Zachariah Tufts Revolutionary soldier in Morgan’s sharpshooters

Zachariah Tufts

Revolutionary soldier in Morgan’s sharpshooters

Zachariah Tufts was one of many Tufts who served in the Revolutionary War. He was from the Medford, Massachusetts Tufts family descending from Peter Tufts, the immigrant of 1638. Zachariah had a full record of service. He served around Boston in the beginning of the war then signed on with Daniel Morgan’s Riflemen, a very historical and effective unit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Morgan

*(image credits below)

Zachariah was born 15 December, 1759 in Medford, Massachusetts. His father, William, was a gallant soldier at Louisburg, Nova Scotia in 1745 http://tuftsgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/11/tufts-military-history-part-one-before.html . Zachariah’s brother, William, was killed during the Revolution in 1777.

At the outbreak of the American Revolution, Zachariah was just fifteen years old and living in Woburn, MA with his mother Katherine (Tufts) Wyman and her second husband Nathaniel Wyman. Zachariah’s enlistment record from Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Vol. 16 shows his duty with the Massachusetts regiments:

• Tufts, Zachariah, Woburn, List of men belonging to Capt. John Wood's co. who took the oath in Middlesex Co. May 27, 1775, required by Congress to be taken by the Mass. army; also, Capt. Wood's (5th) co., Col. Samuel Gerrish's regt.; order for advance pay, signed by said Tufts and others, dated Cambridge, June 1, 1775; also, Private, Capt. Wood's co., Lieut. Col. Loammi Baldwin's (late Col. Gerrish's) 38th (also given 37th) regt.; muster roll dated Aug. 1, 1775; enlisted May 5, 1775; service, 88 days; also, abstract for wages from Aug. 1, 1775, dated Camp at Medford, Sept. 1, 1775; also, pay abstract for Sept., 1775; receipt for amount of abstract dated Chelsea, Oct. 31, 1775, and signed by Capt. Wood; also, company return [probably Oct., 1775]; also, receipt for money in lieu of bounty coat dated Medford, Dec. 28, 1775.

His pension record states his 1776 service:

• In the year 1776 did duty as a private in Capt. Hale's Co. in Col. John Starks regiment N.H. 

The pension record also states his service from 1776 to 1780:

• The years 1777, 1778 & 1779 did duty as a private in Capt. Hale’s company in Col. Morgan's Regiment of riflemen. 

These pension records are from Cheshire County, New Hampshire where he was living in 1818.   

The other record in Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors… is from later in the war: (a five-year veteran of many battles at this time, he signed on for another three years.)

• Tufts, Zachariah, Descriptive list of men raised in Middlesex Co., agreeable to resolve of Dec. 2, 1780, as returned by Joseph Hosmer, Superintendent for said county; age, 21 yrs.; stature, 5 ft. 9 in.; complexion, light; hair, light; eyes, blue; occupation, laborer (also given farmer); engaged for town of Woburn; engaged April 1, 1781; term, 3 years.

So, young Zachariah joined up with the local regiments after the first battles of the Revolution at Lexington and Concord. He probably mustered out with the rest of the family on the alarm of Revere and then signed on in the next month with a formal regiment. Colonel Gerrish’s Regiment was formed June 1, 1775 and was at the Battle of Bunker Hill and the siege of Boston.  He would have been shoulder to shoulder with many Tufts cousins there. I like to say the British would have been hard pressed not to have a Tufts in their sights when firing at the Massachusetts militia. It appears he remained there when other units set off for Quebec in the winter of 1775 since he was awarded the bounty coat in Medford in December. He would join the other units soon enough.

In 1776, Zachariah served with Colonel John Stark’s New Hampshire regiment. Stark’s Regiment of the New Hampshire Line was initially the 1^st NH but in 1776 it was renamed the 5^th NH. In the spring of 1776, they were sent to northern New York in relief of the ill-fated Quebec invasion. They were in action at Trois-Ri·vières Quebec and were in the retreat from Canada and Lake Champlain conflict. The 5^th NH was successful in slowing the British invasion which culminated in the battle of Fort Ticonderoga and Battle of Valcour Island. These key battles prevented the British from splitting the colonies early in the Revolution. An excellent historical novel that covers this campaign is Kenneth Roberts’ Rabble in Arms. Following these two battles, the 5^th NH was transferred to the Continental Army and fought at the battle of Trenton.

In 1777, Zachariah signed on with Daniel Morgan’s Light Infantry Regiment from Virginia and served with them until 1779. They were very effective in the war because of their rifled long barreled guns which they used to target British officers and cause confusion in the British lines. They were certainly a hardened unit. They had experience in the Indian wars and in 1775, to reinforce Boston; they had marched 600 miles from Virginia to Boston in just 21 days. Afterwards, they were in Benedict Arnold’s ill-fated expedition to capture Quebec by way of the Maine woods. They piloted boats up the Kennebec then tried to haul them over the height of land and descend through the swamps into Canada. While Morgan’s troops fared better than others, many men were lost to starvation and many turned back. Their attack on the city was a horrible defeat and Morgan himself was captured and exchanged later.

