Holbrook and Beeks lines and Ethan Allen

What in the world do Ethan Allen, Libbeus Stannard (Holbrook line), Timothy Martin (Beeks line) and Jason Wheeler (Beeks line) all have in common?  Well, there is a known connection between Ethan Allen and Libbeus Stannard, because Libbeus served under Ethan Allen in 1776 as one of the Green Mountain Boys.

I am currently reading Ethan Allen; His Life and Times by Willard Sterne Randall and I am learning much that may be of interest in tracking down Timothy Martin and Jason Wheeler.  Both these men were born in New York, but as it turns out, New York claimed what is now Vermont (as did New Hampshire) until 1791, when it became the 14th state in the United States of America.  So if we are looking for Jason Wheeler, born in 1765 in New York, it is quite possible that he is the Jason Wheeler in Lunenburgh, Orange County, Vermont in 1790.  (I'm not sure the designation is Vermont in 1790, but that's not my problem.)  Timothy Martin is listed as having a birthplace of Vermont in one census and New York in another census so I'm thinking it would be wise to look for him in Vermont, too.

Reading and thinking about this book is really getting my genealogy juices going.  For instance, it sent me to Fold3 to look once more for Libbeus Stannard's Revolutionary War records, and there they were.  He was living at Rupert, Vermont in 1776 when he enlisted in January 1776 and served four months and six days in Captain Gideon Brownson's Company Colonel Seth Warner's Regiment of Green Mountain Boy's and was in Arnold's Expedition to Canada.  Gideon Brownson was Ethan Allen's brother-in-law, the brother of his wife Mary Brownson.

 I'm not quite that far in reading the book yet, but I know from other reading that Arnold's (Benedict Arnold, when he was an American hero and not yet a traitor) Expedition to Quebec took place in 1775, so I'm not sure yet how Libbeus took part in that expedition.  The locations listed on his case file 14619 (pension number) do seem to support the Arnold expedition, as Quebec, Canada, Lake Champlain, Onion River, ,Vermont, Montreal, St. Lawrence, Abraham Plains, Whitehall, Fort Independence and Castleton are all listed.  I do hope to find out more, either in this book or in other research, because it appears that our Libbeus may have been a true hero though!  Libbeus re-enlisted in July of 1776 and served a three month term with Connecticut troops, which is not surprising.  Libbeus was born in Connecticut and there was a natural path of travel, up and down the Connecticut river into Vermont.  He later re-enlisted in Vermont in 1781 and served another three or four months, so altogether he had about a year of service. 

Besides tracing down the Arnold expedition story for Libbeus, I need to look for possible military records for Jason Wheeler, either in New York or Vermont, and possibly in the War of 1812 rather than the Revolutionary War.  I also need to look for men who may be Timothy Martin's father, in each of the states and each of the wars (more likely that Mr. unknown Martin would have served in the war of 1812.) For that matter, there may be a Ilberry or Tilbury who would be a clue to Hannah Tilberry Martin. 

Finally, I need to finish reading this book, to see what else I can learn that could be of interest in tracing down Jason and Timothy.  I expect more surprises and insights that could give me some clues, but just as importantly, I expect to learn more about this part of American history.  The author quite passionately believes that Ethan Allen was a hero, and he is not at all shy about explaining how the New England people were mistreated by the New York governors and elite and by New Hampshire's governors, who were equally greedy.  Who knew?

As always, if someone knows more about Timothy Martin or Jason Wheeler, or has more tidbits about Libbeus Stannard, I'd love to hear from you.  Meanwhile, Ethan Allen is calling me!