Identifying the Various Elisha Gilberts from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New York, and their Revolutionary War Records
After finding records in Middletown, Vermont, and in 1994 identifying my ancestor, Elisha Gilbert, as a son of Henry and Sarah (Domer) Gilbert, I immediately started searching for Revolutionary War service.
I knew these facts:
o Elisha was born in Brookfield, Worcester County, Massachusetts, and his family moved first to Ware, and later to Partridgefield [now Peru], Berkshire Co Massachusetts.
o He resided in the area that became Middletown, Vermont, at least from before 1781 until 1785, since he appears in at least four lists there.
o By 1776, he was married, possibly in the location of the future town where the marriage date was recorded (over a decade later), or prior to arriving there.
I obtained all available service records for men named Elisha Gilbert. Several men with that name appeared in Revolutionary War documents, and several of them appeared in more than one State.[1] Interestingly, not one of the Elisha Gilberts applied for a pension; some died before 1818, and probably others were financially secure, but one who had been a New York militia officer signed or was mentioned by name in many pension applications.[2]
One colony led me to another and I eventually collected personal data, service records and censuses for all men with this name from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New York.
State compilations of Revolutionary War soldiers were my starting point; in this case there were sixteen records including duplicates. Then I located parallel records at Footnote.com (now Fold3.com[3]); there are service records at that site for most of these men; at least one record of civilian service does not correspond to service in the state publications. At least two men of this name were at Valley Forge, one freezing to death there. One man, an ensign, is mentioned in George Washington’s correspondence. Four have now been accepted as Patriot Ancestors by the NSDAR.
Brainard, Gilbert and Torrey in The Gilbert Family and Brainard and Torrey in an additional Gilbert volume[4] list eight Elisha Gilberts born between 1717 and 1766.[5] At least one Dighton, Bristol Co MA or Rhode Island man of that name is not listed in those books; the only known records for him are his 1779 marriage and 1790 and 1800 censuses and his probable military service (see below). All seven Elisha Gilberts in the 1790 US Census are among these nine men.[6]
It appears that there were no other Elisha Gilberts in New England during the Revolutionary War than these men.
I also located two men listed on occasions as “Elisha Gilbert,” when in reality they were Elisha Gillet[7] of Bridgewater, Windsor County, Vermont, and Elijah Gillard[8] of Massachusetts. Spellings of Gilbort, Gilbord, Gillberts, Guilbert, Gilbirt and Gilburt have been found.[9]
The signatures of three men named Elisha Gilbert, that I found in the Revolutionary War images, are distinctly different: my ancestor’s signature is at Fold3.com image #12219965; the Otis, Massachusetts, Elisha Gilbert’s signature is at Fold3.com/image/#1193226; and the Stockbridge/Dighton, Massachusetts, Elisha’s signature is at Fold3.com/image/#11405065.
For the service record of “my” Elisha Gilbert, who is labeled F, see https://alvispat.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/evidence-for-the-connection-between-harriet-dickinson-light-and-elisha-gilbert/
Primary and Military Sources
Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, Vol. 6, especially page 410.[10]
1. Gilbert, Elisha. From town of Otis, also called Loudon. Private. [A]
a. Lt. Nathaniel Wood’s detachment of minutemen, 8 days starting 3 April 1775;
b. Capt. Daniel Whiting’s company, Col. Jonathan Brewster’s regiment, 15 May 1775, served two months, 22 days;
c. Capt. William Cannon’s company, Col. David Leonard’s regiment, 5 May 1777-14 July 1777, 70 days, marched to Ticonderoga;
d. Capt. John Carpenter’s company, Col. Ezra Wood’s regiment, 3 July 1778-27 Jan 1779, 7 months, 12 days, reported sick and did not report for muster.
2. Gilbert, Elisha, From Stockbridge, 1775. Private. [B]
a. Capt. William Goodrich’s company of minutemen, Col. John Patterson’s regiment, 22 April 1775, thirteen days;
b. Capt. William Goodrich’s company, Col. John Patterson’s regiment, enlisted 5 May 1775, served 3 months, 4 days.
