Jacob Brown's And Electus Backus's Collaboration

Jacob Brown

"[Jacob Brown]...was residing at his home in Brownsville on the Black River a few miles from Sackett's Harbor had been requested by General Dearborn and urged by Colonel Macomb to assume chief command in that region. He was unwilling to interfere with his esteemed friend, Colonel Backus, and agreed to take command only in the event of actual invasion. He went to headquarters frequently to advise with Backus concerning preparations for defense, and it was understood between them that if the enemy should threaten the post, Brown was to call the neighboring militia to the Harbor and take chief command." [Source]

Still Smoking At Sackets Harbor

"Colonel Macomb received orders to return with four companies of his Regiment, with all despatch, to Sackett's Harbour."

Source of 1849 Map...Sacket's Harbor, New York, and Kingston, Ontario, Canada was LOC

Map exhibiting the rail road, canal, lake, and river routes from New York and Boston to the west : via Ocdensburgh [sic] and Sacket's [sic] Harbor, N.Y.

"The magazine of stores, fired by our own officers to prevent its falling into the enemy's hands, was still smoking. But the precautions taken, and the instructions given, by Colonel Macomb, prior to his departure for Fort George, had produced their desired effect, and the enemy was defeated."

"Colonel Macomb relieved General Brown, then Brigadier General of the Militia. Colonel Backus he found in his quarters, who was suffering from a wound in the action, and died a few days after."

Source Of Text: Memoirs Of Alexander Macomb...

Adam Hines In Captain Peter Backus's Company

Adam Hines' military career.

Source

19810

Act March 1855

Adam Hines, Private

Capt. Backus

Gen. Tupper

Ohio Militia

War of 1812

Admitted 80 Acres

*Warrant No. 15015

Issued Dec 1835

And Sent To

Thomas H. Dalrymple

Mount Gilead, Ohio

Morrow County, Ohio, also mentioned in file (1871)

Married Mary Stanton

*Registered in Iowa to someone other than Adam Hines

Source

Adam Hines' memorial (1790-1878) at FindAGrave.

Source

Ozais Backhaus

War of 1812: Upper Canada Returns, Nominal Rolls and Paylists [Microform: t-10386]

Start of 4th Lincoln militia (officers and staff, company, detachment rolls) [Image 530]

Image 602

Ozais Backhaus (#48 on the list)

Is he a Backus?

A Court Martial Of Dr. Backus

Assistant Apothecary Christopher Backus was appointed 12 August 1814.

Reference to his court martial was found in Letters Received By The Office Of The Adjutant General, 1805-1821:

Dateline: Nashville, September 21, 1818

...proceedings of the General Court Martial for the trial of Doctor C. Backus and others held at New Orleans...

Another letter stated that Dr. Christopher Backus...is honest and faithful, but not equal to the duties....

His arrest by George Croghan, September 23, 1816, was listed in The Papers of Andrew Jackson.

General Ebenezer Huntington

Source

"After the war, in 1792, he was appointed Major-General of the State militia, which office he held for thirty years. In 1799, when a war with France was anticipated, he received from President Adams the appointment of Brigadier-General in the U. S. army. He served also in the war of 1812. In 1810, and in 1817, he was elected a member of Congress. He died in 1834. Mrs. Sigourney describes him as having 'a fine figure,with military carriage, and a countenance, which was considered a model of manly beauty.' She speaks of the 'elegant manners,' and 'decision of character,' which 'were conspicuous in him, and unimpaired by age.'"  [Source]



Letters Received By The Office Of The Adjutant General, 1805-1821, including a letter written by Ebenezer Huntington:

Source

General Huntington played a more prominent role in the Revolutionary War, although the bio above stated that he also served in the War of 1812.

Per Wikipedia:

Ebenezer was born on December 26, 1754 in Norwich, Connecticut to Jabez and Elizabeth (Backus) Huntington. The Backus family was a prominent family from the area who's heirs would found Backus Hospital. His brothers Jedediah, Andrew, and Joshua also served during the revolution.[1]

Note:  He was a Backus descendant, as am I.

Andrew Backus

Andrew Backus

Andrew Backus married Bathsheba King

Source

There's more information about Andrew and Bathsheba in their son Orrin's biography.

