratoga.

The Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the Revolutionary War.
The American defeat of the superior British army, led by General John
Burgoyne, lifted patriot morale, furthered the hope for independence, and helped to secure the foreign support needed to win the war.

Morrison earned recognition for his service at the Battle of
Brandywine in 1777, where he sustained a wound that led to his mustering out of the army. The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The forces met near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. More troops fought at Brandywine than at any other battle of the American Revolution.  It was also the second longest single-day battle of the war, with continuous fighting for 11 hours. As Howe moved to take Philadelphia, then the American capital, the British forces routed the Continental Army and forced them to withdraw, first, to the City of Chester, Pennsylvania, and then northeast toward Philadelphia.

Back home after being wounded, James moved to Maine soon after.
He married Lucy Ann Littlefield (born 1757 in Wells, Maine) and came to
Parsonsfield quite early, settling on the north side of the South Road where about 1785, the same year as Parsonsfield’s incorporation, he built this lovely home to house his growing family. His children were William, James, Polly, Sally, Isaac, Betsey, Jonathan, Alvah and Judith.

A colorful character, it is recounted in The History of Parsonsfield,
written in 1888, that he was once asked by a local minister if he feared
death to which he replied,

He remained in Parsonsfield until his death in 1839, his wife having
predeceased him in 1827.

The Capt. James Morrison House was listed on the National Register
of Historic Places (NRHP) on July 12, 1978, with reference number
78000335. The property qualifies under Criterion A for its association with historic events that have made a significant contribution to broad patterns of our history, including military service during the American Revolutionary War and early settlement patterns in inland rural Maine, and under Criterion C for embodying distinctive characteristics of late colonial architecture and methods of construction, as well as for its artistic merit through exceptionally well-preserved murals executed by itinerant artist Jonathan D. Poor in the mid-19th century. Poor was well known in northern New England for his work, which he learned from his uncle, Rufus Porter. The work in this house is notable for bearing Poor’s signature. The murals, and other later stylistic elements were added to the house by Seth Chellis, who owned one of the area’s largest farms in the mid-19th century. The house remains privately owned in excellent condition with no major alterations since listing, serving as a key preserved historic site within York County’s collection of early American structures.

Though dead since 1839, the house still bearing his name serves to
keep alive the role that James Morrison played in the founding of our
nation, as does his final resting place in the Burbank-Goodwin-Morrison-
Pease Cemetery.

Inscription: Aged 86 yrs. He was a soldier of the Revolutionary War in many hard fought battles.

A Heartfelt Thank You to James Morrison for your Service in the Founding of Our Country

Its Semiquincentennial
Seventh in the Series:
Silas Burbank

I was very interested to find that this cemetery, located in the SW angle of the intersection of South and Boothby Roads and opposite the former Town Farm, contains the remains of four Revolutionary War veterans. The Maine Old Cemetery Association, MOCA, lists it as the Burbank-Goodwin-Morrison-Pease Cemetery, honoring the names of all 4 of those patriots:

Silas Burbank
Aaron Goodwin
James Morrison
Samuel Pease

I was intrigued at this point. Had any of them known each other before or during the war? It seemed logical to learn and write about them in alphabetical order so I began my research into Silas Burbank.

Captain Silas Burbank was born to Caleb Burbank and Margaret Wheeler in 1738 in Rowley, Essex County, Massachusetts. Silas was trained as a carpenter, specializing in cabinet making and wood work finishing of fine ships.

Silas was united in marriage to Hannah Baird in approximately 1763. Caleb and Hannah lived for a while in Falmouth, what is now Portland Maine, before settling down in Scarborough. They were blessed with the birth of at least eight children during their marriage.

In 1775 Silas enlisted as a First Lieutenant in Captain John Rice’s Company in Col. Edmund Phinney’s 31st Regiment in the 18th Continental Regiment of Scarborough, Maine in 1776. He was promoted to the rank of Captain and served in the Army at Valley Forge until 1781.

At about this point in developing Silas’ story, I was surprised to see this ad in our local weekly, Your Weekly Shopping Guide.

I was dumbstruck. I knew right away that this had to be the same Silas Burbank, but had not yet learned about him bringing 2 of his young sons along as fifer and drummer.

I wish I had been able to attend this. I’m sure I would have learned more about this remarkable story.

For more information, I turned to one of my much used sources, Soldiers,
Sailors, and Patriots of the Revolutionary War – Maine. And there his sons were, along with their father’s listing:

The letters and numbers at the end of these listings are the cited references.