3. Gilbert, Elisha, Stockbridge, Private, Sergeant Major, Ensign. [B]
a. Continental Army, Capt. Isaac Marsh’s 1st Stockbridge unit, “year not given”;
b. Capt. Moses Ashley’s company, Col. Joseph Vose’s regiment for the term of the war, pay accounts cover 1 January 1777-4 November 1777, as ensign 4 November 1777-31 December 1779;
c. Various muster rolls during these years, including Valley Forge, and under Capt. Abraham Hunt.
4. Gilbard, Elisha. Capt. Daniel Whiting’s co., Col. Jonathan Brewer’s regt.; order for bounty coat or its equivalent in money dated Cambridge Camp, Oct. 26, 1775. [A]
5. Gilbartt, Elisha. Order on Lieut. John Potter for wages, dated Loudon, June 7, 1779. [A]
6. Gilbort, Elisha, Loudon. Private, Capt. Daniel Whiting’s co., Col. Jonathan Brewer’s regt.; company return dated Oct. 6, 1775. [A]
7. Gilbort, Elisha, Williamstown. Private, Capt. Samuel Sloane’s co. of Minute-men; enlisted April 22, 1775; discharged May 5, 1775; service, 14 days. [F]
8. Gillbert, Elisha. Private, Capt. Samuel Thrall’s co.; enlisted Aug. 21, 1781; discharged Nov. 9, 1781; service, 2 mos. 29 days, travel included, under Col. Marinus Willet “on Mohawk river;” company raised for 3 months. [possibly F]
9. Guilbert, Elisha. Private, Capt. Adam Kasson’s co., Col. Israel Chapen’s (3d) regt.; enlisted Oct. 18, 1779; discharged Nov. 21, 1779; service, 1 mo. 8 days, travel included, at Claverack; regiment raised for 3 months. [A]
Connecticut Men in Revolutionary War[11]
10. Gilbert, Elisha, Fairfield Co, Sergeant, Col. Philip Burr Bradley’s Fifth Connecticut, 26 May 1777-6 Jan 1778. Died at Valley Forge. [C]
11. Gilbart, Elisha. Minute Men and Volunteers, Capt. James Peck’s Company, Col. Roger Enos’s Battalion, 17 Sep 1777. [C?]
Vermont Men in the Revolutionary War[12]
12. Gilbert, Elisha, Corporal, Lt David Pixley’s Company of NH, MA and VT Militia. Corporal, 1775 to Ticonderoga [pages 659-660] [B]
13. Gilbert, Elisha, enlisted man in Col. Seth Allen’s Green Mountain Boys, some of whom went to Quebec, 1775-1776. [pages 831-832] [B]
14. “Gilburd,” Elisha, Pawlet, 6-11 Nov 1778, Capt Parmalee Allen’s Co [page 141] [F]
15. “Gilbord,” Elisha, Capt. Zebediah Dewey’s Company of Militia, Oct 1780 [page 236] [F]
16. Gilbert, Elisha, Capt. Jacob Wood’s Company, Col. Thomas Lee’s reg’t, June 1781 [p381] [F]
New York Military in the Revolution[13]
17. Gilbert, Elisha. One of the Green Mountain Boys possibly at Quebec, 1775. Same names and units as in #12, above. [B]
18. Gilbert, Elisha, Captain, Albany County Militia. [D]
Miscellaneous Revolutionary Documents of New Hampshire[14]
19. Gilbert, Elisha. One of the Green Mountain Boys at Quebec, 1775. Same as #11, above. [B]
Fold3.com
20. Gilbirt, Elisha. Civilian employed as a carter. Receipt for pay from Capt. Ezekiel Blair, probably at Ticonderoga or Ft George. Image #12219965.[15] [F]
Washington’s correspondence[16]
21. From Headquarters, 31 December 1779, requesting that Ensigns Gilbert and Porter be given honorable discharges.[17] [B]
DAR Patriot Ancestors[18]
22. Gilbert, Elisha, Ancestor #: A045092, Sgt, “1736 CT-1778”; wrong dates and service for these descendants. [A]
23. Gilbert, Elisha, Ancestor #: A045094, Capt 1747 CT-1823 NY [D]
24. Gilbert, Elisha, Ancestor #: A045093, 1717 CT-1796 NY, “Applicant must prove correct service” [E]
25. Gilbert, Elisha, Ancestor #: A209328, 1752 MA-bef 4-18-1818 [F]
The Fold3.com Internet site has the National Archives service records for several of these men, while others appear only on actual rolls. Comparing dates of service, compiled records from the National Archives, and other references, it appears that at least five men served in the military during the War of Independence. Four are clearly identifiable from Gilbert genealogies as distinct men, including my ancestor; the fifth man. Only one man, an officer’s origin [B] is unknown.
