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: abt 1762 / / MD Death: bef Jun 1849 / Monongalia / VA
Qualifying Service Description:
Private in the company of Captain John Dean of the Rangers on the Frontier, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Additional References:
Martin, David and William H. EglePennsylvania Archives Third Series, Vol XXIII, Pennsylvania. Harrisburg: Wm. Stanley Ray, State Printer, 1897, pg 228, 321
Montgomery, Thomas LynchPennsylvania Archives Fifth Series, Vol IV, Pennsylvania. Harrisburg: Harrisburg Publishing Company, 1906, pg 427-428
Benjamin Alton was born about 1762, probably in Baltimore County, Maryland, the son of Joseph and Mary (Buckley) Alton. He died before Jun 1849 in Monongalia County, (West) Virginia.
He was thought to have been married three times, the first two wives unknown, but his third wife was Jane (Miller) Armstrong. The known children prior to his marriage to Jane:
Catherine was born on 7 May 1786 and married James Morgan
Hannah was born on 21 October 1787 and married Michael Stine
Jesse was born about 1789
Samuel was born about 1794 and married Nancy Santee
Jane B. was born in about 1796.
Margaret was born about 1798 and married Abisha Clark
Elizabeth was born on 22 July 1799 and married Samuel Santee.
His children by Jane were:
Mary was born on 26 March 1806 and married Abraham Brookover
Joseph was born on 19 July 1811 and married Harriet Youst
David was born about 1813 and married Nancy Wilcoxen
Miller was born about 1815.
He served as a private, as did his brother, John, in the Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Militia, Captain John Dean's company, and Rangers on the Frontier. On Colonel William Crawford's expedition against Native American warriors at Sandusky, Ohio. According to family legend, he had hand-to-hand combat with a Native fighter and won. He was a farmer and lived in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and then purchased land in Monongalia County, Virginia, in 1809, where he later settled after 1810 and lived until his death.
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Additional Information:
NOTE: there is data in the Genealogy Correction File - you can find a pdf version in the Research Documents section of this Patriot's record