David’s only reference is:

• MOCA (Maine Old Cemetery Association).

Eleazer has several references:

• 1 (W23744) – Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War 17 v.
• 1S – Massachusetts Archives, Revolutionary War Service Appendix
• 3S – Flagg’s Alphabetical Index of Revolutionary Pensioners Living in Maine
• 4S – Maine State Archives – Names of Soldiers of the American Revolution Who Applied for State Bounty …
• CL-2, 141:133 – Compiled List – Lineage Book, 166 volumes.

Captain Silas also has several references:

• 1S – Massachusetts Archives, Revolutionary War Service Appendix
• 6S, p. 181 – History of Col. Edmund Phinney’s 31 st Regiment of Foot: The First Regiment Raised in the County of Cumberland in the Revolutionary War
• CL-2, 141:133 – Compiled List – Lineage Book, 166 volumes.
• CL-6 – Compiled List – Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution, April, 1775 – December, 1783.

It’s hard with our modern day sensitivities to imagine taking young sons off to war. Perhaps he thought it was the easiest way to watch over them. Many young men, not that much older than 11 and 13, did head off to battle.

Historically, a fifer was a non-combatant military personnel—often a young boy or teenager—tasked with playing the fife alongside drummers to relay orders, maintain a marching pace, and signal troop formations.

Drummer boys in the Revolutionary War were young field musicians (often 10 to 15 years old) who used rope-tension drums to relay tactical commands across loud, smoky battlefields. They set the army’s daily routine, regulated marches, and boosted morale, often serving alongside adult musicians and soldiers.

Silas’ listing in the book, Massachusetts, U.S., Soldiers and Sailors in the
Revolutionary War gives a much more complete listing of his service than the Maine one.

Here, from the same source, is his son David’s listing:

And the listing for Eleazer:

Eleazer enlisted in the army in Scarborough for one year at age eleven and served until August when he was left in Boston with smallpox and sent home. He was a musician, a fifer,  in the company of Captain Watkins of the Regt. commanded by Col Phinney in the Massachusetts line. He and his brother, a drummer, served with their father. In January, 1777 he enlisted for 3 years and served in his father, Col. Silas Burbank’s,  company in Col. Samuel Brewer’s regiment.

One record on file in Washington states that “Eleazer was captured and held prisoner for a month and when the English soldiers asked him to play for them he responded by playing Yankee Doodle much to their amusement.

He was in the retreat from Ticonderoga, Battle of Fort Ann and at taking of Burgoyne.  In Dec, 1780 he was discharged from the military.

Neither of the brothers ended up in Parsonsfield. In 1788 Eleazer married Mary Brackett. He was a farmer and after living in Scarborough for a time, around 1798-99, he moved with a 6 ox team to Belgrade, Maine where he lived out the rest of his days.

His older brother David married Miriam _ and settled in Newfield, Maine
appearing there in the 1800 Census. He died in 1806 at the age of 44, leaving 5 minor sons.

The first of the family to move to Parsonsfield was their younger brother, Samuel, born 1772. He married Esther Boothby and they, along with his father, settled in Parsonsfield sometime around 1805. He was a blacksmith and a carpenter. When his brother David died prematurely, Samuel and Esther were appointed the legal guardians of David’s 5 young sons – this was in addition to raising their own 11 children.

The 1856 and 1872 maps show their home as that of William Burbank, who was Samuel’s youngest son.

Captain Silas died in this house in September 1814 and was buried in the afore-mentioned cemetery. His tombstone bears a lovely motif of a weeping willow with the following inscription:

In memory of Capt. Silas Burbank
died Sept. 1814 in the 76th yr of his age.

A Heartfelt Thank You to Silas Burbank
and his sons, David and Eleazer for their Service in the Founding of Our Country

The Semiquicentennial, the 5th of the Series

When I was told by our PPHS Vice-President, Lynda Sudlow, that she had read somewhere that Thomas Parsons had fought in the Revolutionary War, I thought that she must have been mistaken. The History of the First Century of Parsonsfield (1785 – 1885) by Jeremiah Dearborn tells us this about him:

Thomas Parsons was born in Bradford, Massachusetts on September 18, 1735, son of Rev. Joseph Parsons and Frances (Usher) Parsons. On September 7, 1758, when he was 22 years he married Anna Poor of Andover, Massachusetts.