Following is my summary of the Elisha Gilberts in New England during the War:
A. Elisha Gilbert, 18 May 1743-aft 1820 census, married Submit Glazier.[19]
This man can be clearly identified by his service records, his residence in Otis (sometimes called Loudon) and his age at the time of his service. (NSDAR Patriot Ancestor #A045092[20]). He was resident in Loudon (also called Otis), Massachusetts, in 1790. His marriage took place on 16 Nov 1768 in Mansfield, Connecticut. They had six children;[21] Elisha was over 45, living alone in 1820 in Chenango Co NY, next door to one of the sons, David Yeomans Gilbert.[22] Among their sons was another Elisha Gilbert, who married Mary Messenger. To date, all approved applications to NSDAR using this man (with national numbers ranging from 216212 to 830315) trace the member’s lineage to Elisha and Submit’s son Noah, who married Betsy Messenger.
A chronology of Elisha’s life and military service is as follows:
1743 Birth in Canterbury CT, son of Noah
1768 Marriage to Submit Glazier in Mansfield, Tolland Co CT[23]
1770 7 Sep, birth of Elisha Jr (later married Mary Messenger)
1773 Jan, birth of Noah (later married Betsey Messenger)
1775 2 Apr, birth of David Yeomans in Otis MA
1775 21 Apr, Enlisted at Otis, Lt Nath’l Wood, under Major Baldwin
1775 15 May, enlisted for 3 years, Capt. Dan’l Whiting, Col. Jonathan Brewer[24]
1775 26 Oct, Capt. Daniel Whiting’s co., Col. Jonathan Brewer’s regt
1775 14 Nov, sick or wounded in hospital, age 32
1777 Apr, birth, and Dec, death of son Joseph at Otis
1777 6 May, marched to Ticonderoga
1778 3 Jul, 10 Sep, Capt John Carpenter, Col Ezra Wood; May-Dec payroll
1778 Sep, birth of Amos at Otis
1779 27 Jan, discharged; June 7, payment for military service, Lt John Potter
1779 13 Oct-21 Nov, Capt. Adam Kasson’s co., Col. Israel Chapen’s (3d) regt.
1781 Oct, birth of William at Otis
1790 Census, Loudon (Otis) MA
1800 Census, Chenango Co NY, adjacent to Elisha Jr and David Gilbert
1820 Census at Chenango Co NY, next door to David Yeomans Gilbert
1925 Descendant Lillian Newland enters DAR, with wrong service (Nat’l no. 216212)
My study of this Elisha Gilbert began with the biographical notice in Brainerd and Torrey (in reverse order of the earliest analysis of my own Elisha Gilbert); but I was able to verify the facts in that book, using census records, the NSDAR web site, and Fold3.com, and to identify the Revolutionary War service of the Elisha in question. Like many men, he served immediately after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and then re-enlisted almost yearly after that. I have assigned to him the letter A. See Revolutionary War service records #1, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 22, above, for this soldier.
B. Elisha Gilbert, unidentified.
An Elisha Gilbert was resident in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, when he enlisted immediately after the battles of Lexington and Concord. His family is not known.
