Lt. William Backus

Notes:

Made freeman at Hartford 8 Oct 1663.

William married Sarah Charles about 1659. Sarah (daughter of John Charles) was born in Oct 1637; was christened in Oct 1640 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut; died on 14 Jun 1663. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

William married Elizabeth Pratt about 1664. Elizabeth (daughter of William Pratt and Elizabeth Clark) was born on 1 Feb 1641 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut; died in 1730 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 1676, Norwich, New London, Connecticut

Notes:

She and her half-brother John Backus married on the same day.

"She was a younger sister of John Backus who was to marry Thomas [Bingham's] sister, Mary." [The Bingham Family in the United States, citation details below.]

The Granberry Family (citation details below) shows that she was a daughter of William Backus's second wife, Elizabeth Pratt, while John Backus was a daughter of the first wife, Sarah Charles.

Hannah married Sgt. Thomas Bingham on 17 Feb 1692 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut. Thomas (son of Deacon Thomas Bingham and Mary Rudd) was born on 11 Dec 1667 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut; died on 1 Apr 1710 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

From The Bingham Family in the United States, citation details below:

Joseph was only ten months old when his father, Thomas, died in 1710. His uncle Jonathan was appointed his guardian in 1713 when Joseph's father's will was probated. But his mother, Hannah, had married, second, Daniel Tracy, who became the only father Joseph would have known.

At age twenty-two, Joseph married Ruth Post. They were admitted to the Second Church in Norwich, also called the Franklin Church, 4 Jan 1736. Their children Mary, Eunice, Joseph, Stephen, and Esther were also baptized in the Franklin Church. The family lived in the Franklin section of Norwich for over twenty years.

Joseph fought in the French and Indian War in 1758 as a 2nd Lt, 8th company, 2nd regiment under Capt. John Durkee and Col. Nathan Whiting and in 1759 as 1st Lieutenant, 3rd company, 4th regiment under Major John Durkee.

When Joseph left military service, he moved his family to Charlemont, then Hampshire Co MA, with the first party of settlers. This may have been as early as 1760 or as late as 1764. Children Lucretia, Jeremiah, and Calvin moved to Charlemont, with their parents. Esther and husband, and Lois and husband either went with Joseph and Ruth or joined them later.

About 1773, the two youngest sons, Jeremiah and Calvin, went to Bennington VT where they purchased a partially cleared farm which had an unfinished house. They soon brought their parents to live with them. Joseph and Jeremiah joined the First Church in Bennington 3 May 1776. Jeremiah and Calvin were voted freeman 10 Sep 1778 and as of 21 Jan 1779 Joseph was a freeman in Bennington. At the annual town meeting 31 March 1779, the freemen voted to pay Joseph Wilkins £4.04 for keeping Joseph Bingham's wife in 1770 (sic?).

When Joseph was a young man he was described as being six feet two inches tall, not fleshy, with a keen penetrating eye, an indomitable will, and uncommon muscular strength. He was a church member and deacon for many years, his conversation abounded in moral and religious instruction and he was a man of prayer. Thus it was that recovering from a broken hip at age sixty-eight, Joseph had his son Calvin carry him to town and from there called the older men, women, and children to the church and led them in prayer during the Battle of Bennington, Saturday 16 Aug 1777. Joseph's hip healed and he lived for ten more years.

From Early Vermont Settlers to 1784, citation details below:

Joseph enlisted as a private in Maj. William White's Company of Norwich on 12 September 1755, promoted to sergeant on 22 October, and discharged on 13 December 1755. Sgt. Joseph served now Lt. Col. William White from 5 April to 3 December 1756, and at one point was listed as sick at Fort Edward. Lt. Joseph next served "on command" [i.e. not on active duty at that date] Capt. John Durkee of Norwich in the 9th Company dated at Fort Edward on 19 October 1758 and again dated Norwich on 23 April 1759.

Joseph Bingham (1709-1787) = Ruth Post (1711-1796)
Jeremiah Bingham (1748-~1841) = Abigail (d. 1817)
Sylvia Bingham (1778-1812) = Aaron DeLong
Abigail DeLong (1799-1862) = Luman Field (1794-1846)
Lucinda Field (1819-1899) = William Heath (1815-1882)
James W. Heath (b. ~1847) = Alma Miranda Rhodes (1845-1904)
Charles R. Heath (1872-1933) = Alice Adaline Maria Oriel (1874-1902)
Charles F. Heath (1901-1980) = Nellie Marie Brandt (1900-1988)
Charles Richard Heath (1938- ) = Sarah Sheeran (1940- )
Sarah Louise Heath Palin (1964- )

Deacon married Ruth Post on 25 Nov 1731 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut. Ruth (daughter of Samuel Post and Ruth Lathrop) was born on 15 Oct 1711 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut; died on 11 Aug 1796 in Bennington, Bennington, Vermont; was buried in Old Bennington Cemetery, Bennington, Bennington, Vermont. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

From The Bingham Family in the United States, citation details below:

Joseph's birth on 14 Apr 1738 was recorded in the Norwich records, but he was baptized on 16 Apr in the Franklin church. He grew up in the Franklin section of Norwich and may have served in the militia in the French and Indian War. When he was twenty-one he married Rachel Ween 5 Jul 1759. In 1760, their first child was born and the birth recorded in the Norwich records under the name James. Joseph's other children's births are not recorded in Norwich and other records have not been found to document Joseph's life after 1760. Neither are there records for James. However, it is known that Joseph's parents moved to Charlemont MA in 1760 and to Bennington VT between 1773 and 1779 and that Joseph's son, Jeremiah 2nd, was an apprentice in Bennington in 1777.

*****

A document at familysearch.org claims that "Joseph served in the French and Indian war as a Quartermaster of a troop of horses, fifth regiment in May 1757. He was Cornet in Oct 1761, and Lieutenant in Oct 1764."

"The town of Bennington voted each year from 1768 to 1771 to aid Joseph who has been under confinement. This Joseph, wife Rachel, and their named children were warned out of Bennington in 1768. The town discussed moving Joseph back to Norwich and to try to recover costs from Norwich in 1770. The town, again, voted assistance for the doctoring, nursing, and board for Joseph in 1771." [Early Vermont Settlers to 1784, citation details below.]

The town records of Charlemont, Massachusetts show payments in Dec 1773 to "Joseph Bingham, for work at the Road 6/ [shillings/pence], Calvin Bingham, for work at the Road 13/6, Daniel Kinsley, for work at the Road 30/6." If these Binghams are ours, this would be more likely to be this Joseph, as his father Joseph was 64 in 1773.

Joseph married Rachel Ween on 5 Jul 1759 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut. Rachel was born in of Norwich, New London, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]