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.
Author: Robert John Gang, III
Reuben Curtis was born on May 13, 1757. He was the son of Matthew S. Curtis and Phoebe Judson. His mother died when he was less than one year old on September 10, 1758. Reuben was brought up by his stepmother Abigail Thompson whom his father married on December 5, 1759. Reuben married Silence Allen on October 4, 1775 in New Haven, Connecticut. Silence was born September 5, 1757 in Weymouth, Massachusetts. They had the following 17 children born on the following dates: Abner, December 15, 1776; Nabby, November 1, 1778; Joseph, September 3, 1781; Joseph, September 19, 1782; twins David and Phoebe, December 31, 1786; Thomas, October 31, 1788; Mary, September 4, 1790; Hannah, June 28, 1792; Allen, 1794; Reuben, 1796; twins Silence and Reuben March 11, 1797; Betsy, 1798; and twins Angeline and Adeline, March 6, 1803. Sometime between April and May of 1775 Reuben enlisted in Col. Hinman’s 4th Connecticut. On May 10, 1775 Governor Trumbulll ordered the regiment to march to Ticonderoga to secure that post and Crown Point to prevent their recapture. The regiment reached Ticonderoga in June and became part of the Northern Department under General Philip Schuyler. The men suffered much from sickness until mustered out in October/November 1775. Reuben was discharged on September 2, 1775. In 1776 Reuben again answered the call to arms and enlisted in Capt. Hicock’s Company of the 13th Connecticut Militia. Reuben served in the 13th in New York from his arrival in camp on August 16, 1775 until September 4, 1776 when he was again discharged. During this service he was paid from the day of his arrival in camp until the day he was discharged. He was also allowed 1 day of service for every 20 miles marched to and from camp. Reuben’s then served Col. Hosford’s 12th Connecticut in Capt. Miller’s company. The 12th marched to Eastchester in September 1776 to join General Washington’s army. The record does not show when the 12th was discharged. He concurrently shows in Col. Benjamin Hindmans’s 13th Connecticut militia in Capt. Amos Heicok’s (sic) company. He shows on the company pay abstract in Woodbridge, Connecticut on June 18, 1777, as arriving in camp in New York on August 16, and being discharged on September 9. He was paid 2 pounds, 4 shillings 0 pence for this duty. Reuben served in Captain Seth Stevens Company in Col. John Robinson’s regiment from July 5, 1777 for 6 month’s service in United States service. Following the war Reuben took the Freeman’s Oath of Fidelity in the town of Newtown in the Independent State of Connecticut in 1785. He is listed as operating a Tannery in Newtown and at some point moved to Danbury, Connecticut. Reuben Curtis died December 14, 1816 in Danbury, Connecticut. He is buried in the North Main Street cemetery alongside his wife Silence. Silence died August 2, 1834 in New York City.
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