Among other Stockbridge residents who served in 1775 is Lt. David Pixley, whose unit included a corporal named Elisha Gilbert. This is the man listed as one of Ethan Allen Green Mopuntain Boys, who may have traveled to Quebec, and who rose to become first a Sergeant Major and then an Ensign. In the latter capacity, he signed his unit’s payrolls.
It is probable that this is the Elisha Gilbert who married Anna Talbot in Providence, Rhode Island (where his unit was stationed in that year), November 1779. According to Talbot family trees online—none of which trace his family—he was later the Elisha Gilbert in Dighton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the 1790 census, next door to his wife’s half-brother, Jedidiah Talbot, who had five people in his household. By 1800, Elisha and Anna Gilbert are no longer listed, while Jedidiah is in the same location, but with his family reduced to one son 10-15.
In 1775 he was in western Massachusetts, but during the War years, he married and settled near his wife’s family in Bristol County, Massachusetts, near the Rhode Island border.
This Elisha’s military service is as follows:
1775 22 Apr, 13 days, Capt Wm Goodrich, Col John Patterson
(This unit included many Native Americans)
1775 5 May, enlisted for 3months 4 days, same officers
1775 4 Jul, Lt David Pixley’s list of troops submitted to Provincial Congress of NY[25]
1776 some of the men listed above were in Quebec, but not necessarily all[26]
1776 Elisha Gilbert was a corporal
? Capt Isaac Marsh’s 1st Stockbridge co. [not at Fold3.com][27]
1777 1 Jan-4 Nov, Sgt Major, Capt. Moses Ashley, Col Joseph Vose, MA 1st Regt
1777 17 Sep, Battle of Saratoga
1777 Dec, camped near Valley Forge[28]
1777 4 Nov, ensign, same officers, later Capt. Abr’m Hunt, he signed payroll, undated
1779 Feb, Mar and Apr, at Providence stationed in Providence
1779 July, payroll of Capt. Abraham Hunt’s unit
1779 Nov, marriage to Anna Talbot in Providence Rhode Island[29]
1779 31 Dec, finishes term of enlistment
1780 14 Jan, resigned, see Washington’s correspondence, 31 Dec 1779
1790 census at Dighton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, with wife, one male under 16
The service records at Fold3.com for this man include 20 pages of payroll slips, dated January 1778 through 1 January 1780, showing a rise in rank from Sergeant Major to Ensign and throughout service in Col. Joseph Vose’s regiment.,[30] before resigning in January 1780.[31] He resigned his officer status within a month after his marriage.
He was mentioned in George Washington’s correspondence: To Major General William Heath, Head Quarters, Morristown, December 31, 1779. “Dear Sir: I have received your favs. of the 21st. and 26th. Inst. Certificates from the paymasters of the 1st. and 15th. Massachusetts Regiments setting forth that Ensigns Gilbert and Porter have settled their regimental accounts are necessary before those Gentlemen can obtain discharges.”[32]
By 1790, there were no Gilberts in Stockbridge and that town’s vital records have not been transcribed. The only Gilberts I have located in Stockbridge at any time near the 1770s were the parents of Elisha Gilbert A, above. In 1758, Jeremiah Olmstead sold land between West Stockbridge and the New York State line to Noah Gilbert of Ware River Parish; in 1763 Noah and his wife Sarah sold the same land to Isaac Magoon.[33]
The History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Volume I, lists three Elisha Gilberts as having served in the Revolutionary War, that is, one from Otis [A], one from Stockbridge [B] and one from Williamstown [mine].[34] I have assigned this soldier the letter B.
C. Elisha Gilbert, 4 May 1737 -6 January 1778 at Valley Forge, married Hannah —.[35]
This man’s birth record at Ridgefield, Connecticut, and the death of his widow there in 1825 are the only mentions in the town’s vital records for this couple.. [36] Elisha served with British troops during the French and Indian War.[37] On March 3, 1778,[38] the Town Meeting of Norwalk, Fairfield Co CT, voted to spent money to care for the family of Sgt. Elisha Gilbert, a Continental soldier who froze to death at Valley Forge that winter. No children have been identified for this couple.
