Author: Charles W. Griswold
In his pension application he states “that he was born in the town of Montgomery and he thinks that he was born in the year 1758 on the 13th day of April.” He had no record of his age unless it is recorded in the Church of Wallkill in Montgomery where he was baptized. However, no record has been found there.
His father is believed to be John Slaughter, born 1733, who married Marytje Losee in Montgomery, Orange Co., NY in 1757. After Isaac was born they moved to Shawangunk, Ulster Co., NY. The birth of three more of their children is documented in the records of the Old Dutch Church of Shawangunk which was organized by the Dutch and Huguenot settlers of the Wallkill Valley in 1737.

At the age of 17 he went to Kingston, Ulster Co. and enlisted in the Third New York Regiment of the Continental Army. Per his Revolutionary War pension application, No. W77823, he volunteered for service in the month of July the 15th day 1775 in Colonel James Clinton’s Third Regiment in the 7th Company of Captain Jacobus Bruyn for the term of 5 months for the Canadian Campaign. Per company records, Isaac’s occupation was "Laborer"; he was 5 foot 10 inches tall with fair complexion and brown hair.
It was a busy summer for Isaac. Per the records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Shawangunk, he married Maria Davis on 13 Aug 1775. Maria was baptized on 21 Mar 1759 at the Reformed Church in Marbletown, NY. She was the daughter of Samuel Davies and Elsie Robeson. Samuel is also a family Patriot. He signed the Articles of Association in Minisink, Ulster Co., NY on 26 Jun 1775. Maria’s great grandfather Christopher (Kit) Davids was a well known trapper and Indian interpreter in the Albany area in the 1600s.

Following his enlistment and marriage, Isaac’s regiment marched from Kingston to Albany on their way to Fort Ticonderoga where they would muster under Brigadier General Richard Montgomery for the Canadian Campaign, the first major American military initiative of the Revolutionary War.

In early September they left Fort Ticonderoga and traveled by bateaux down Lake Champlain to Fort St. Johns (St. Jeans) and a smaller Fort Chambly. These forts guarded the entry to the province of Quebec on the Richelieu River on the northern end of Lake Champlain.
On September 18th, after two false starts, they begin constructing the siege works in the swampy ground surrounding Fort St. Johns, including a mortar battery south of the fort. Through the rest of September and early October the British showed no signs of giving in, in fact they held an advantage in firepower. However, on October 6th a large cannon dubbed the “Old Sow” arrived from Fort Ticonderoga which started lobbing shells into the fort the next day. A second battery opened fire on October 13th.

In the meantime two nine pound cannons were rafted up the river past Fort St. Johns to Fort Chambly and opened fire. The smaller fort manned by only 82 men surrendered on October 18th The fort commander failed to destroy the fort’s supplies which were vitally useful to the Americans. They included six tons of gunpowder, 125 muskets with 6,500 cartridges, 80 barrels of flour and 272 barrels of foodstuff. The battle of Fort Chambly is specifically cited in Isaac’s pension application. On November 3rd the British commander of Fort St. Johns surrendered 536 officers and soldiers, 79 Canadians and 8 English volunteers. Montgomery then moved on to Montreal which he entered, without opposition on November 13th.

Isaac was discharged on the 25th of December and returned home. Isaac continued to serve in various Ulster County militia companies until the end of the war in1783.

In his pension application he stated he lived in Shawangunk for about a year after the war and then moved to Montgomery, Orange County where he spent the rest of his life. However, he appears in the 1790 census for Mamakating, Ulster Co. I believe county border changes occurred in that area after the war??? That 1790 census indicates that he had 4 boys under 16 and 3 girls.

Isaac’s wife Maria died in 1793. At the time of her death they had eight children. On 5 Dec of that same year he married Jane McBride, daughter of Archibald and Jean Newkirk. She was 17 years old. They were married in Mamakating, Ulster Co. on 15 Dec 1793. They had 10 children between 1794 and 1817. Isaac’s son John married Maria Crispell 28 Feb 1799. Shawangunk, Ulster Co. Also, in 1799, Isaac and Jane had four children baptized in the RDC of Shawangunk. Catherine, born July 16, 1789 and Abraham, born Mar 19, 1793 were children from Isaac’s first marriage. Benjamin, born Apr 1, 1796 and Nancy, born Dec 29, 1797, were children from his marriage to Jane.
It appears that during this period of his life Isaac was actively acquiring property. I have copies of three indentures/deeds dated from 1788 to 1802.