They had 9 children together:

Thomas Parsons (1759–1788)
Stephen Parsons (1760–1764)
Joseph Parsons (1762–1839)
Enoch Parsons (1764–1782)
Stephen Parsons (1766–1836)
Nancy Parsons (1769–)
John Usher Parsons (1771–1825)
Mary Parsons (1773–1856)
Sarah Parsons (1775–

The founding of what came to be called Parsonsfield was set into motion when, according to the The History of the First Century of Parsonsfield, written in 1885,

I’m sure that you can see why I was skeptical about Thomas’ participation in the Revolution.  He was 40 years old, married with 8 living children and was in the midst of founding a town.  He was a very busy man.  But then I discovered this wonderful resource book which PPHS recently acquired when Ancient Landmarks disbanded and some of their books were added to our research materials.

True to the book’s fourth objective as listed above, his entry gives the following source codes:
CL-2 is a Compiled List from the Index of Maine Men in the Rolls of Honor of the Lineage Books of National Society of the D.A.R., Vol 115, Page 249

MOCA is the Index of Revolutionary Veterans Buried in Maine compiled by the Maine Old Cemetery Association.

But what does PS after his name mean? The book defines it as Patriotic Service rendered in a different way as opposed to active service. Someone obviously needs to keep things going on the homefront.

During the American Revolutionary War, local militias played a crucial role, distinct from the longer-term service of the Continental Army. These units comprised citizen-soldiers who typically responded to immediate, localized threats, often referred to as “alarms.” Their service was usually brief, reflecting the need for community defense rather than extended military campaigns.

At the time of the Revolution, Thomas and family were living in Leavittstown, NH (now Effingham) and he was serving in the militia. Thomas’ service in the New Hampshire Militia in July 1777 exemplifies this pattern. He served for just 12 days, from July 1st to July 12th, a short duration characteristic of militia call-ups. His involvement was in response to an alarm concerning Fort Ticonderoga, a strategic point during the Saratoga Campaign. Such alarms prompted local residents to temporarily leave their farms and trades to join the fighting effort, demonstrating a community-based defense model. This brief period of service contrasts with the Continental Army, which required more sustained enlistments for national campaigns.

The British advance on Fort Ticonderoga in 1777 generated significant apprehension in the northern colonies, leading to calls for local militias to mobilize. Parsons’ record, detailing his entry and discharge dates, highlights how quickly these citizen-soldiers could be called to arms and released once the immediate threat subsided or their specific mission was completed. His participation, though brief, places him within the broader context of the Saratoga Campaign, a pivotal moment in the Revolution. The reliance on such short-term, alarm-based service underscores the decentralized nature of early American military efforts and the direct involvement of local communities in their own defense.

Whether or not Thomas was again called up with the militia we have not determined. What we do know of the rest of his story is that his wife Anna died on May 24, 1783 at the age of 44. Then after serving as Moderator for the town meeting in Leavittstown, NH in March 1784, he moved to Parsonsfield where in August 1785 he was chosen Moderator and Chairman of the first Board of Selectmen of the newly-incorporated
town.

Also in 1785 Thomas married Lucy Bradbury (b. 1757) of Saco.

They had 10 children together:
Elizabeth Usher Parsons (1787–1857)
Susan Parsons  (1788–1837)
Thomas Bradbury Parsons ( – )
Abigail Parsons (1790–1848)
William Parsons (1791–1876)
Lucy Parsons (1792– 1884)
Lucinda Parsons (1795–1796)
Sylvester Parsons (1796–1860)
Lucinda Parsons (1798–1877)
Samuel B. Parsons (1801–1869)

Thomas Parsons departed this life on August 10, 1811 and his wife Lucy succeeded him by only 3 months, dying November 10, 1811. Their homestead passed to their son-in-law, Capt. Luther Emerson (married to Thomas and Lucy’s daughter Elizabeth Usher Parsons) and became known as Emerson Homestead.

The house was owned by descendants of Thomas Parsons until 1907 when it was destroyed by fire.

Although the cellar hole was still there in 1960 there is no sign of the former buildings now.

It is completely overgrown with trees.

The Emerson-Parsons Cemetery remains in good condition on the opposite side of the road.

Thomas’ simple stone reads:

In memory of Thomas Parsons, who departed this life August 10, 1811, aged 76 years.

“Behold fond man, see here thy pictured life,

Thy flowery spring, thy summer’s ardent strength;
The sober autumn fading into age,
And pale concluding winter comes at last,

And shuts the scene.”

A Heartfelt Thank You to Thomas Parsons
for his Service in the Founding of Our Country
AND the Founding of the town of Parsonsfield