I have assigned the Elisha the letter C. See Revolutionary War service record #10 and possibly 11, above.[39]
Although Brainard and Torrey were of the opinion that a service record of Elisha Gilbert, dated 7 June to September 1777, [40] could not refer to this man, Captain James Peck was a resident of Newtown, Fairfield County, Connecticut, and I find no trace of another Elisha Gilbert in Fairfield County. This second service record is not given at Fold3.com or at Ancestry.com.
D. Elisha Gilbert, 20 Feb 1745/6-12 Jan 1823, married Sarah Wheeler.[41]
This is the most well known man of the name, NSDAR Patriot Ancestor #A045094, above, resident in Canaan, Columbia County, New York, in 1790. He was a Captain of the Albany County Militia throughout the war.[42] Many images at Fold3.com show him as a reference in other men’s pension applications; he served in the militia during most of the Revolution, as these documents demonstrate.[43] He lived in the Elisha Gilbert House,[44] and was a noted Freemason and supporter of foreign missions organizations of the time. Eight approved NSDAR applications, with national numbers from 4264 to 819364, have the right man, all through one child, another Elisha Gilbert, who married Ellen Vanderpool, and used the correct military record.[45] I have assigned to him the letter D.
E. Elisha Gilbert, 10 Dec 1717-23 Jul 1796, married (1) Abigail Curtis, (2) Hannah Adams.[46]
This man was the father of D, above. He is NSDAR Patriot Ancestor #A045093, but the NSDAR research website says, “Applicants must prove correct service.” This is appropriate, since I also have found no service records for him. Since he was alive and fairly well to do, it should be possible to find support for the American cause in local records. The service originally claimed for him was that of his son; the lone approved application, national number 171897, is through a daughter, Abigail, who married John Thorpe. Said to have been an “enlister,” although his son may have been meant, according to Brainard et al.[47]
Although he and his son Elisha Jr were both in Columbia County, New York, in 1790, there is only one household listed in the census that year. I have assigned to him the letter E.
Other Elisha Gilberts of that era:
Elisha Gilbert, 13 July 1762-after 1813, married Hannah Haskell.[48]
He, like my ancestor, his cousin, was born in Brookfield, Massachusetts, but did not move to Vermont until 1789, just prior to marrying there. No service found. He was in the 1790-1810 censuses in Weathersfield, Windsor County, Vermont. He is not the man who married Anna Talbot in 1779, since both men are in the 1790 census.
Elisha Gilbert, 3 Jul 1758-1812, married Sarah Bradley.[49] No service found. If the service in James Peck’s company was not the Fairfield County man, this man is most likely. He was in Litchfield County, Connecticut, in 1790.
Elisha Gilbert, 16 May 1766-31 Mar 1846, married Chloe Crosby.[50] A Quaker and very young during the Revolutionary War, probably never served in the military, resident of Hartford, Connecticut, his whole life. I have not located him in the 1790 census there.
[1] For example, one Elisha Gilbert registered his first two children in Connecticut, then four more in Massachusetts, served in Massachusetts units in the Revolutionary War, and moved to Chenango County, New York, where he appears in the 1820 census. See below.
[2] There are 251 matches for Elisha + Gilbert Revolutionary War pensions at Fold3.com, accessed 28 December 2012, but none are applications for a man named Elisha Gilbert (http://www.fold3.com/s.php#s_given_name=Elisha&s_surname=Gilbert&t=467&p_place_usa=CT,NY,MA,VT,RI). Matches include pension documents where one Elisha Gilbert is named or signed an affadavit, or where the applicant is either an Elisha or a Gilbert and the other name appears somewhere in the paperwork.
[3] Some citations are left here as Footnote.com, since I printed the images when the site used that name. Newer copies will say Fold3.com.
[4] Homer W. Brainard and Clarence A. Torrey, Gilberts of New England, 1959.
[5] Also, two infants in Brainard’s books who died young. Three of these Elisha Gilberts are not known to have served in any capacity during the Revoltuionary War.