The first is dated seventh of July 1788 between Isaac and David Johnston. Isaac bought 236 acres “in a tract of land known and distinguished by the name of Deer Park in the said County of Ulster.” He was to pay a total of 190 pounds in a series or four payments in 1788, 1789, 1790 and 1791. The agreement is full of legalize, there were definitely attorneys involved. I believe Deer Park became a town that is now part of Orange Co.

Four years later, in 1795 he bought fifty eight and a half acres in the Town of Shawangunk and ninety one acres in the Town of Montgomery for “the sum of nine hundred pounds of lawful money of New York” from a John McKinstry.
In 1802 Isaac bought a farm from Thomas Eager of Wallkill, Montgomery Co. He paid $4,807.97. The document does not give the acreage, only the boundaries of the property. The purchase did include a house, cider mill and wheat in the field.
On the 22nd of December 1802, Isaac paid Charles Clinton $7.00 for surveying the farm, including going and returning home and mapping the same. In 1803 Isaac is listed in the Tax Assessment Rolls for Wallkill, Orange Co. He had $1,862.50 in Real Estate and $370 in Personal Property for a total of $2,238.50. John Slawter, probably his son, had a total of $22. On March 8, 1808 Isaac gave his son John $325.00 and had him sign a statement that it was a “full compensation of all the Reight intitaled to me of his, estate.”

One of the witnesses was John’s brother Isaac Jr. By this time John had already moved to the town of Benton in Ontario County, NY. His first child, Jane, was born there on April 12, 1805.
In the following year Isaac gave his next oldest son James the same amount with the same conditions.
In 1810, he gave his next oldest sons, Isaac Jr. and Jeremiah each $350.00 with the same conditions. He had one more son with Maria: Abraham. However, I have no record of a similar transaction.
John and his brother Isaac Jr. then appear in the 1810 census for Benton, Ontario Co., NY. The families are living next door to each other.

There is a document dated first day of May 1815, which appears to be a loan agreement in which: “I Isaac Slaughter of the Town of Wallkill County of Orange and the State of New York am held and firmly Bound to Joseph J Houston (probably a descendent of George Houston who settled on 300 acres in Wallkill in 1787 and who helped organize the Scotchtown Church. Also, in 1796, he donated three acres of land to build it on) of the Town Montgomery County of Orange and state afore Said in the final sum of eleven thousand eighty seven dollars law full money of the United States of America.” Isaac paid it all back with interest in seven payments ending on February 4th 1818. There is no indication of how he used the money; however it was a very large amount of money for 1818.

Later that year he loaned five dollars and twenty five cents to James McBride (probably a relative of his wife) and had him sign a note which was witnessed by Fanny Slaughter. The twenty five cents was probably interest.

Isaac applied for his Revolutionary War pension 13 Sept 1832. He was 74 years and 8 months old but still very sound of mind. He was able to recall almost all the names of officers he served under and where he served. Even with that amount of detail, he was required to provide supporting evidence in the form of sworn statements from other veterans who served with him.

He was awarded $80.00 per annum commencing on the 4th day of March 1831. He received his first payment on the 4th of September 1833. It consisted of two $80.00 payments and a semiannual payment of $40.00.
On 24 Sep 1834 he had trouble collecting his pension payment due to a problem with the spelling of his name. He wrote a letter requesting a correction. His records show that a corrected certificate was sent to his lawyer.

Isaac was a member of the Scotchtown Presbyterian Church and is buried in their cemetery. Some members were listed as First Pew Holders. Isaac is listed in the Gallery.

Isaac made his will on 25 May 1837. He left almost all of his estate to his son William Harrison. His 2nd wife Jane McBride Slaughter (2nd and McBride were written in a different hand) received use of a horse, harness and wagon and all the household and cellar goods until her death. Daughter Amelia was to receive $300 a year after Isaac’s death. Sons William Harrison and Joseph were named Executors.
Isaac died 6 Feb 1838. His will was probated in Goshen, Orange Co. on 4 June 1838. William Harrison Slaughter was the Executor. The document contains 5 pages. The last 1 ½ contain the actual will. All the rest is probate testimony.

Jane applied for his pension and was approved on 2 Sep 1839. She was 63 years old.