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.
Headstone photo published with permission of Compatriot Robert C. Eager, MISSAR
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
Photo: 1 of 1
Author: Robert Clyde Eager
John Blake was born in 1733 at Ulster County, New York, a son of John Blake and Margaret Dean. He married Mary Norris about 1761. She was born at Northern Ireland, a daughter of Henry Norris, but was living at Coldenham, New York, at the time they were married. They were the parents of nine children. Seven children reached adulthood.
In 1761, John Blake purchased 477 acres of the Patrick McKnight Patent, near Neelytown. Most of the nearby families were of Scotch-Irish descent. In 1765, Blake was one of several neighbors, of varying religious creeds, who joined together to establish the Neelytown Church. It was founded as Associate Reformed Presbyterian, but as the only church for miles, it served all the members of the community.
During the Revolutionary War, John Blake served in the Ulster County Militia as a Minuteman in Captain Jackson’s Company. Members of the militia were called up periodically to respond to alarms in nearby communities. They would serve for several days at a time to protect against raids by Tories or their Indian allies.
Before, during, and for many years after the war, John Blake was a farmer. According to the tax rolls of the time, he was one of the more prosperous members of his community.
His wife, Mary Norris Blake, died the February 17, 1815 aged 76 years. She was buried at the Goodwill Presbyterian Church Cemetery at Montgomery, New York. The Neelytown Church that she and Blake had helped found had closed some years before.
John Blake prepared his last will and testament the following year. He divided his land holdings between his oldest son, John Jr., and his youngest son, Edward. He also appointed them as his executors. He directed them to pay cash settlements to his other living sons, Charles and James. He made provisions as well for his daughter, Mary Milliken, and the children of his deceased son, Henry. His son, Samuel, had died as an infant. Another daughter, Margaret, was not mentioned.
John Blake died January 28, 1818, aged 85 years. He was buried next to his wife, at the Goodwill Presbyterian Church.
References:
1. Eager, Samuel W.: Outline History of Orange County New York, Pg. 46, 254, 296-298.
2. Headley, Russel, ed.: The History of Orange County New York, Pg. 304.
3. Reynolds, Cuyler, ed.: Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley, Vol. 1, Pg. 371.
4. Ruttenber, E.M. and L. H. Clark: History of Orange County New York, Pg. 379.
5. NARA: Series M881. Compiled service records of soldiers who served in the American Army during the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783. Roll: 0778, Pg. 2. John Blake.
6. NARA: Series M246. Muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-1783. Roll: 0078, Pg. 78. John Blake.
7. Tax Assessment Rolls of Real and Personal Estates, 1799-1804, New York (State). Comptroller's Office, [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
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