The following biography was edited and augmented by PRS Staff.

James Dalrymple was born on 4 March 1757 in Boston or in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, the son of Thomas and Mary “Molly” Dalrymple.
Confusion exists surrounding the Revolutionary War service of James Dalrymple 1757-1847. That confusion mainly exists due to the various spellings of the surname Dalrymple in the different state and national databases. The Massachusetts, U.S. Soldiers, and Sailors in the Revolutionary War record index, page 370, states, Dalrymple, this name also appears under the form of listing 24 various spellings of the family surname. Dalrymple, Dalrimple, Derompel, Deromple, Derumple, Derumpble, are all one and the same James Dalrymple of Sudbury who first served as a Marlborough Minuteman and then from 3 May 1775 to 19 May 1780.

On 27 April 1818, James sat for a military pension deposition. At the time, he was living in Framingham, Massachusetts, and was sixty-one years old. He states he enlisted about the first of May 1775 in the company of Captain Aaron Haynes in the regiment of Colonel Jonathan Brewer. This was a term of eight months, during which he was in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

The following May 1776, he reenlisted in Boston in the company of Captain Jonathan Edes, commanded by Colonel Thomas Crafts. He served for one year and was discharged in May 1778 in Boston. He doesn’t list any engagements during this time.

He lists no service in 1778 but said he enlisted in August 1779 for a term of nine months in the Massachusetts Continental Line. During this term, he served as a Drummer in Captain James Tisdale's Company, Colonel Greaton's 3rd Regiment. During this tour, they marched to West Point. He doesn’t provide any details about his service during this period but says he was discharged in May 1780 at a place called “Wood’s Hutt” or “Wood’s Heath” in New York State.

This is where he ends the description of his service in the 1818 deposition. In an 1832 deposition made by James in August 1832 from Marlborough, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, he states his service in the company of Captain Aaron Haynes included participation in the Battle at Lexington. He also states that in 1777, he served for seven months under Captain John Meirs on the Privateer Speedwell. He then says he served three months in the State Militia but doesn’t list his officers. He mentions his service under Captain Tisdale. He describes his situation by saying, “he is sixty-four old on the fourth day of March A.D. 1821, infirm and unable to labor, as a wife aged fifty-seven who is also very infirm and unable to labor except a small portion of her time, has six children in all, no one of who was able to contribute anything towards his support, two of his children are now with him and are ???? invalids and depended upon him for their support.”

On 29 October 1845, he sat for another deposition as a resident of Leominster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, age eighty-nine. This time, his service starts with service as a Minuteman from Sudbury in the company of Captain Aaron Haynes under Colonel Brewer. They marched on the alarm of 13 April 1775 to Concord and rendered eight months of service.

He continues his description of service by telling of his subsequent enlistment in 1776 as a Private and Drummer in the company of Captain Revere [Paul Revere] in Colonel Craft’s train of Artillery for one year. After that service, he thought in the autumn of 1777, he served for three or six months in Rhode Island as a Sergeant in the company of Captain Benjamin Monroe. 

In 1779, he said he was in the Continental Army for one year as a Drummer in the company of Captain Spur of the State of Connecticut of the Regiment of Colonel Thomas Nixon. During this time, he rendered service as a Sergeant and was appointed by the Captain as Quartermaster for the company. He was responsible for picking up provisions from the Commissary General’s Quarters. His final tour was nine months as a Drummer in the company of Captain James Tisdale. He ends his deposition by saying, “my name was correctly spelt Dalrymple, but was often called as if spelt Dremple.” It is unclear why his later deposition contains so much more information about his service than the 1818 deposition.

However, at the age of ninety, in June 1846, he sat for another deposition. The story evolved or had additional variances. This time, his service under Captain Aaron Haynes included a march to Cambridge. He also states that while in the company, he served as a Sergeant for eight months, and the rest was as a Private. He goes on to describe his service from Boston in 1776 as being with Captain Eads under Colonel Revere. He served in Rhode Island under Captain Benjamin Rowe. He served as a Sergeant. At best guess, he served about three years and three months.

The aforementioned series of books, Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors, has the following entries for a man named James Dalrymple.

• Private, 3 May 1775 - 1 Aug 1775, Survived the Battle of Bunker Hill as a member of Captain Haynes Sudbury Company, Colonel Jonathan.
• Brewer's Regiment on 17 June 1775.
• Private, 6 October 1775, Captain Haynes Company, Colonel Jonathan Brewer's Regiment. Prospect Hill
• Private, 25 October 1775, Captain Haynes Company, Colonel Jonathan Brewer's Regiment. Ordered James a bounty coat.
• Drummer, 1 August 1776 - 1 Nov 1776, Captain Jonathan Edes's 4th Company, Colonel Thomas Crafts' Artillery Regiment.
• Sergeant in 1777 - 1778, Captain Benjamin Munroe Company, Colonel Sproul's Regiment.
• Enlistment to 1779. Records reflect that he also served with Captain Benjamin Munroe's Company, Colonel Sprouts Regiment, in Rhode Island.
• Private, 19 Aug - September 1779, Captain Tisdale's Company, Colonel Greaton's 3rd Regiment.
• Drummer, September 1779 - 19 May 1780, Captain Spur, Colonel Nixon. Discharged 19 May 1780

On 7 December 1780, after leaving the military, he was married in Sudbury to Azubah Parmenter. We find a list of his children in the 1 December 1838 Last Will and Testament he made in Marlborough. In it, he names his wife, Azubah, and his deceased sons, John, Henry, and James. He also lists daughters Asenath Randall and Eliza Cagswell. Using vital records, we can confirm:

• James was born on 31 October 1781 and died young.
• Henry was born on 13 July 1784 and married Catherine Tileston.
• Aseneth was born on 1 September 1786 and married 1) Samuel Clark and 2) Josiah Randall.
• Ezekiel was born on 15 April 1789. He was a seaman on a ship that was lost.
• John was born on 26 February 1792 and married Judith Loring.
• James [2] was born on 11 January 1796 and married Sarah Brayman.
• Ann was born on 16 April 1798 and died unmarried.
• Sarah “Sally” was born on 26 May 1800 and died young.
• Eliza was born on 31 October 1806 and married Seth Cogswell.

The Patriot died on 5 July 1847, and his widow died on 12 August 1850. Both were buried at Spring Hill Cemetery in Marlborough.