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: Private
Birth: 04 Jan 1740 Barnstable / Barnstable / MA Death: 10 Aug 1802 At Sea
Qualifying Service Description:
1778, he served as a Private in the company of Captain Simeon Fish, commanded by Colonel Nathaniel Freeman, service three days on an alarm at Dartmouth and Falmouth.
Additional References:
Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Soldiers, and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Volume XII, Massachusetts. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co, 1901, pg 137
Muster/payrolls and various papers (1763-1808) of the Rev War, Volume 35, pg 280 (images 628, 629)
Barnstable Town Records
Volume 2, 1713-1781
Volume 3, 1765-1783, pg 231
Spouse: Mary Snow Children: Abigail; James; John; Anna;
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.
Image taken and provided by compatriot David Schafer(MA), member 159259
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
The grave site of John Percival is in the first row facing Rt. 6A and 65 yards easterly from the cemetery entrance at Rt. 6A
Photo: 1 of 1
Author: David Crandall Schafer
John Percival, son of James and Anna (Thomas) Percival, was born on 4 January 1740 at Barnstable. His siblings were Mary, Hannah, Sarah, and Jemima.1 John was married to Mary Snow, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Sears) Snow, on 14 May 1765 at Harwich by Rev. Isaiah Dunster. The known children born to John and Mary were:2
Abigail was born on 9 July 1765 and married John Crocker.
James was born about 1769 and married Mary Hancock.
John was born on 3 April 1779 and married Maria Pinkerton.
Anna was born about 1782 and married William Lawrence.
The defense of the seacoast was an ever-present concern during the American Revolution and of particular importance to the coastal communities of Barnstable and Dukes Counties of Massachusetts. Vessels granted letters of Marque were integral to the defense of the seacoast as they were authorized to cruise the coastline to locate and attack British vessels and their crews and seize their cargo. By early 1778, the success of the American privateers caused British Lord Germain to direct General Henry Clinton to redirect his resources to attack the “Ports on the coast, from New York to Nova Scotia, and to seize and destroy every ship or vessel in the different Creeks or Harbors, wherever it is found practicable to penetrate and also to destroy all wharves, stores, and materials for shipbuilding, to incapacitate them from raising a marine or continuing their depredation s upon the Trade of this Kingdom, which has been already so much annoyed by their ships of War and Privateers.3
On 5 September 1778, a British fleet of 39 vessels, led by General Charles Grey, arrived at the southern edge of Buzzards’ Bay and landed 4,000 troops at Clark’s Point. Marching north through the Dartmouth, Bedford, Fairhaven, and Acushnet coastal communities, the British left a trail of blazing destruction of everything associated with American Privateering. Reacting to this attack, Barnstable County militia General Joseph Otis called an alarm at Dartmouth, Bedford, and Falmouth to defend and repel the attack. The payroll of “Wages due to Captain Simeon Fishes company of Militia, Col. Freeman’s Regt. on the Alarm at Dartmouth and Falmouth in Sept. 1778” lists 106 men, including Private John Percival, service three days, wages 16 shillings.4
Barnstable County Land records for October 1798 show that John Percival's dwelling house, situated on one acre and valued at $400, was occupied by his son-in-law, John Crocker.
The Patriot died at sea on 10 August 1802. Mrs. Mary (Snow) Percival died on 21 January 1841 and was buried at the West Barnstable cemetery. At the lower section of her gravestone is engraved “Also, In the memory of Capt. John Percival, who was born Jan. 4, 1740, and died and was buried at Sea August 10, 1802.”
Sources:
Barnstable Town Records, Volume 2, 1713-1781.
Ibid, Volume 3, 1765-1783, page 231.
A Journal of Occurrences along the Rebel Coast, by Frederick V. Lawrence, Jr, pages 75-76.
Muster/payrolls, and various papers (1763-1808) of the Rev. War (MA&RI), Vol. 35, pg. 280 (images 628-629)
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