[6] Ancestry.com search results for Elisha Gilbert in 1790 US Census.
[7] This error is probably due to Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society (1901), page 191 (GoogleBooks), which lists Elisha Gilbert in Bridgewater; either Elisha Gillet, a resident of that town, was intended, or the residence of a real Elisha Gilbert in Weathersfield, in the same county, is mistakenly given as Bridgewater. A recent publication not authorized by the state of Vermont, Carleton Fisher and Sue G. Fisher, Soldiers, Sailors, and Patriots of the Revolutionary War—Vermont, 1992, includes “Gilbert, Elisha. Service not identified, buried in Bridgewater.” Searches of military records and censuses have not located any Gilberts living in that town. There was, however, an Elisha Gillett who resided there and is found from 1790 to 1830. Elisha Gillet Jr is found from 1830 and thereafter.
[8] Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution. Vol. 6, page 406: “Gillard, Elijah. Private, Capt. John Collar’s co., Col. John Ashly’s (Berkshire Co.) regt.; enlisted July 19, 1779; discharged Aug. 27, 1779; service, 1 mo. 9 days; company marched to Connecticut under command of Lieut. Col. Powel. [See Elisha Gilbard.]”
[9] Note that two different Elisha Gilberts served under officers named Whiting and two at different times under officers named Wood.
[10] Secretary of the Commonwealth. Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution. Vol. I-XVII. Boston, MA, USA: Wright and Potter Printing Co., 1896, 410-411, note this page was photocopied in 1996, evidence of how long I have researching these records. Other pages cited here are available at Ancestry.com and can be printed and submitted if necessary.
[11] Johnston, Henry P., ed. The Record of Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Service During the War of the Revolution 1775-1783. Vol. I-III. Hartford, CT, USA: 1889, pages 194, 615.
[12] Goodrich, John E., ed.. The State of Vermont. Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War 1775 to 1783. Rutland, VT, USA: Tuttle, 190. Pages 141, 236, 381, 659-660, 831-832. These may refer to two men.
[13] New York in the Revolution as Colony and State, Vol. II, originally published in 1897, pages 48-49, 380.
[14] Albert Stillman Batchellor, Miscellaneous Revolutionary Documents of New Hampshire: Including the Association Test, the Pension Rolls, and Other Important Papers, 1910, page 446. The pages are identical to the same pages in Goodrich, John E., ed.. The State of Vermont. Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War 1775 to 1783, pages 659-660.
[15] Fold3.com image #12219965, Blair, Ezekiel. Clark, Elizabeth. Pension Number: W. 23,822,.
[16] Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1878, page 147.
[17] This letter illustrates the attention George Washington paid to the minutia of day-to-day military duties, as well as the formality and patience of his correspondence. This letter preceeded by less than a month the resignation of Elisha Gilbert from General Heath’s command, according to Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution. Vol. 6, page 410.
[18] NSDAR emembership site, Ancestor Search results for Elisha Gilbert.
[19] Gilberts of New England, II: 424.
[20] Dates given at the NSDAR web site are for another man, E. below, who died three years before the birth of the actual soldier’s last child.
[21] The two oldest were registered at Mansfield, Tolland County, Connecticut, and the other four at Otis, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Vital Records. See Mansfield CT VR 85 and Otis MA VR 18.
[22] 1820 Chenango Co NY.
[23] Mansfield CT VR 242.
[24] Fold3.com images #17899437 (note the age of the soldier), #11993633, #1193226, #10115497 and others, plus Footnote.com images #11993226 and #10115497.
[25] Footnote.com image #10124792.
[26] Vermont Men in the Revolutionary War, 831-832.
[27] See Document above.
[28] Footnote.com image 11405062. Although not stated on this page, this is the muster roll of Capt. Wood’s Regiment of Massachusetts Militia.
[29] Rhode Island Vital Records, 1636–1850. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002), Originally Published as: Vital record of Rhode Island 1636-1850: First Series: births, marriages and deaths: a family register for the people, by James N. Arnold. Providence, RI: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, page 88013.
