The 1778 Petition from Residents of the Saratoga and Cambridge Districts to New York Governor George Clinton


Compiled by Leslie B. Potter and John M. King
Submitted for use on this web site January 3, 2000.

Annotators' Note: Leslie B. Potter compiled the following classifications of signers of the 1778 Petition to New York Governor George Clinton based on the information contained in the October 1779 Saratoga District Tax List, manuscript freehold leases, sundry recorded legal documents, manuscript rent records and a book entitled 'History of Washington County, NY'. The annotations are not yet complete. This is a work in progress.

Any questions on the content of this document should be brought to the attention of Leslie Potter.


The following petitioners' names appear on the October 1779 Saratoga District Tax List:

Bacon, Samuel 
Baldwinn, Alex'r 
Ballard, Thomas 
Baker, Edey
Barber, Simmeon
Benjamin, Josiah 
Benson, Bildad  
Benson, Jacob 
Benson, John 
Boler, Simeon
Bowdish, Gideon 
Buell, Ezra 
Cambell, Daniel 
Campbell, Solomon 
Child, Increase 
Clements, Peter 
Cobb, Ebenezer 
Cobb, Joshua 
Cook, Joal 
Dickinson, Danl.
Doty, Isaac 
Dunham, Holton 
Edwards, Timothy 
Finel, Edward 
Fish, Benjamin 
Fish, John 
Fuller, Abner 
Hunter, George 
Hunter, John 
Hysted, Edward 
Ingersol, Philip 
Marvin, Eben'r 
Moor, Charles 
Moor, Gideon 
Monger, Philip  
Munger, Joseph 
Neilson, John 
Newland, Rial 
Norton, Asel 
Norton, James 
Norton, Samuel 
Palmer, George 
Parke, Daniel 
Patrick, Ebenezer 
Partick, William 
Reis, John 
Rogers, Philip, Jur 
Row, Joseph 
Sayles, Ahab 
Sayles, Ezekial 
Sayles, Mordcai 
Sayles, Stephen 
Scott, John 
Schuyler, Haz: 
Scidmore, Abner 
Scidmore, John 
Scidmore, John, Jur. 
Scidmore, Solomon 
Strang, Gabriel 
Swart, Dirck 
Thompson, John 
Titus, Jonas 
Tuttle, Abijah 
Tuttle, Jabos 
Van Wort, Peter 
Whipple, Esek 
Wright, Job 
Wright, Reuben 
Woodworth, Amos  
The following petitioners were elected local officials in the Cambridge District between 1774 and 1777.
Cowden, James 
Morison, John 
Morison, Samuel 
Slarra, David 
Wadsworth, Elisha 
Wells, Edmund 
Wells, Joseph 
Whitesides, Phineas 
Woodworth, Gersham 
Younglove, Jno. 
Younglove, Isaiah 
The following petitioners are presumed to be Cambridge District residents:
Allen, David 
Allen, Elisha 
Andrus, Elisha 
Basey, Abenezer 
Boyd, Jno., Jr 
Bower, Elias 
Clark, John 
Clark, Saml. 
Clark, Wm. 
Clark, Wm., Jun. 
Collins, Julius 
Cowan, James 
Cowan, Robert 
Cowden, James S. 
Cowden, Samuel 
Duncan, John 
Dunkan, Savenus   
Robt. Gilmore 
Hagemen, James  
Mansfild, Thomas  
McCclung, John 
Mereman, Titus  
Mohanea, Jno 
Morehouse, Jabez  
Morison, James, Jun 
Morison, James, the third 
Morison, James, Sener  
Morison, John, Jun'r 
Morison, Thos. 
Morison, Thos., Jur 
Pettet, John #
Powell, Morgan 
Powell,William 
Rawlley, Walter 
Scidmore, Zopher  
Seely, James 
Seely, Joseph 
Seley, Abenezer  
Lawrence Surdam #
West, Benaiah #
Wells, Edmund, Jun'r. #
Woodworth, William #

The text of the Petition from the Saratoga and Cambridge Districts to New York Governor George Clinton

Public Papers of George Clinton, First Governor of New York, 1777-1795 1801-1804, Volume III, Published by the State of New York, Albany: James B. Lyon, State Printer, 1900

[Note: John Scidmore is the father of Abner, Solomon, John Jr, and Zophar Scidmore and the father-in-law of Simeon Barber. John M. King, 5th gr-grandson of Simeon Barber and 6th gr-grandson of John Scidmore, obtained Xerox copies of pgs 209-211 at the Newberry Library, Chicago, IL on 12/7/99. The following transcription is correctly typed as originally printed. JMK]

Pg 209

[No. 1311.]

TO PROTECT THE NORTHERN FRONTIER

Petition from Inhabitants of the Northern Towns to the Governor to Send Troops to Their Aid. Governor Clinton's Reply.

To His Excellency George Clinton Esq. Governor of the State of New York Captain General & Commander in Chief of the Same &c. &c.

       The Petition of the Inhabitants of Saratoga and Cambridge Districts Humbly Sheweth, That Your Petitioners in order to be out of the Power of the Enemy did, when the army Under Genl. Burgoyne penetrated Into the Country, Remove from their Habitations with Such of their Effects as they Could Convey; that Immediately after the Convention Between Genl. Gates and General Burgoyne, Such of Your Petitioners as Were in a Situation so to do, Returned to their Plantations, that others of them are but lately Returnd, that all of them are now Engaged in Preparing to Cultivate their farms, for the Subsistance of their families out of the Produce, and for the Support of the armies out of what they may Have to Spare; that as all the troops are Drawn away from the Northern Communication, Your Petitioners are Expos'd to the Incursions of the Savages and their more Savage abetters, the British troops and Tories from Canada, that Your Petitioners have Great reason to Expect that the Enemy will Commit depradations on them, and that if they are Under the necessity of Guarding the Frontiers, Their farms must lay waste and their familys Exposed to Inevitable want and the Greatest distress.