Pre-War Deaths At Fort Adams

Source

From the American state papers: ...(investigation as to why so many soldiers were dying at Fort Adams):

Previous to the embarkation, 3 companies, of the 6th infantry, under the command of Major Pike, were ordered to the garrison of Orleans, and between the 1st and 12th of September, the army embarked, and, making some delay nearly opposite the city, owing, I think, very probably, to a defect in one of the artillery boats, proceeded, on the 23d, up the river, under the command of Major Backus, of the light dragoons.  I had been taken sick...followed the army...the General being ill in Orleans.

...two hospitals were established, one at Point Coupee, and one at Fort Adams, where the weakest of the men were left.... .

A description of Fort Adams and the Natchez, Mississippi, area, from Cuming's Tour To The Western Country (1807-1809):

Source

Isaac Baker

Because I research both Baker and Backus surnames in New York, the application of Isaac Baker at Fold3 caught my attention:

Julia Backus of Freetown, Cortland, New York, only living witness to marriage between Isaac Baker and Mary Swetland, 29 April 1813 at Granville, Washington County, New York.  That Ira Baker has known said parties (Isaac Baker and Mary Swetland Baker).....

On 30 December 1850, Isaac Baker, age 63, was an affiant for his pension application.  He stated that he was a private in a company commanded by Captain Jehial Dayton in an Artillery regiment commanded by Colonel Stephen Thorn.  Private Baker volunteered for war at Granville, Washington County, New York, about August 1, 1812, for 6 months.  His actual service lasted about 3 months and 20 days because of illness.  He recovered about January 1, 1813; by then the company disbanded was was sent home.  He applied for a discharge from Captain Dayton in the summer of 1813 as Baker was moving from Washington County to Cortland County, New York.  He received his discharge on July 9, 1813.  The purpose of the deposition was to obtain bounty land.

United States Census, 1850

Name: Isaac W Baker

Freetown, Cortland, New York, United States

Household Gender Age Birthplace

Isaac W Baker M 63 New York

Mary Baker F 39 Connecticut

1855 NY Census - Mary Baker Next To Swetland Family

Ira Baker's Pension Application

Private Ira Baker was a soldier in Duty Shumway's company (per affidavit below):

Source (Fold3)

State of New York

Cortland County

5 November 1850

7th Regiment NY, detached militia

Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James Green

Volunteered May 1812 for 6 months; participated in the war for 5 months

Affidavit Verified by Walton Swetland, J.P.

Source (Fold3)

Honorably Discharged
29 November 1812
Receive Pay Until 8 December 1812

 [discharge signed by Gen Pettit at Champlain hdqtrs]

Ira Baker married Jerusha P. Backus on May 11, 1817, in Freetown, New York.  Joseph Watrous and Samuel Welch witnessed Ira's statement regarding his marriage.

Laura Secord's Family

Family members of heroine Laura Secord.

From The Ingersolls of Hampshire : a genealogical history of the family from their settlement in America, in the line of John Ingersoll of Westfield, Mass.:

Thomas [Ingersoll's, Laura Secord's father]...eldest son, Major Charles Ingersoll, was an officer in the British army during the War of 1812... . 

From History of Great Barrington: (Berkshire County,) Massachusetts:

Major [Thomas] Ingersoll was afterwards (after his first marriage) twice married; ...and second to Mrs. Sarah Backus, a daughter of Lieutenant Gamaliel Whiting, and sister of the late General John Whiting.

By his third marriage (to Sarah Whiting Backus), Major [Thomas] Ingersoll had eight children... . Colonel Charles Ingersoll...was an officer in the British Canadian army throughout the war of 1812 and afterwards held various public offices.  He was a member of the Canadian Parliament...and died of the cholera in August 1832.

From Family record of the name of Dingwall Fordyce in Aberdeenshire...:
Her (Laura Secord's) brother, Charles Ingersoll, lay badly wounded at the same time, at her sister-in-law's at the mill at St. David's, but recovered to fight again. He became one of the most prominent citizens of Woodstock.

Charles F. Ingersoll married Anna Maria Merritt.

Laura Secord's father, Thomas, married a Backus widow; Backus is an ancestral name.

Compiled Northern Theater Casualties

An article in the Watertown Daily Times (hat tip to NEGHS) was published December 29, 2011, and sheds light on casualties from War of 1812.