[30] Footnote.com image 7657124. Muster roll of Capt. Samuel Hait’s company, Col. Philip B. Bradley’s Regiment, dated 1 August 1777. Other images include #17513674, 17513691, 17513683 and 11405065.
[31] Another source is Alphabetical List of Officers of the Continental Army, page 247. “Gilbert, Elisha (Mass). Sergeant 15th Continental Infantry, 1st January to 31st December, 1776; Sergeant-Major 1st Massachusetts, 1st January, 1777; Ensign, 1st September, 1778; resigned 1st January, 1780.”
[32] Document given above.
[33] George Kemp Ward, Genealogy of the Olmsted Family in America: Embracing the Descendants of James and Richard Olmsted and Covering a Period of Nearly Three Centuries, 1632-1912, A.T. De La Mare Print. and Publishing Company, 1912, page 393.
[34] History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Vol. 1, 1885, pages 201, 209, and 212. GoogleBooks.
[35] Gilberts of New England, II: 392.
[36] Ridgefield, Connecticut VR, 36.
[37] Connecticut Historical Society, The Fitch Papers: Correspondence and Documents During Thomas Fitch’s Governorship of the Colony of Connecticut, 1754-1766, 1920, page 37. Google eBook.
[38] Ridgefield Town Meeting, March 3, 1778 – The Town Meeting votes to spent money to care for the family of Sgt. Elisha Gilbert, a Continental soldier who froze to death at Valley Forge that winter. http://jackfsanders.tripod.com/1700s.htm.
[39] Footnote.com image 7657124 and Fold3.com images #15585207, #15585241, and #15585365, the last citing the soldier’s death.
[40] Record of Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Service During the War of the Revolution page 615.
[41] Gilbert Family, 222.
[42] Fold3.com image #20780486; Footnote.com image #10197340. See Columbia County, New York, history reference at http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/county/columbia/newleb/settlmnt.htm.
[43] Fold3.com image #21418790, pension application for George G Scott, citing service in Capt. Elisha Gilbert’s Company of Infantry of the militia of New York State, New Lebanon, Columbia County, New York, with references to fall 1776, the summer of 1777, August and November 1778, “during the year 1779 and into 1780,” and 1781. “Capt. Elisha Gilbert… having been Engaged the most of his time on active duty, or as a member of the General Committee.”
[45] His will naming wife Sarah is abstracted at the New England Historical and Genealogical Society web site, http://www.americanancestors.org/PageDetail.aspx?recordId=416210.
[46] Gilbert Family, 140.
[47] He is a good candidate for the recently formed Lineage Research Committee initiative, Cold Closed Cases Project.
[48] Gilbert Family, 269.
[49] Gilberts of New England, II: 405. Also Donald Lines Jacobus, “Gilbert Family,” Families of Ancient New Haven, (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1997), I-III, 649.
[50] Gilbert Family, 284.
Alvispat's Weblog 
I have the land grant from from Martin Van Buren to David Light for lands in Edgar County. Lands were sold in the 1950s by grandchildren of William Wallace Light. I don’t know if it is an original or a parchment copy. Probably a copy, has a gov’t seal.
I like your site.
Thanks for the kind comment. I am trying to prove as many lines as I can (since none of my children or grandchildren is currently interested) via DAR supplemental applications. That way my research is preserved.
I have Jacob Light already, but am wanting David Dickinson and Elisha Gilbert. Both of them have a lot of supposition, and I’d like to see those Clermont County records in case there’s any hint.
Issue of Elisha Gilbert b 18 May 1743 Canterbury, Windham Co, CT. Anyone know?
Look at these gedcoms on Ancestry.com. They may not be documented, so use with caution.
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=Search&includedb=&lang=en&ti=&surname=gilbert&stype=Exact&given=elisha&bplace=&byear=1743&brange=0&dplace=&dyear=&drange=0&mplace=&myear=&mrange=0&father=&mother=&spouse=&skipdb=&period=All&submit.x=Search