First of all, completely unrelated to this post, the YouTube algorithm popped up a video last night about a person in Japan who has pet otters. The videos are the cutest!! It's called KOTSUMET, if you're interested. Crazy that you can have otters as pets in Japan, albeit under strict rules.
My family is coming in just over an hour, and I don't know if I'll get this posted today, at least that's how I'm feeling as these words are written. No doubt, at this point in the day, everyone is off celebrating. The colonial festival is taking place at a local park, would have liked to have gone, but went on a drive up the canyon on Saturday instead. Everything is green and beautiful from all the rain. Though the festival is great fun.
Didn't buy any fireworks this year. Maybe one of my brothers will bring some over? And my Dad did his annual volunteering at the parade this morning. Forgot all about it! And forgot about the hot air balloons, too. Where is my brain?! Though I always love it when the family visits, and I have a copy of Long Shot the Dice Game to learn. Plays up to eight, and is apparently great fun.
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Anywho, that's not what my blog post is about. It's about the Davol-Dee side of my family, and my ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary war.
Elijah Dee (1740 Connecticut-1827 Vermont)
According to Reverend Alvah Sabin: "[Elijah] was a man of marked character; expressed his opinions in a confident manner, and dealt with sharp plainness with those that he thought deserved it. He was a man of strict integrity, and managed his affairs in a close and independent manner; and he himself was unshackled in all his deal with men. He died Dec. 24, 1827, aged 86. His wife, Miriam (JONES) died Jan. 26, 1845, aged 97."
The rest of this information is taken from the book Davol-Dee Genealogy; Decedents of William Davol-Dee by Orville Augustus Dee.
"This generation of the family changed the name to Dee, according to tradition because they disliked being called "Devil." Elijah was married by name Divall, but fought in the French and Indian War and the Revolution as Dee.
"Served in the Revolution as a private and in 1777 member of Captain Martin Kirkland's Co., Col. Erastus Wocott's regiment.
"He and brother Daniel were soldiers in the Ninth Company, Captain Thomas Pierce of Plainfield, French and Indian War. Elijah was also in the Company of Captain Andrew Ward, who was from Guilford, Conn., and from Apr. 2 - Dec. 1, 1785 in that of Captain Peleg Redfield of Killingworth.
"Family history states that Elijah Dee moved to Georgia, Vermont in 1787, but he did not move his family there until the winter of 1790-91, so it is probable that he spent the intervening summers preparing a home for the family, a customary procedure in those days. The Vermont 1790 Census was not taken until 1791 as it was not a state in 1790, the Connecticut Census gives his wife living in Saybrook.
"Elijah and family made the journey from Saybrook, Conn. to Georgia, Vt. in the dead of winter, 1790-91, on a sled drawn by oxen. His wife rode on the sled in a ladderback splintbottom chair, made at Labanon, Syria. She held her six-month-old infant daughter, Mercy, in her arms.
"The Journey consumed about eight weeks. As the Connecticut River does not freeze over at Saybrook, they went along one side of the river until they reached the point where it was frozen over, then proceeded up the river to Charleston, New Hamphire, from whence they traveled across Vermont on the old "Crown Point Military Road," built by Lord Amherst, the first highway ever built in Vermont. The road cut across from "Old Fort 4" at Charleston, N.H. to Crown Point, N.Y, on Lake Champlain.
"When he reached Lake Champlain he continued up the lake on the ice, north to the mouth of the Lamoille River at Milton, Vt., followed east up the river until they reached the road that went north to Georgia, Vt.
"At this point they rested awhile on the farm of Solomon Cooley, (later Washington Dee's father-in-law) where they occupied one of his farm buildings. Then they continued north to Georgia Center, Vt., where Elijah had bought a farm a little northeast of the Stephen Davis homelot. A log cabin was their first home, replaced later by a frame house. The farm was purchased from Nathaniel Wood for the sum of One Hundred and Fifty pounds. It was located north of the main highway leading west to St. Albans and est to Milton, and the log cabin was erected in the southeast corner of the farm, joining that of Stephen Davis, later married Mercy Dee, the infant carried in her mother's arms from Connecticut to Vermont. The Davis burying ground, final resting place of Elijah, his wife and descendants of his youngest daughter, in a short distance northeast of the farm."
It seems the family received great persecution from their last name, being called Devil. This is a sad little story about my ancestor Joseph Davol. From the same book, "One of the early settlers of the Niantic Country, that is, the part of Westerly, R.I., now Charlestown, where he had a grist mill on the stream near Ninigret's Fort, so called, at one time known as Davell's Mills, later Cross' Mills. Captain in 1690, and representative in 1694-95. His house on the post road evidently used for the accommodation of travelers. Madam Sarah Knight, in "The Journal of Madam Knight, 1825, repented in 1920, has this to say:" (I'm keeping the original spelling.)
"Wednesday, Octobr 4th (1704). About four in the morning we set out for Kingston (for so was the town called) with a french Doctor in our company. Hee and ye Post put on very furiously, so that I could not keep up with them, only as now and then they'd stop till they see mee. This Rode was poorly furnished wth accommodations for Travellers, so that wee were forced to ride 22 miles by the post's account, but neerer thirty by mine, before wee could bait so much as our Horses, wch I exceedingly complained of. But the post encourag'd mee by saying wee should be well accommodated anon at Mr. Devill's a few miles further. But I questioned whether we ought to go to the Devil to be helpt out of affliction. However, like the rest of Deluded souls that post to ye Infernal denn, we made all possible speed to this Devil's Habitat where alliting, in full assurance of good accommodation, wee were going in, but meeting his two daughters, as I suposed, twins, they neerly resembled each other, both in features and habit, and look't as old as the Divel himselfe, and quite as Ugly. We desired entertain't, but could hardly get a word out of 'um, till with our Importunity telling them our necessity, &c., they call'd the old Sophister, who was sparing of his words as his daughters has bin, and No, or none, was the replys hee made us to our demands. Hee differed only in this from the old fellow in t'other country; hee let us depart. However, I thought it proper to warn poor Travailers to endeavor to Avoid falling into circumstances like ours, wch at our next Stage I sat down and did as followeth:
"May all that dread the
cruel feind of night
Keep on and not at this
curs't Mansion light
'Tis Hell; 'tis Hell!
and Devills here do dwell
Here dwells the Devill--
surely this's Hee.
Nothing but Wants: a
drop to cool yo'r Tongue
Can't be procured these
cruel Feinds among,
Plenty of horrid Grins
and looks sevear,
Hunger and thirst, But
pitty's bannished here-
The Right hand keep, if
Hell on Earth you Fear!"
That's so sad!!!!! Was my ancestor really this horrid!!?? Or prejudice towards a slandered name?
And this is about William Davol who was born 4 Jun. 1615 Spaulding, Lincolnshire,,England and died 29 Aug. 1680 Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, USA. See, no escaping the Devil name. It goes a long ways back. No wonder Elijah ran from it, and changed his name to Dee.
And.... I'm 30 minutes overdue, and my family is 30 minutes late. :P I need to proof read and do quick cleaning before the arrival.
Happy Fourth of July!!
And thanks ancestors who were brave and sacrificed for my freedoms.
Sarah
