The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: NY
Qualifying Service: Private / Patriotic Service
Located on the corner of Route 211W & Boorman Rd, Howells, Orange Co., NY. Enter at the driveway from Rte 211. The cemetery is on the left at the top of the driveway
Photo: 1 of 1
Author: Robert Clyde Eager
By April, 1775, Samuel Mapes had been farming at Blooming Grove, New York, for decades. He moved there from his hometown of Southold at Long Island with two of his brothers. He married Mary Smith more than 20 years ago. By that time, nine of their ten children had been born, and two had died. His oldest son, Smith, reached the age of 18 years, three months before. April 1775 was a pivotal moment in history when British troops opened fire on a group of American militiamen at Concord, Massachusetts.
Local communities throughout the colonies responded by forming committees and empowering delegates to select members for a Continental Congress to address current events. At Goshen, a general association was agreed to by the inhabitants of Ulster County. Samuel and his son, Smith, joined with their many neighbors and signed on to serve.
Samuel had an active part in the Revolution as a member of the Second Ulster Militia Regiment. Also known as the South End Regiment, its members came from the territory west from the Hudson along the original south county line, from the mouth of Murderers' Creek to the Delaware. This area was the home regiment of the Clintons -- James, George, and Dr. Charles.
The militia in that area played a vital role in preventing the British from bringing forces down from Canada. As needed, they supported Fort Montgomery on the Hudson and Fort Schuyler near present-day Utica. Governor George Clinton, who was from that part of Ulster County, was aware Indian allies of the British and Tories, who often dressed as Indians, were making periodic raids on frontier settlements to draw the militia away from aiding the forts.
Four times during the war, Samuel left his farm and marched with Captain Isaiah Vail’s Twelfth Company to the settlement of Peenpack, about 30 miles to the west, to answer an alarm. On one occasion, he was gone two days, however; it was usually it was four days. Peenpack, later known as Huguenot, was located at the confluence of the Delaware and Neversink Rivers. The valleys gave Indians from the west easy access for raids. In July 1779, only weeks after Samuel had been sent to Peenpack, another militia group was massacred at nearby Minisink while on a similar mission.
After the war, he purchased 640 acres of wilderness land around Howell’s Depot at territory that he may have passed through with the Ulster Militia. It was enough land that his sons Enos, Samuel, Erastus, and Selah settled around him. They all raised large families, and for a time that region was known as Mapestown. Descendants still hold a family reunion in the area each year.
Before his death, Samuel Mapes conveyed a plot of his land near the site of the present Congregational Church at Howell’s for a family cemetery. He was buried there when he died in 1820 at the age of 85 years. His wife, Mary, survived him by five years. Several generations of his descendants are also buried in this cemetery.
In time, the cemetery was abandoned. It is presently located on private property with a roadside marker to identify the entrance.
References:
The Family Record published by C.H. Weygant, Newburgh, New York, Vol. 4, April 1897 Pg. 46-47.
Public Papers of George Clinton, Published by the State of New York. Vol. 3, Pg. 470-471, 528-529. Albany, New York, 1900.
Calendar of Historical Manuscripts Relating to War of the Revolution, by the New York Secretary of State, Albany, New York, Vol. 1, Pg. 12-13. Published 1808.
Fold3 Military Records for Samuel Mapes, Revolutionary War, New York Militia, McClaughry's Regiment, https://www.fold3.com/image/20305005.
National Archives Publication M881: Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783, Roll #93.
History of Ulster County New York, Pg. 157-164. Alphonso T. Clearwater, LL.D. Editor. Published by W. J. VanDeusin, Kingston, New York. 1907.
Author: James B. Battles
Samuel Mapes was born on 14 Feb 1735 in Southold, Suffolk, NY. He died on 06 Feb 1820 in Howells, Orange, New York, USA. He married Mary Smith on 14 Nov 1755 in Wallkill, Orange, NY. She was born on 06 Apr 1739 in Goshen, Orange, NY. She died on 20 Jan 1827 in Howells, Orange, NY.
Samuel Mapes was born on 14 February 1735 in Southold, Suffolk County on Long Island New York. The family moved to Orange County New York on the western banks of the Hudson River. He married Mary Smith on 14 November 1755 Wallkill, Orange County, New York. Between 1756 and 1780 Mary and Samuel had 9 children. Samuel settles in Howells New York. Following the events of April 1775 in Massachusetts Samuel and his eldest son Smith Mapes signed the Orange County Pledge of Association to the Continental Congress. Samuel along with his son Smith served as Privates in Captain. Isaiah Vail's Company of Colonel McCluaughry's Regiment of the Ulster County. New York Militia. After the war Samuel expanded his land holdings in and around Howells. He died on 6 February 1820 at the age of 85. He was buried in what has become the Mapes Family Cemetery in Howells, New York. All of his children remained in Howells with the exception of son Seth Mapes who move to Ohio to establish an Ohio branch of the Mapes family.
Samuel Mapes and Mary Smith had the following children:
i. SMITH2 MAPES was born on 31 Dec 1756. He died on 10 May 1830 in Rochester, Monroe, NY.
ii. SAMUEL MAPES was born on 13 Mar 1759 in Orange, NY. He died on 10 Mar 1760 in Orange, NY.
iii. ENOS MAPES was born on 07 Jan 1761 in Orange, NY. He died on 10 Mar 1843 in Howells, Orange, NY.
iv. SAMUEL MAPES was born on 30 Nov 1763 in Orange, NY. He died on 30 Apr 1835 in Howells, Orange, NY.
v. SELAH MAPES was born on 24 May 1765 in Howells, Orange, NY. Selah died on 08 Mar 1837 in Howells, Orange, NY.
vi. SETH MAPES was born on 28 Mar 1770 in Howells, Orange, NY. He died on 27 Mar 1844 in Solon, Cuyahoga, OH. He married JULIA SMITH. She was born in 1775.
vii. SILAS HAYNES MAPES was born on 29 Mar 1774. He died on 22 Feb 1857 in Thompson, Sullivan, NY.
viii. WILLIAM MAPES was born on 03 Apr 1774 in Howells, Orange, NY. He died on 03 Mar 1775 in Howells, Orange, NY.
ix. MARY MAPES was born on 16 Nov 1780 in Howells, Orange, NY. She died on 30 Sep 1804 in Howells, Orange, NY. She married JOSEPH CARPENTER.
Send a biographical sketch of your patriot!
Patriot biographies must be the original work of the author, and work submitted must not belong to another person or group, in observance with copyright law. Patriot biographies are to be written in complete sentences, follow the established rules of grammar, syntax and punctuation, be free of typographical errors, and follow a narrative format. The narrative should unfold in a logical manner (e.g. the narrative does not jump from time period to time period) or have repeated digressions, or tell the history of the patriot's line from the patriot ancestor to the author. The thinking here is that this is a patriot biography, not a lineage report or a kinship determination project or other report published in a genealogy journal. The biography should discuss the qualifying service (military, patriotic, civil) of the patriot ancestor, where the service was rendered, whether this was a specific state or Continental service, as well as significant events (as determined by the author) of the patriot's life. This is the entire purpose of a patriot's biography.
Additional guidelines around the Biography writeup can be found here:
Send your submission1, in a Microsoft Word compatible format, to patriotbios@sar.org for inclusion in this space 1Upon submission of a patriot biography, the patriot biography becomes the property of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and may be edited to conform to the patriot biography submission standards.
