John Gray, born 6 January 1764 at Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Virginia and died 29 March 1868, near Hiramsburg, Noble, Ohio. He is said to be the last Revolutionary War veteran with verifiable service during the war. The above photo, in the Library of Congress collection, is said to have been taken in the 1860s.

With such a common name, and the fact that John Gray and family moved several times, it is hard to document his family.

However, the DAR Patriot Index has an exact date f birth and death for him, in addition to the names of his three wives.

He married (1) Nancy McDowell (2) Nancy Ragan (3) Catherine (MNU). Catherine was born c1775, Virginia and married (1) Mr. Bond. John and Catherine lived with Gillespie and Charity (Bond) McElroy in 1850 in Morgan County, Ohio.

It seems that all three of his marriages took place in Virginia.

Children:

1. Mary, born c1796, Virginia; died after 1860, probably Washington County, Ohio; married Bazil Meeks
2. Isaac, born 25 August 1798, Virginia; died 16 September 1869, Greene County, Illinois, aged 71 years, 22 days, per his gravestone; married (1) Elizabeth Gorby, 8 October 1818, Ohio County, Virginia (now West Virginia) (2) Adeline Jones, 15 January 1837, Athens County, Ohio
3. William, born c1791, Virginia; died 13 October 1873, Cuyahoga County, Ohio; married Clarissa Porter, 4 February 1816, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

John Gray served in the American Revolution and received a pension. His application (S1464) states:

That he entered the service of the United States under the first engagement, and under the following named officers, having volunteered to serve in the Malitia and served as herein stated, the twenty fourth of Febuary seventeen hundred and eighty one and started the same day from Fairfax County Virginia, where he then resided, and marched to Fredericksburg Va, where the Company received their arms and amunition. from thence the company marched to Williamsburg and from there to near Richmond Va, he remained in service untill the forepart of may of the same year at which time he was discharged at
Richmond Va, thinks it was the third of May, he was discharged, knows he got home on the fifth and thinks he was two days on the Road, Served as above stated under the following officers, Col. Church, Major Denis Ramsey [Dennis Ramsay], Robert Sanford Capt, Edward Sanford Leituenant, James Neal Ensign Under the second Engagement volunteered as before, as near as he can recolect about the latter part of
June 1781, was the time he entered the Service, and continued therein untill the 19 day of October of theth same year, it being the time of the surender of the English [at Yorktown], and he with the other Soldiers
were permited to go at large the time of service under both engagements amounting to some over six months, James Neal who was Ensign during the first engagement, was Capt. of the Company the last
Engagement. the names of the other Officers not Recolected this time the company did not leave the County of Fairfax. he was born in Fairfax County in the State of Virginia, in the year seventeen hundred and sixty four. he has no Record it having been left with his Mother. I lived some time in Virginia and came to Ohio in seventeen hundred and ninety five and have lived in this County since 1829. he volunteered as before stated. the discharge was handed to him by Major Denis Ramsey. how many officers signed it cannot recolect. he states he has no documentary evidence of services, he knows of no person whose testimony he can procure, who can testify to his service He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity, except the present, and declares
that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state

John hisXmark Gray

[5 Jan 1867] I John Gray of Noble County Ohio on my oath do say, that I am aged one hundred and Two years on the 6 day of January AD 1866 that I was born in Fairfax County Va. that I served for about three months in the Virginia Line in the War for American Independence that my Captain was Captain Sanferd that I never drew a Pension for my Service not having served for sufficient time [six months] to entitle me to a Pension under existing Laws, that I have no means of support & am now & have been for years indebted to my neighbors for the means of Subsistence.

There is a fascinating book available online, The Revolution’s Last Men: The Soldiers Behind the Photographs by Don N. Hagist, published in 2016. It’s $19/Kindle, $20/paperback or $29/hard cover.

Let me begin by clearly stating that this is my opinion.

Daniel Frederick Bakeman was granted a Revolutionary War soldier’s pension by a special act of Congress in 1867. Yes, you are reading that correctly – in 1867.

He was granted a pension in spite of having no proof of service and he claimed to have been born in 1759.