"It was a bad day and a good day for Sgt. Samuel Linnell of Pamelia.  “Wounded — hit with the breech of gun in back of head by an Indian — the Indians also tried to remove his testicles by tomahawk."  That information was found in the book, "A War of 1812 Death Register -- Whispers in the Dark"... ." 

The information in the book is "indexed by town, lists soldiers who were killed in action, captured, wounded or died from other causes. But it was the casualties at Sackets Harbor that astounded Mr. Bilow (author).

Lt. Col. Electus Backus was also mentioned in the article.

The book is available for purchase; details in the article.

Laura Secord's Ingersoll Family Roots

The family of Laura Secord, War of 1812 Canadian heroine, surfaced during a
completely unrelated (or so I thought) Backus family search. Turns out that
Laura's step-mother was Sarah (Whiting) Backus, ex-wife of John Backus. Sarah
married 2nd, Thomas Ingersoll, who was Laura (Ingersoll) Secord's father. As a Mayflower descendant of John Alden, Sarah's marriages are found at the Descendants of John Alden website.

From The Ingersolls of Hampshire : a genealogical history of the family from their settlement in America, in the line of John Ingersoll of Westfield, Mass.:
Thomas [Ingersoll, Laura Secord's father], born March 24, 1750. Emigrated to Canada before the Revolutionary War*. Settled the town of Ingersoll. Served as a major in the Colonial troops.  Married three times : (1) Elizabeth Dewey, 1775 ; (2) Mrs. Mercy Smith, 1785 ; (3) Mrs. Sarah Backus, 1789-

The Ingersoll and Backus families lived in Great Barrington, Massachusetts (that is where the divorce between John Backus and Sarah Whiting Backus took place).

[Source]

*Henry Knox and the Revolutionary War Trail in Western Massachusetts, stated that Thomas Ingersoll went to Canada in 1792.  Also stated  "Laura was four months old when Henry Knox's oxen caravan went past her family's house in Great Barrington."

The Swords Of General Hugh Brady

From Brady family reunion and fragments of Brady history and biography:

General Brady's sword, which he carried through the War of 1812, was bequeathed to his son, Samuel P. Brady, as well as the sword that the people of Pennsylvania honored him with on the express understanding that it was to "descend from father to son, and only to be used in self defence and in defence of our country."  His regulation sword he gave to his son-in-law, Major Electus Backus.

Note:  Major Electus Backus was the son of Major Electus Backus who was mortally wounded at Sackett's Harbor in the War of 1812.

Petition For Sabra Backus, Widow of Electus

From the United States Congressional serial set, Issue 112:

Mr. Foote, of New York, presented a petition of Sebra Backus, widow of Electus Backus, who died of wounds received in battle, while commanding a regiment in the army, in the late war with Great Britain, praying for a continuance of the pension heretofore granted to herself and the children of the said Electus Backus.

Another petition from Mrs. Backus here.

Major Backus was wounded during his defense of Sackett's Harbor and died June 7, 1813:

Electus Backus and I are both descendants of William Backus, the original immigrant.

Colonel Elisha Backus

From the Reno W. Backus book, Backus Families of Early New England, Colonel Elisha Backus's lineage is as follows:  Elisha6, Elisha5, Timothy4, Timothy3, Stephen2, William1.  Elisha "became a colonel of artillery in the NY state militia, and served in the War of 1812."

The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 6 (Google eBook), J.T. White, 1896, from the biography of descendant Henry Clinton Backus:


 Elisha, the great-grandfather of Henry Clinton Backus, took part in the battle of Bunker Hill, held the rank of major in the Revolutionary army and, in time of peace, emulated his forefathers by founding another town, that of Manlius in Onondaga county, NY.  His son Elisha was a colonel in the American forces during the war of 1812.

Note:  I am a Backus descendant, too.  Elisha Backus and I share the first three ancestors, William Backus 1, Stephen 2, and Timothy 3.  My lineage starting with Laura (Backus) Richmond.

New York War Service Records Search Request

New York War Service Records Search Request form can be found here.

Index of Awards of Claims of Soldiers in the War of 1812, pub. 1860. Adjutant and Inspector Generals, Albany, NY.

