Comments on: Alphabetical List of Officers and Men of the Frigate Raleigh (August 1777)

By: Cherryl Ball

Cherryl Ball — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:21:48 +0000

My 5th great-grandfather is Wiggin EVANS, private.

Wiggin Evans, Marine; time of entry, July 26; time entered for, 1 year; wages per mo., $6 f ; place of residence, Cheshire; stature, 5 ft. 6 in.; complexion, dark; hair, brown; American.

Seamen’s Protection Certificate Register Database Wiggin Evans
Birth Place (City, State or Country): Kennington, New Hampshire Age: 47 Complexion: Brown
Certificate Information:Customs District: Marblehead Date Issued: 04/18/1807 Certificate Number: 40

Evans, Wiggin. Return dated Boxford, Dec. 8, 1779, of men mustered by John Cushing, Muster Master for Essex Co., to join the Continental Army for the term of 9 months, agreeable to resolve of June 9, 1779; engaged for town of Amesbury.

If you have any further information on him I would love to have it. I have yet to find his grave as he is not buried with his wife and daughter, nor with is other daughter my ancestor.

Thanks in advance for any information you can share with me.

Cherryl Ball

By: Tom Diaz

Tom Diaz — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 03:41:16 +0000

Hi, Joe.

I will certainly keep researching Samuel Clay. I get the impression that he had a hard life after (and maybe before and during) his revolutionary service, which is all the more reason to respect his contributions.

I am still not sure he is the father of my great*2 grandfather, so if anyone reading this has evidence of Samuel Clay’s children, I would be grateful. My great*2 grandfather was Paul Clay, born in 1792 in Lee, NH. I believe he was one of the children of Samuel Clay and Mary Robie.

Best wishes to all,
Tom Diaz (trdiaz1)

By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 02:23:58 +0000

Bev,
I’ve spent a little time on your ancestor. Let me know if you detect any errors. Joe

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:51:00 +0000

Tom,
No doubt the Samuel Clay you (I am assuming you are trdiaz1) have done a marvelous job researching and posting on ancestry.com is the marine noted on the frigate Raleigh on the mid-August 1777 crew list. The pension records indicate this Samuel Clay lived in Concord, Essex County, VT for 10-12 years prior to his death there and previously in Littleton, just over the state line in New Hampshire and Lunenburg, also in Essex County, VT. From your post depicting his burial place at Meadow Cemetery in Littleton, I wondered if his body was returned there to be interred with his wife Elizabeth who had died earlier. As you’ve discovered in Samuel’s pension records, his service on the “friggat Rolla” was from his enlistment on 1 August 1777 at Portsmouth, NH until his discharge at Boston, MA on 1 May 1778. Samuel’s extensive service in the army explains his rate or posting as a marine private on the ship rather than as a sailor or seaman. I also wonder if his training as an artilleryman had him assisting a gun crew on the Raleigh. I encourage you to continue documenting for ancestry.com the full extent of his wartime service from his initial enlistment in a company of artillery under Captain Titus Salter prior to his stint on the Raleigh through his last discharge on 19 April 1780 at the Highlands. Thanks for all your research efforts and for reading my website. Joe

By: Tom Diaz

Tom Diaz — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:48:40 +0000

I have reason to believe that Samuel Clay, my great-great-great grandfather, is the same person listed as a marine on the Raleigh. My ancestor lived in Lee, New Hampshire from 1790 onward. I would be grateful for any sources that others have that might associated Samuel Clay the marine with the Samuel of nearby Lee, NH.