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.
Belcher Hancock, the son of Solomon Hancock, was baptized on 24 February 1754 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts.[1]
Belcher Hancock was a corporal[2] in the company under the command of Captain Samuel Thatcher in Colonel Thomas Gardner’s Regiment of Militia. He was one of the militias who marched to the alarm of 19 April 1775[3] for the Battle of Lexington and Concord at the start of the American Revolutionary War. The company had at least 75 men. The company entered the battle at Lincoln and continued fighting at least until Fiske Hill[4], where they engaged the British under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith around 2:30 p.m. Walton was credited with four days of service.[5]
He was a sergeant in Captain Williams Wyman’s company, Colonel John Paterson’s 24th regiment; he enlisted on 24 April 1775 and was credited with three months and 14 days of service. He was a 1st Lieutenant in Captain Nathaniel Cushing’s company, Colonel John Patterson’s regiment, commissioned 28 March 1777; Lieutenant in Captain Nathaniel Cushing’s company, Colonel Vose’s regiment in 1777-1779. He appears on the Continental Army pay accounts for service from 1 January 1780 to 1 November 1780; he was also a Captain in the 1st Massachusetts regiment, commissioned on 28 August 1780 with a commission to date from 6 January 1780.[6]
He married Ann Ackers on 7 January 1788 in Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts.[7] Their children were: Henry, Henry Kelham, Belcher, and John.
Belcher Hancock is buried in Walnut Street Cemetery, Brookline, Norfolk County, Massachusetts.[8]
Sources:
[1] Massachusetts, U.S., Compiled Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1700-1850, Cambridge Births, p. 322
[2]Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Soldiers, and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Massachusetts. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co., 1901, Vol 7, page 203.
[3] The Battle of 19 April 1775 in Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Arlington, Cambridge, Somerville, and Charlestown, Massachusetts, Frank Warren Coburn, 1912, p. 41
[5]Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Soldiers, and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Massachusetts. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co., 1901, Vol 7, page 203.
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