| Bible Records, Etc. |
| Samuel5 Tyrrell |
As pointed out to DOR-Terrill by Brian S. Tyrrell (a descendant of Samuel5), the Bible page containing the records of the Samuel and Eunice Tyrel family of Hebron, New York, in the early 1800s can be found in the Revolutionary War pension files at the National Archives in Washington, DC. 1 The page, which was then already loose in the family Bible, was sent to the Commissioner of Pensions in Sept. 1838 to support Eunice's claim for a widow's pension under the Act of July 7, 1838, which provided her the opportunity to draw such a pension. 2
The PDF file (see link above) shows an Ancestry.com scan of a microfilm image of the Bible page. The page, badly torn and difficult enough to read in its original form, is more difficult yet in this form. Fortunately, we have an 1838 transcription from the original by Marinus Fairchild, who appears to have been Eunice's pension claim agent. 3 A photocopy of the handwritten letter which contained this transcription and accompanied the Bible page to Washington is included in the PDF file (or click here to see a transcription of it). A second (partial) transcription, which also appears to have been from the original, is contained in a 1931 letter among the documents in the pension file. 4 This letter, written in response to a request from an L. B. Benedict, of Arlington, MA, contains a gleaning of information from the various claim forms and affidavits in the file. A photocopy of this letter too is included in the PDF file (or click here to see a transcription).
From this last letter we learn more about Samuel Tyrel. He was born 22 Feb. 1758 in Woodbury, CT. He was residing in New Perth (later Salem), Washington Co., NY, in June 1776, when he first served in the Revolutionary War, as a substitute for his older brother William (there's much more on his Revolutionary War service). He moved to Hebron, NY, in 1777. He married Eunice (surname not given) on 22 Jan. 1782 in Williamstown, in the "Bay State" (MA). And he died in Hebron on 12 Dec. 1834.
The following transcription of the Bible page is heavily dependent on Fairchild's 1838 transcription:
| Holy Bible the property of Sam [top right corner of page torn off] Bot of David Yong price four Dollars [top part of rest of line torn off] Born on the 22d day of February in the year of our Lord 1758 and was maried on the 22d day of January 1782 consort was Born on the 6 day of April 1762 first child Rachel was born may the 14th 1784 2d child Rebeca was born June 7th 1786 3d child Ezra was born July 16th 1788 4 child Samuel was born July 17th 1790 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edward Dodd Clerk (brith)? child (Neva)? was born february the (third)? . . . James (?)? Tyrel 1819 |
The signature of Edward Dodd, Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of the County of Washington, State of New York, 5 apparently signifies notarization of this Bible page, which is presumably in the hand of Samuel Tyrel himself up to Dodd's signature. We can ignore the lines below Dodd's signature, which are obviously extraneous since they were not mentioned in Fairchild's 1838 transcription. We assume someone from the family informed Fairchild of their irrelevance to the claim.
References and further notes
1. Ancestry.com database: Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900, Samuel Tyrel (wife: Eunice), New York, No. W19480; image set T / Trask, Benjamin - Tzor, Gabriel / Tyler, Joseph - Tzor, Gabriel, images 1030-1077. From NARA microfilm series M804, roll 2433. The Bible page (both sides) is from images 1032 and 1033.
2. Samuel Tyrel was first able to draw a pension for his Revolutionary War service under the Act of June 7, 1832. He received partial pay, not full pay, since he had served for over six months but not for two years. After he died, Eunice was paid the money due for the period from the last payment until the death, but nothing more after that. [See Pensions Enacted by Congress for American Revolutionary War Veterans (a VAGenSearch web page).]
3. An 1838 letter from Marinus Fairchild [Esq.] to James L. Edwards, Commissioner of Pensions, Washington, DC. From image 1052 of the pension file.
4. A 1931 letter to L. B. Benedict of Arlington, MA, from A. D. Miller, Assistant to Administrator, Rev. & 1812 Wars Section, (Veterans Adminstration—the National Archives was created in 1934). From images 1053 and 1054 of the pension file.
5. Dodd's title is per another document in the pension file (image 1043).