52 Ancestors #4: Inviting the Staats Men to Dinner

The prompt for this week was “Invite to Dinner.” If I could pick one ancestor to invite to dinner, without a doubt, it would be my 5G grandfather, Silvester Staats (ca 1754 - 1794). Since this is an imaginary dinner, I'm not going to stop at one, I'm going to invite three generations of Staats men to dinner, Silvester, his son William (1783 - ca 1812) and grandson Hiram (1808 - 1894). Perhaps one day, I will come across the right sources to answer my questions, but for now I can only theorize and wonder. A chance to ask the people involved what they were about would be absolutely amazing. In the interest of getting this posted and not falling behind, I'm going to forego citations so if there are any questions, ask and I'll find them for you.

The first time I found Silvester in the records, he was in the 2nd  New York Regiment of the Continental Army. He had enlisted at Fort Ticonderoga 16 July 1775. When the regiments were reorganized, he reappeared in the 3rd New York Regiment having enlisted at Fort Schuyler on 1 December 1776 although he is listed as a private as early as 21 November. He was assigned to Fort Schuyler until 6 March 1778 when he was granted furlough. He's back at the fort on 14 April and all is well until 10 May 1778 when he is listed as Deserted. On the 5th of May 1778, he is also listed as a Corporal in Butler's Rangers. He switched sides! He next appears on a "Return of persons under the description of Loyalists in  Capt. John McDonnell's Company of the Corps of Rangers, Niagara, 30 Nov 1783." He's a sergeant now, married to Frany and has a one month old son, William. And then he's gone again. When Fanny Quick, Silvester's wife now remarried, and son William petitioned for Crown land in 1796, it's noted that Silvester had died about 2 years previous, but no details are given.

William married Sarah Markle sometime before 1806 and they had four children, Ann b. 1806, Fanny, Hiram b. 1808 and Nelson. William was eventually granted land, but never claimed it. In 1819, Sarah married Nicholas Stevens.  

Hiram is my 3G grandfather. He married Jenetta Stewart 27 November 1834 in White County, Illinois. His birth place, as given in the 1850 - 1880 U.S. censuses was either Canada or the U.S., but there was never any clear indication that he was the grandson of Silvester until his obituary1 was located in 2002. While the obituary pretty much confirmed the connection, it also raised a number of the questions I want to ask these fellows.

The obituary states that Hiram's " father and grandfather were both killed in battle. The former at the battle of Quebec under Gen. Wayne, the latter in the revolutionary war." It also states that "His bereaved mother removed to New York state, but returned to Canada after peace was restored. Hiram remained near Albany, N. Y. working at the tanners' trade until 1833." 

Silvester,

1) Who were your parents and where were you born?

2) What prompted you to switch sides during the Revolutionary War?
3) Where did you meet Fanny and where did you marry?

4) What were you up to between 1783 and 1794? I've been thinking you might have been working with the Indian Department.

5) Did you and Fanny stay married until your death or?

6) Your death was reported as about 1794 and General Wayne was mentioned in your grandson Hiram's obituary. Could it be that you were actually killed at the battle of Fallen Timbers?

7) Were you buried in Niagara or perhaps on the battlefield?

William,

1) Hiram's obituary says that you were killed at the Battle of Quebec under General Wayne. Was that actually the Battle of Queenston on 13 October 1812?

2) No military records have been found for you. Were you actually at the battle or perhaps defending your home or those of your neighbors?

3) Where were you buried?

Hiram,

1) Was it your choice to remain near Albany when your mother returned to Canada? You must have been only 10 or 11 years old.

2) Did you live and apprentice with family?

3) Why did you decide to move to Illinois? There was definitely land available and for a good price or was it because you had met Jenetta and followed her there? How did the two of you meet anyway? You were both in New York for a few years, but Manhattan and Albany aren't exactly neighboring towns.

4) How did you travel to Illinois?

5) Did you stop in Niagara to visit your grandmother, Fanny, on the way?

6) What drew you to Colorado and Evergreen in particular?

It would be interesting to invite all the women in these three families to share stories as well.

1“Obituary.,” Colorado Transcript (Golden, Colorado), 21 Mar 1894, p. 8, for Hiram Staats; digital image, Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection (http://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org : accessed 2 February 2015).