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: MA
Qualifying Service: Private
Birth: 20 Nov 1749 Yarmouth / Barnstable / MA Death: 12 Feb 1778 Valley Forge / / PA
Qualifying Service Description:
Capt Joshua Gray's co. of Minute-men, which marched April 20, 1775, in response to the alarm of April 19, 1775, toward Marshfield, service, 2 days
Capt Davis's and Capt John Lamont's companies, Colonel Gamaliel Bradford's regt., engaged for town of Yarmouth May 1777; term 3 years; service to Jan 12, 1778
Additional References:
MA Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, Volume 4, pg 932
Muster/Payrolls of the Rev War:
Volume 10, pg 338
Volume 43, pg 22 & 25
Volume 69, pg 116
Pension # W.21002
Spouse: Mary Matthews Children: Members Who Share This Ancestor
None*
*This means that the NSSAR has no applications for this Patriot on file.
Instead the information provided is best effort, and from volunteers who have either researched grave sites, service records, or something similar. There is no documentation available at NSSAR HQ to order.
Benjamin Downs was the son of William and Elizabeth Downs, born November 20, 1749, at Yarmouth, Massachusetts.[1]
Benjamin served in Captain Joshua Gray’s company of Minute-men which marched April 20, 1775, in response to the alarm of April 19, 1775, toward Marshfield. From the payroll of Captain Gray, Benjamin’s wages were stated to be 2 shillings, 10 pence plus travel pay for a total of 3 shillings, 10 pence.[2]
From the pension application testimony of Mary Matthews Downs given January 24, 1837, Benjamin enlisted for the term of three years. That he was enrolled in Captain John Lamont’s company, of Colonel Gamaliel Bradford’s regiment, and entered service in April or May 1777. That he first went to Boston, “whence he returned to Yarmouth shortly after on furlough and stayed about three weeks during which they were married and a few days before he again went to Boston and marched to Ticonderoga”. Town Clerk B. Matthews certified the marriage record of Benjamin Downs and Mary Matthews at the Town of Yarmouth, May 18, 1777 for the pension application of Mary Downs.[3]
A Return of the enlisted soldiers into the Continental Army, mustered & paid their Bounty by Joseph Otis muster master for the County of Barnstable lists 14 men from Yarmouth. Benjamin Downs is reported to have mustered May 15th, for a term of three years, in the company of Capt. Davis, regiment of Col. Bradford. Benjamin Downs received for his Continental Bounty, State Bounty, and gun accoutrements a total of 21 pounds, 10 shillings.[4]
The Return of men recruited for Capt. Lamont’s company by him and his officers in Col. Gamaliel Bradford’s regiment 12, Massachusetts States Battalion for the service of the United States of America lists 72 men. Colonel Bradford certified “that the Officers and Soldiers borne on the within roll were of the fifteen Battalions raised by the State of Massachusetts Bay and were in Camp on or before the 15th Day of August 1777, and not absent since, unless upon command or furlough except as the Remarks mentioned”. The Roll lists Benjamin Downs “joined” June 26, 1777 and died February 12, 1778.[5] Of the 72 Officers and Soldiers listed in the Roll 23 are reported to have died.
Widow Mary Downs testified “for the benefit of the provisions made by the Act of Congress, passed July 4, 1836” that her husband Benjamin Downs had been at Valley Forge, where he was taken sick with fever – was removed to Green Spring Hospital where she was informed, he died in the month of February or March 1778.[6]
Mrs. Mary Matthews Downs died February 4, 1839 aged 85 years and was buried at the Ancient Cemetery in Yarmouth. Her gravestone is engraved stating “widow of Mr. Benjamin Downs, who died in the Revolutionary War”.
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.