Amos Tidd Family Revolutionary War Patriots Update

A few months back I posted the page for the Amos Tidd Family Revolutionary War Patriots, which is an article I wrote for the Bulletin, the quarterly of the Genealogical Forum of Oregon. Due to the length and footnotes I prefer to post these articles as individual pages. Ever since I wondered why no one ever viewed this page and today discovered that it never posted properly. Just a short time ago this was corrected and the page is available for reading. It is one of my favorite family history stories of my favorite ancestral family.

This family had seven sons and at least six and possibly the father served in the Revolutionary War. Two sons died at Valley Forge. Abijah died March 30, 1778 and Nathan died October 28, 1778. The oldest son Amos and/or the father served in 1775. John, Oliver, and Daniel my direct ancestor, were serving for lengthy periods and all received pensions. Thaddeus the youngest son was only about ten at the time and does not appear to have served.



I can only imagine how their mother felt that Christmas of 1778, not knowing the conditions of her sons. The parents were living in the Holliston/Hopkinton area of Massachusetts, an area just south of Boston, where many leaders of the colony were sending their families for safety. With the lack of direct communication, the fear of the enemy moving toward their towns and the harsh New England winter weather conditions this must have been very difficult for the parents. The war had been raging for over two years and would continue for several more years.

Not long after the war in 1784, the parents Amos and Elizabeth, sold their property and apparently moved to Vermont, where their sons Oliver and Thaddeus settled. Daniel and John lived in Holliston/Hopkinton for many years. Here is an abstract of the parent's deed:

Massachusetts Land Deed
1784, 12 March - Film #0901511, Book 8, p.121
Amos and Elizabeth Tidd of Hopkinton, Cordwainer, to Samuel Crooks of Hopkinton, Yeoman
land in Hopkinton, with dwelling house standing on common land
for nine pounds
Amos signed and Elizabeth made her mark
Witnesses John Tidd and Thaddeus Tidd on 24 April 1784
Deed recorded 20 May 1784
(No mention of a dower claim)

Do you have a favorite ancestral family? Have you preserved their stories and genealogical details? One of the best books for understanding this time period is David McCullough's book 1776. I was able to purchase a hard copy of the book at a garage sale and it is a personal treasure. In my purchases this year I bought several books about the war, the time period and the people who lived through this very difficult experience. Fictional novels also can help us focus on the details as they are carefully gathered by the author and presented in amazing detail. Genealogy and reading go hand in hand, so spend some time during your winter break gleaning information about your ancestral families.