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: Lieutenant
Birth: 13 Feb 1730 Lancaster / Worcester / MA Death: 15 Jan 1776 Little Cambridge / Middlesex; MA
Qualifying Service Description:
1775, he served as a Lieutenant in the company of Captain Joshua Wood of the Leominster militia.
Additional References:
Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Soldiers, and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Volume XII, Massachusetts. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co., 1901, pg 283
Edward Phelps was born on 13 February 1729/1730 in Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts.1
He married Martha Tarbell on 31 October 1756 at Harvard, Worcester County.2 Among their known children were:
Peter was born on 23 January 1758
Levi was born on 16 February 1760 – last known to be living in 1805 in Stoddard, New Hampshire.
Edward was born on 25 September 1762
Calvin was born on 28 January 1764 and died young.
After his wife, Martha Tarbell, died on 2 April 1765, he married his second wife, Martha Farnsworth, on 20 December 1765 in Groton, Worcester County, Massachusetts.3]
Esther was born on 23 September 1766 and died young.
Abel was born on 29 July 1771 and married Eunice Wilder.
Luther was born on 4 April 1768 and married Susannah Cram.
Patty was born on 18 July 1773 and married to Ephraim Carter Jr.
Jonas was christened on 26 March 1775 and married Ruth Lealand.
During the early days of the Revolutionary War, Edward, as a resident of Leominster, served as a Lieutenant in the company of Captain Joshua Wood of the town militia. On 19 April 1775, they marched on the alarm to Cambridge and served for fourteen days.4
After the Revolution, some of the surviving children moved to Cheshire County, New Hampshire, including Levi, Edward, Abel, and Luther.
Edward died intestate, but from his probate file, we can discern his heirs. In a report of distributions to the court, his widow, Martha, serving as an administrator. “that she pays to Peter Phelps, the oldest son of the said deceased… …and that she pay to Levi, Edward, Luther, Abel, Patty, and Jonas, the other six children…” Both Calvin and Esther had died young.5
The Patriot died on 15 January 1776 in Leominster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, and was buried at the Old Pine Grove Cemetery in Leominster, Massachusetts. His epitaph reads: "In memory of /Lieut. Edward Phelps/ who died Jan. 15, 1776/ in the 47 year of his age."6
A death notice printed in New England Chronicle on Thursday, 22 February to Thursday, 29 February 1776; Volume Vlll, Issue: 395: "At Little Cambridge, Lieut. Edward Phelps, age 45, in the service of the united colonies. His sustained and excellent character, as a man and a Christian, and died in peaceful hope of a glorious immortality."
Sources:
The Birth, Death and Marriage Register Lancaster, Massachusetts, page 50
Vital Records of Harvard, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Boston: Wright & Potter, 1917, page 200
Vital Records Groton page 243
Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Soldiers, and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Volume XII, Massachusetts. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co., 1901, page 283
Worcester County, Massachusetts Probate Files – Series A: Worcester, Case 46279
Gravestone – Find-a-Grave 64565584
Send a biographical sketch of your patriot!
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.