He is also a recognized Patriot by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and multiple ladies have joined as his descendants.

However, while I hate to be the one to question the man, I don’t believe he was 107 years old nor do I believe he was old enough to have served in the Revolutionary War.

Why? Well, first look at the photograph taken of Mr. Bakeman in 1868:

If I knew nothing about this man, I’d guess that he was in his late 70s or early 80s – most definitely NOT 107 years old.

Next, what do primary records tell us about the man?

There are few birth records for early New York, place of his birth, but there are some baptismal records. His parents were reportedly Philip Bachman and Catharina Muller.

I did find a baptismal record for one Daniel Frederick Bachman in New York in 1773:

Whether this is the same man, I can’t say, but the combination of names – Daniel Frederick – with the Bachman surname does bring up many hits.

Hank Jones, FASG, notes the Bachman family in his Palatine research and further adds a second son, Christofel, baptized in 1775.

Mr. Bachman/Bakeman, in his pension application, states that he served with Captain Varnum (Van Aernum?) and Colonel [Marinus] Willett.

Both of those men were indeed Revolutionary War veterans, but no rosters of their men have turned up connecting Daniel Frederick Bakeman (of any spelling) to their company/regiment.

If Daniel was actually the baby baptized in 1773, by 1783, he would have been an impressionable boy who perhaps saw or even met one or both men.

The 1850 census of Freedom, Cattaraugus, New York shows one Frederick Beckman (sic) aged 68 years. Also in the home were Susan, 90, Susan, 48, and Jacob, 13.

A 68 year old Frederick would be a much better fit for the man in the 1868 photograph.

The 1855 state census of New York has the same four family members at home with Fredrick Bakeman, 97, Susan, 98, Susan, 55, and Jacob N., 17. In five years – from 1850 to 1855 – Frederick aged 29 years, Susan aged 8 years, Susan 9the younger) aged 7 years and Jacob aged 4 years.

By 1860, Jacob was no longer at home, but we find Frederick, 101, Susan, 102 and Susan again, 56.

In 1870, Frederick and Susan Sr. are gone. Susan is still living in Freedom, but with the family of H. D. and Sarah Reynolds. She is listed as 70 years old.

Jacob appears to be the son of Christopher and Mariah Bakeman and was living in Tioga County, New York with his wife, two young children and Christopher Bakeman, aged 70.

A search for Susan Bakeman in 1870 also brought her up in a different house in 1850 – that of Hazeltine Reynolds, with whom she was living in 1870.

Notice that also in the home were Frederick, Susan and young Jacob. It seems the Bakemans were enumerated twice – once in Chautauqua County, dated 18 October 1850, living with the Reynolds family and identified as “Bateman” and once in Freedom, Cattaraugus County on 2 September 1850, when Frederick “Beckman” was head of household.

Sarah Reynolds, aged 27, was a Bakeman by birth.

How we have Frederick Bakeman, aged 68 and aged 88 enumerated twice in 1850. Which age, if either, was correct?

Oddly, this Daniel Bakeman hasn’t been found in the 1840 census, but there is one Daniel Bakeman, born 1810-1820. living in China, Genesee County, New York. Genesee County is just north of Chautaugua and Cattaraugus Counties, where Daniel Sr. was enumerated twice in 1850. It seems possible that Daniel in Genesee might be a son of Daniel Sr.

There is a Daniel F. Bakeman, born 1812, buried in Freedom, Cattaraugus, New York in 1851 who is said to be the son of Christopher and Hannah, but with no sources provided proving his parentage. Probate papers indicate that this “Daniel Beakman”was the same man who lived in China, Wyoming, New York in 1850 and that he died in China on 23 September 1851. His widow Mariah was executrix of his will and Jacob Bakeman was named guardian of Daniel’s son, George A. “Beakman.”

In 1860, in Freedom, Cattaraugus, New York, Jacob Bakeman, 45, was head of household in which Mariah, 45, George A., 22, Christopher, 70 and Hannah, 73, were also living. Massachusetts is the recorded birthplace of Christopher and Hannah. Jacob, Mariah and George all reported New York as their place of birth.

