Jonathan Wilkins (1744 - ?)

My fourth great-grandfather.

Born:  28 November 1744 in Middleton, Essex County, Massachusetts
Died:  ??

Father:  Jonathan Wilkins
Mother:  Abigail Goodale

Siblings:
   Mary Wilkins, 1718
   Elizabeth Wilkins, 1721
   Mercy Wilkins, 1732

Married:  Susannah Berry on 9 October 1764 in Middleton, Massachusetts

Children:
   Hannah Wilkins, 1767
   Jonathan Wilkins, 1769
   Moses Wilkins, 1770 (one source says 1766)
   Susannah Wilkins, 1772
   Betty Wilkins, 1774 (some sources don't show her - maybe she died young)
   Abraham Wilkins, 1778

Jonathan's profession is listed as a cooper (barrel maker).

He volunteered for Revolutionary War service in April of 1775 and served as a private for eight months in Captain Archelaus Towne's company, part of Colonel Ebenezer Bridges' Massachusetts Regiment. In April of 1782, he entered the service again, this time as a mariner on board the U.S. frigate Hague with Captain John Manley. Jonathan was wounded when Admiral Rodney's British fleet attacked the Hague. He was discharged in May of 1783. In 1820, he was awarded a monthly pension of $8 because of a disability from the wound. He received a first payment for 46 months in arrears of $376.49.

County tax records and two deeds involving land transactions still exist.

Jonathan's petition for Revolutionary War service was made before a judge in Hillsburough County, New Hampshire, where he had moved by that time. His home is listed as Mount Vernon, Hillsburough, N.H. in the Revolutionary War petition records. It states that he was 72 years old in 1820 and was living alone at the time of the application. It also gives his birth date as 16 September 1748, which is different than the date in other sources.

Susannah Berry

Born:  14 February 1742 in Middleton, Essex County, Massachusetts
Died:  23 December 1778 in Middleton

Father: Ebenezer Berry
Mother: Phebe Curtis

Siblings:
   Samuel Berry, 1731
   Elizabeth Berry, 1738
   Ebenezer Berry, 1746
   William Berry, 1749

I can't find much of anything about Susannah, except I would guess that since she died five weeks after her son Abraham was born, it is pretty likely that she died from complications from child birth. I find no evidence of Jonathan remarrying, so eleven year old Hannah may have become Abraham's substitute mother figure.