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.
Birth: 09 Jun 1754 Mansfield / Tolland / CT Death: 16 Sep 1806 Louisville / Jefferson / KY
Qualifying Service Description:
1775, he served as a Private in the 6th Company of Captain Edward Shipman, commanded by Colonel Charles Webb.
Additional References:
Johnston, Henry Phelps, Record of Service of Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Services During the War of the Revolution 1775-1783, Connecticut. Harford: Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., 1889, pg 82
Spouse: Deborah Freeman Children: Wealthy; Stephen; Rebecca;
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.
This is likely a cenotaph created when his wife was buried there. Spring GroveCemetery didn't exist until 1840, well before he died in 1806. While it is possible the body was moved to this location, it is improbable.
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
Author: Mark Andrew Davis
The following biography was written by PRS staff and includes some information from Mike Gunn.
Roswell Fenton was born on 9 June 1754 in Mansfield Township, Tolland, Connecticut, the son of Jacob and Rebeckah (Cross) Fenton.
He married Deborah Freeman on 1 April 1773 in Mansfield. Among their known children were:
Jacob was born on 21 January 1775 and had no children.
Stephen was born on 11 January 1777 and married Roxa Fitch.
Hannah was born on 7 July 1779 and married L. Van Buren.
Molly was born in 1781 and died unmarried.
George Washington was born on 20 December 1783 and married Elsie Owen.
Roswell Jr was born on 10 February 1786 and married Anna McFanan.
Deborah was born on 17 February 1789 and married William Paddock.
Rebecca was born on 19 August 1791 and married William Cary.
Lucy Ann was born on 13 December 1793 and married Cyrus Howard.
Wealthy Ann was born on 13 February 1796 and married Roswell Hazeltine.
Not long after the birth of his first child, Roswell served as a Private in the 6th Company of Captain Edward Shipman, commanded by Colonel Charles Webb. We can follow the timeline of his tour through the description left by Augustus Jones [Pension file S18059], who served with Roswell.
Augustus recalled that he enlisted in July 1775, just before harvest time, to serve a five-month tour in the Revolutionary Army. The company marched to New London and remained for about two weeks to locate provisions. They joined the rest of the Regiment and marched through Norwich on the way to Boston. They were finally discharged at Cambridge in about December, as there was snow on the ground and the volunteers were very cold. There was very little fighting during his tour, just some skirmishing and some prisoners taken. He recalled General Washington was there and the British were in Boston.
It’s been suggested through family lore that he was living in Hamilton County, Ohio, and had traveled to the Louisville, Kentucky area to look for land, when he was killed in 1806. However, he had been residing there, as his estate was probated in Jefferson County, Kentucky. An inventory of his Kentucky property included 32 pigs, 34 barrels of corn, four barrels of flour, and two of whiskey. A separate inventory also includes a large quantity of household goods, including furniture, clothing, spinning wheels, and yarn. In addition to the pigs of the first inventory, this one includes one bay mare, one cow, 282 gallons of whiskey, a Free Masons book, 20 pounds of cotton seeds, and 150 bushels of corn. And yet, there was another inventory that included enslaved people: Nanny, Matti, Harry, and Mary.
A gravestone dating from the time of Deborah’s death in 1846 and including Roswell's birth and death dates is located at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati. The cemetery was founded in 1844, so Deborah’s burial would have been among the first. She likely had moved from Louisville to Cincinnati after the death of Roswell in 1806, as her sons Jacob and Roswell were living. However, it is unlikely Roswell Sr. was buried at Spring Grove, as he would have had to be disinterred from Kentucky and relocated to Cincinnati. This seems highly unlikely. More likely, he is still buried in an unmarked grave in Jefferson County, Kentucky.
Sources:
Weaver, William L., A Genealogy of the Fenton Family, Descendants of Robert Fenton, Connecticut. Willimantic: self-published, 1867, pages 16-18
Kentucky, Jefferson. Court Records 1801–1813, Minute Boos No. 6,7,8,9,10
Kentucky, Jefferson. Property Settlement Records 1800–1910
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