No.  Name of App.  Residence  Amount Allowed

8,003  Richmond  Ebenezer  Independence, Allegany Co., NY  $60.50

14,226  Backus, John by widow  Tompkins Co., NY $55.00

2,616  Allen, William  Bruce, Macomb, Michigan

2,617  Allen, John   Bruce, Macomb, Michigan

John Backus In A 1793 Document Found In A War of 1812 File

The information found here gave me the impetus to search the War of 1812 resources on the internet.  I was surprised to find a 1793 document in War of 1812 papers, but there it was, and with a name I research (John Backus).

Didn't find John Backus on this image with "search" feature at Ancestry.com (which wasn't a surprise*).  The indenture document with John Backus's signature was Image #104 on the Ancestry file entitled Agreements for the Exchange of Prisoners of War, 1812, 1813.

THIS INDENTURE WITNESSETH, That John Backus Jacob deWitt Zachariah Huntington & Jabez Perkins......of the select Men of Norwich....with the advise of Andrew Huntington, Esqr Justice of Peace for New London County...do bind Thomas Williams, a poor Boy....Apprentice to Eliphalet Carew...book of Accounts and ..teach...art of husbandry
9 December in the 18th year of American Independence...one thousand seven hundred ninety-three (1793)...

Was it John Backus, son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Tracy) Backus, who died 27 April 1814, and lived in Norwich, Connecticut?  Probably.

Even though I have three John Backus's in my lineage, it doesn't appear as though the John Backus in the document is mine (they were in NY by 1793).  All of the John Backus's (my 3 and the subject of this post) are descendants of the original immigrant, William Backus.


*Ancestry.com. War of 1812 Papers, 1789-1815 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.  Original data: ‘War of 1812 Papers’ of the Department of State, 1789-1815; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M588, 7 rolls); General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59; National Archives, Washington. D.C.
This database contains a variety of papers relating to the War of 1812. The Returns of Enemy Aliens and Prisoners of War records are searchable by name. All of the other papers are only searchable by browsing the images.

War of 1812 Index Of Awards Of Claims Of Soldiers

From Index of Awards of Claims of Soldiers - War of 1812, 1860, Adjutant...,  [NY State]:

# Name of Applicant    Residence    Amt     Allowed

4,971 Richmond, David Kingston, MI 21.00

8,003 Richmond, Ebenezer Independence, Allegany, NY 60.50

5,306 Richmond, Geo by Exec. Wilson, Niagara Co., NY 43.

10,408* " " "  *Duplicate

329 Richmond, James, Syracuse, NY 59.00

8523 Backus, Cornelius Evans, NY

12960 Backus, Frederick**, Essex Co., Upper Canada 55.00

14226 Backus, John, by widow Tompkins Co., NY 55. [My John Backus?]

14551 Backus, Simeon, Livingston Co., MI 38.00

11997 Backus, William Stark, Herkimer Co., NY 39.50

14313 Baccus, Christian by widow Will Co., IL 73.00

1,077 Acker, Bartholemew Cato, Cayuga Co., NY 103.00

5,991 Acker, George, by widow, Tully, NY 103.00

6,309 Acker, Silas, Livonia, NY 73.00***

4,949 Adams, James, Genesee Co., MI, 38.00

7,833 Allen, Joseph, Northville, MI

2,617 Allen, John, Bruce, Macomb, MI

2,616 Allen, William, Bruce, Macomb, MI

7,300 Allen, William, Grand Blanc, MI

9,176 Carpenter, Clark C., Elba, MI

14,603 Carr, Caleb, Lapeer Co., MI

** Canada Census, 1871
 Name:     Frederick Bachus
Age:     81
Calculated Birth Year:     1790
Country or Province of Birth:     U S
Ethnic Origin:     Ductch
Religion:     Presbeterian
Census Place:     01, West Tilbury n, Essex 01, Ontario
    Frederick Bachus     M     81
    Ellen Bachus     F     51

Didn't realize that the book is online [1880 version] when I extracted these at the Allen Co., Library, in Fort Wayne, but since I only extracted a few, it's nice to have the online version for a reference.

The State of New York Archives holdings for the publication referenced above is listed here and related materials here.

***Silas Acker was the father of Newman Acker. Newman was the son-in-law of my ancestor, Elijah Richmond.