Andover, Connecticut

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Colonel Jonathan Pettibone

1. Jonathan Pettibone
+Martha Humphrey
2. Giles Pettibone
+Margaret Holcomb
3. Lucy Pettibone
+Augustus Phelps
4. Margaret Phelps
+C. Columbus Rockwell
5. Ada Lucy Rockwell
+Charles E. Hotchkiss
6. Ida Elizabeth Hotchkiss
+Joseph Willard Munson
7. George Willard Munson
+Ruth Marie Koerner
8. Edward Deck Munson
+Debra Florence Dahlquist
9. Scott Edward Munson

My Sixth Great-grandfather's hat is in the Smithsonian Institute! In honor of Independence Day, here is a little about one of our ancestors who served in the War for Independence and gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.

Colonel Jonathan Pettibone's tricorn hat

Jonathan Pettibone was born in Simsbury, Connecticut in 1709 to Samuel and Judith (Shepherd) Pettibone. He was one of nine children growing up in a prominent Simsbury home.

He married Martha Humphrey, the daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Hillyer) Humphrey.  They raised seven children including my Fifth Great-grandfather, Giles Pettibone, on their large Simsbury farm. He was a prominent citizen of Simsbury, serving as one of the town leaders and representing the town in the Connecticut General Assembly.

In 1775 he heeded the call from Boston and fought for the Colonists in the Battle of Bunker Hill. The next year he was killed in a military skirmish in Rye, New York on September 26, 1776.

Grave Stone in Simsbury, CT

Here is a link to his Wikitree page which has more detail on his civic and military service.

The tricorn hat which he wore in battle is part of the collection at the National Museum of American History in Washington DC. Here is a link to it on the Smithsonian Institute webpage.

Martha Humphrey Pettibone outlived her husband by 20 years and eleven days. She died a Revolutionary War Widow on October 7, 1796 at the age of 85.

Martha's grave stone in Simsbury, CT

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