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: VT
Qualifying Service: Private
Birth: 1761 Death: 16 Feb 1813
Spouse: Love Sykes Children: Jasper; David; Emma;
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.
Author: VTSSAR
James was the 2nd of 9 children (2nd son) born of Abraham Underhill (1730-1796) and his wife Mercy Paddock (1734-1810). James's siblings were: Isaac (1759-1805), David (1765-1841), Phebe (1767-1844), William (1770-1834), Abraham (1773-1838), Mercy (1774-1794), Nathan (1778-1851), and Reuben (d. young).
On March 1, 1780, James joined Captain Parmelee Allen's Company of Rangers as a Private in Major Ebenezer Allen's Detachment, raised for the defense of the State of Vermont. After serving 9 months, James was discharge from that service on Decembr 1, 1780.
On July 26, 1781, James was one of the Three Week's Men that joined Captain Parmelee Allens' Company from Colonel Gideon Warren's Regiment and Colonel Ira Allen's Regiment in the service of the State of Vermont. James was paid for serving 22 days during this engagement, eventhough, on a subsequent payroll he appears as Fifer entering on July 29th Captain Parmelee Allen's Company, Lieutenant Colonel Ebenezer Walbridge's Battalion, raised for the defence of the State of Vermont. That payroll also records that he was discharged from that enlistment on December 1, 1781 after serving 4 months and 1 day. During this period of time, on November 22, 1781, James's brother Captain Abraham Underhill submitted an account for keeping him when sick in State service, 67 days.
In the year 1782, James served 2 days as a Private in Captain John Gray's Company of Foot, Colonel Ira Allen's Regiment for 2 days. Two of James's brothers also served in that Company during the period, Isaac as the Company's Lieutenant and David as a Private. In the same year, James was credited with 6 days service on a Pay Roll of Militia Officers and Soldiers from the towns of Pawlet, Rupert and Dorset that were called to assist the Sheriff of Windham County, Vermont in the execution of his Office in Septemebr 1782.
James married, 1791, Love Sykes (b. 1768) by whom he had 7 children (5 sons and 2 daughters): Cyrus (b. 1792), Jasper (1794-1873), David (b. 1798), James (b. 1801, Mary (b. 1803), Altha (1804-1814), and Isaac (b. 1805).
On March 1, 1792, James enlisted in the 4th Sub-Legion of the United States Army. He was mustered in March 5, 1792, for the purpose of a northwestern campaign under the command of General Anthony Wayne. He drilled the soldiers of the Legion and made himself usefull in others ways in military tactics, having had experience in the American Revolution. On March 19, 1793, James was commissioned a Lieutenant with the rank and pay to date from March 5, 1792. The commission did not reach him until after his arrival with the army at Fort Washington, October 6, 1793. On July 28, 1794, the army commenced their march to what was later called Fort Defiance. On August 2, 1794, 24 miles northeast of Fort Recovery, General Wayne built, garrisoned and named Fort Adams. Here Lieutenant James Underhill, with one hundred picked men, were left in command for 3 months. Fort Adams was situated in Dublin, Mercer County, Ohio, on the south side of St. Mary's River and 12 miles east of the Indiana State Line.
James was honorably discharged, June 7, 1796, and returned to his home in Dorset, Vermont.
References:
(1) "Underhill Genealogy Descendants of Capt. John Underhill" Vol. II., by Josephine C. Frost, 1832, pages 128, 231-233
(2) "The State of Vermont Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War 1775 to 1783" by John E. Goodrich, 1904, pages 322-324, 425, 538, 622, 715, 792 and 805-806
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.