Remember – there is also a 13 year old Jacob Bakeman living with Frederick’s family. Is that boy a son of Jacob?

Jumping back to 1830, in Stark, Herkimer, New York, there is one Fredrick Bakeman, aged 60-70 living with a female of similar age plus two females, aged 20-29 and one female, aged 5-9, also in the home. This fits closely with Daniel Frederick Bakeman born in 1773, with the age off by about 3 years.

In 1840, Christopher “Beckman” in Freedom is aged 40-49, so born 1791-1800, with a family, but no elderly members who could be Daniel and Susan.

Neither Christopher nor Daniel Frederick Bakeman have been identified in any earlier censuses, which seems quite odd.

So, what is the bottom line here? I tend to believe that Frederick Bakeman in the 1830 census had his age group of 60-70 years incorrectly recorded by one age group and that he is the man born in 1773.

Is he Daniel Frederick Bakeman? I don’t know. Part of the mystery of this man is that, if he was born in New Jersey, as some state (without any proof), the early federal censuses of New Jersey are all lost.

If he is the man in New York in 1830, then I think between 1830 and 1850, his age was considerably embellished.

The above map of New York shows counties underlined in the far western portion of the state where Daniel Frederick and Christopher Bakeman are found. The circled counties indicate where they MIGHT have lived, per censuses with men of the same name.

However, in spite of the mixed evidence, I do NOT believe that Daniel Frederick Bakeman was 109 years old when he died because the 1868 photo of him definitely does NOT depict a man well over a century old.

I researched this man as part of the America250! celebration as he is called the last man who received a Revolutionary War pension for purported and unproven war service.

Since I believe the photo alone disqualifies him from being the age he claimed and I found no proof to substantiate his reported age, aside from self-reportings on the 1850 and 1860 censuses, I am going to pass on believing his story.

2026 is America’s Semiquincentennial, more simply known as the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

This is the first in a few posts to be published between now and the 4th of July when America250! formally kicks off the celebration.

Today, we’ll take a look at the life of Captain Isaac Davis from Acton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, who was the first officer who died during the American Revolution and lost his life early in the Battle of Lexington and Concord, killed by the Shot Heard Round the World.

Isaac was a gunsmith by occupation and had been appointed captain of a company of Minutemen who lived in Acton, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Two other Minutemen also lost their lives in the opening of the war – Abner Hosmer and James Hayward.

Isaac Davis was born on 23 February 1745 in Acton, Massachusetts, the son of Ezekiel Davis and Mary Gibson.

He married Hannah Brown on 24 October 1764, in Acton with both called residents of the town. Hannah was baptized 30 March 1746 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, the daughter of Elisha Brown and Elizabeth Davis.

Isaac and Hannah were the parents of six children, all events in Acton unless otherwise noted:

1. Isaac, born 14 March 1765; died after 8 March 1788 when he is mentioned in a court ordered division of his father’s land, but no further mention of him in land records after that date.
2. There is no Isaac Davis in the 1790 census of Massachusetts and his name is too common to determine what might have become of him. It appears he left the area.
3. Hannah, born November 1766; died 10 December 1766, aged one month
4. Hannah, born 11 February 1768; died 5 March 1813; married Amos Noyes, 28 February 1793
5. Ephraim, born 7 March 1770; died 19 November 1845, Solon, Somerset, Maine; married Catherine Harrington, 4 May 1794
6. Paul, born 3 December 1772; died 10 December 1772
7. Mary, born 3 January 1774; died 1847, Springville, Erie, New York; married Noah Fitch, 1 May 1796

Here’s an image of the record naming Isaac as an heir of his father:

Hannah’s life was in turmoil after Isaac was killed. She married (2) Samuel Jones, 30 July 1782, also in Acton. They had three children – Samuel Jr., James and Elizabeth, born 1783, 1784, and 1786. However, Samuel had his sights set on new opportunities and the family removed to New Orleans, Louisiana. After Samuel died on 29 November 1795 in Natchez, Louisiana, Hannah and the children moved back to Acton, where she married (3) Francis Leighton, 1802

Hannah died at the advanced age of 95 years on 22 December 1841 in Acton, Massachusetts.