       Your petitioners therefore most Humbly pray that Your Excellency Will take Speedy and Effectual measures for their Relief by Sending a Body of Troops to Skensborough, Fort George

Pg 210

      and Jessups Pattent, the Two former will be able to protect the Western Distrects of Challotte County, and the Eastern & Northern Distrects of the County of Albany Whilst the Latter Will Cover the Western part of Saratoga Distrect Ballstown, and the North Eastern part of Tryon county, Your Petitioners Humbly apprehend That the propriety of their Request is so Evident that it will Claim Your Excellencys Serious attention and that the Prayer thereof will be Granted and

       Your Excellencys Petitioners as in Duty Bound Shall Ever Pray:

       George Palmer, Job Wright, Dirck Swart, Eben'r Marvin, Haz: Schuyler, Joseph Row, Daniel Parke, Gideon Moor, Peter Van Wort, Elias Bower, Ezra Buell, Isaac Doty, Titus Mereman, Edey Baker, Danl. Dickinson, Charles Moore, Jno Mohanea, Samuel Bacon, Alex'r Baldwin, Jabez Morehouse, Holton Dunham, Abner Fuller, John Fish, Gideon Bowdish, Benjamin Fish, Jno. Younglove, Isaiah Younglove, Morgan Powell, William Powell, Benaiah West, James Hagemen, Lawrence Surdam, Robert Cowan, Julius Collins, Edmund Wells, Edmund Wells Jun'r, Walter Rawley, John Pettet, James Cowan, John Morison, John Morison, Jun'r, James Morison, Jur., Samuel Morison, James Cowden, John Clark, James Morison, the third., Thos. Morison, Jur., Abenezer Basey, Abenzer Seley, James Morison Sener, James S. Cowden, Samuel Cowden, John Duncan, Thos. Morison, John Scott, Robt. Gillmore, Wm. Clark, Wm. Clark, Jun., Joseph Wells, Gersham Woodworth, William Woodworth, Saml. Clark, John McClung, Elisha Wadsworth, David Slarra, Elisha Allen, David Allen, Esek Whipple, Phineas Whitesides, Jacob Benson, John Benson, Bildad Benson, Joshua Cobb, Ebenezer Patrick, John Thompson, Ebenezer Cobb, William

Pg 211

Patrick, John Reis, Josiah Benjamin, Samuel Norton, Joal Cook, James Norton, Jno. Boyd, Jur., Simeon Barber, Reuben Wright, John Hunter, Daniel Cambell, Thomas Ballard, Asel Norton, John Neilson, Edward Finel, Solomon Cambell, George Hunter, Elisha Andrus. Thoma Mansfild, Rial Nevland, Jeseph Munger, Ezekial Sayles, Stephen Sayles, Edward Hysted, Simeon Boler, Gabriel Strang, Amos Woodworth, Timothy Edwards, Peter Clements, James Seely, Ahab Sayles, Jabos Tuttle, Philip Monger, Abner Scidmore, Solomon Scidmore, Increase Child, Joseph Seely, Mordcai Sayles, John Scidmore, John Scidmore, Jur., Zopher Scidmore, Abijah Tuttle, Jonas Titus, Philip Rogers, Jur., Savenus Dunkan, Philip Ingersol.

Poughkeepsie April 24th 1778.

       Sir, I have received the Petition signed by you & others the Inhabitants of Saratoga & Cambridge Districts. You must be sensible that I have no other force under my command but the militia of the state; that to send a Body of Troops to be stationed at the several Places you mention & to give equal Protection to every other Quarter which may be in like manner exposed to the incursions of the Enemy, would be altogether out of my Power, unless I was to call the greater part of the militia into the field. The Legislalture passed a Law for raising 700 men for the Defence of the State, a due proportion of which I have ordered to be raised in Charlotte & Tryon Counties & at Schoharie; the Residue in the Southern Parts of the State where the Inhabitants are much exposed to the incursions of the Enemy from New York & its neighbouring Posts; and I have exempted all those Regim'ts from Drafts to fill up the continental Regiments in order that

Pg 212

they may be the better enabled to defend themselves. I was sensible notwithstanding that the withdrawing all the Troops from the Northern Department would leave the Inhabitants of the Northern & Western Frontiers too much exposed. I therefore wrote to Genl. Washington on the Subject & have prevailed on Genl. McDougall to permit Greighton's, Alden's & Warner's Regts. to remain for the present where they are, and I trust, this force with the Spirited exertions of the militia will give you security against the small force that the Enemy can send against you. I think it would be inexpedient to keep large bodies of the militia out in the field as this would prevent the cultivation of our Lands & much distress the Inhabitants. The Cont'l Troops & the Companies I have ordered to be raised will be sufficient to guard the Prontiers ag't small Parties or oppose any sudden Incursion & if the Enemy should come with greater force they must of course move slow, and afford Time for the militia to be collected, which the command'g Officer on such occasions is empowered to do with wait'g for further orders.

       You may rest assured that every Succour & Protection which I can give you will at all times be afforded & that I will be attentive to your Safety. I am &c.

[G. C.]

Dirck Swqrt Esqr. & others Inhabit's of Saratoga & Cambridge Districts.

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