In June 1777 Morgan’s Rangers were the 11^th Virginia Regiment. They were assigned by General George Washington to harass and pursue the British around New Jersey and in August they went to the Saratoga, New York area where they were actively in the fight at Bemis Heights and Freeman’s Farm. At Bemis Heights history records an order to directly shoot a British general which was executed by Timothy Murphy of Morgan’s regiment. Zachariah is later on the roll with Murphy at the fort at Schoharie, New York. The final surrender of British General Burgoyne at Saratoga signaled another end to the British attempt to split the colonies. (Francis Tufts was a hero at Saratoga and promoted in the field. Zachariah’s brother, William, was killed at the Battle of Bennington during this campaign. Their stories will be told in another story later.)

Following Saratoga, Morgan’s men and Zachariah returned to General Washington’s army and were in action in New Jersey again. Exactly which Virginia unit Zachariah was in for certain years is unclear. Parts of the Virginia units were under Morgan and one pension of Zachariah’s states 15^th Virginia Regiment. Some were at the Battle of Monmouth and many of the 15^th were later captured at Charlestown, South Carolina in 1780.

We do know that Morgan’s regiment were in pursuit of General Clinton’s British Army where they chased the British to the Battle of Monmouth in 1778 but the Rangers were not engaged. The next day Morgan’s regiment followed their retreat toward Sandy Hook NJ. Colonel Morgan himself chose four men to scout the British, and Zachariah was one of them. According to What Manner of Men: Forgotten Heroes of The American Revolution by Fred J. Cook (Morrow and Co. 1959), these four followed them virtually to the water’s edge and captured a British officer’s coach. “The men returned to camp riding in style.”

In 1780 Zachariah served in a New York regiment.

He was enrolled in Bogart's company of Harper's regiment, from May to November, 1780. Previous to and subsequent to that enrollment he served under both Richtmyer and Hager as ranger.

Source: "Military records of Schoharie County veterans of four wars" by George H. Warner.Albany, N.Y. :: Weed, Parsons and Co., 1891. Transcribed by K. Torp

http://genealogytrails.com/ny//schoharie/revwar_roster.html

Also: A Roster of the Men Stationed at the Middle Fort in Schoharie on October 17, 1780

Colonel John Harper's Regiment of New York State Levies
Privates:

Ellerson, David
Murphy, Timothy
Leek, William
Tufts, Zachariah
Loyd, William
Wilbur, John

More detail of the actions at Schoharie County, New York can be found online and in local histories. It appears from brief review of the history of Schoharie County that this area was a key portage from the Mohawk River travel route between the Hudson River Valley and the Great Lakes and often targeted by the British army invading from the north. The American defenders of Fort Schoharie were outnumbered greatly but held on. At one point the British offered a flag of truce for surrender but the former members of Morgan’s Rangers shot at the approaching British to prevent the surrender. The rebels knew they would suffer severely if ever captured because of their sharpshooting tactics.

During his service at Fort Schoharie, Zachariah was wounded on October 17, 1780. Details of this service can be found in Revolutionary Rangers: Daniel Morgan's Riflemen and Their Role on the Northern Frontier, 1778-1783 by Richard B. La Crosse. It is also detailed in 1780-1980 The Bicentennial Book of The Schoharie and Mohawk Valley Raids available on line at

http://www.threerivershms.com/schoharie.htm

The extent of Zachariah’s wounds is not detailed. It does say he was wounded when his scouting party was retreating to the fort.

Now, a party of Indians were seen approaching the barn of John Becker near the fort and a small party from the fort was sent to attack them. After several shots were fired Sergeant Cooper received a ball in the leg and some of his comrades picked him up and began a retreat back to the fort when Cooper received another ball through the body and after returning to the fort Cooper died from his wounds. Zachariah Tufts was wounded on entering the fort and Samuel Reynolds received a ball in the forehead while entering the fort and fell dead at Jeremiah Loucks feet who also had just entered the fort.

 Presumably, Zachariah recovered enough to travel home and, as stated before, he enlisted again in 1780 from Woburn for three years. I have found no further detail of service from 1780 until the end of the war but they may exist or he could have been recovering at home on the rolls in Woburn. Regardless, he was married in 1783 and started a family.

Zachariah is also mentioned in “An Historical Address, in Keene, N.H., on July 4, 1876”. That oration given by William Orne White on July 4, 1876 at the country’s centennial celebration pays tribute to the soldiers and patriots of Cheshire County. “Zach Tufts, Known by some persons as Morgan Tufts, because he was one of Morgan’s Rifleman, is well remembered still; a man, one blow from whose brawny fist, was long a terror to any interloper who dared to play any mischievous pranks when the removal of a building was going on.” The good Reverend White goes on to pay tribute to other local soldiers. 

Family of Zachariah Tufts

Zachariah was the son of William from John, James, Jonathan, and Peter Tufts the immigrant. His mother was also a Tufts: Katherine Tufts the daughter of William from James, Jonathan and Peter. She and William were first cousins. Named for her mother Katherine (Wyman), she married Nathaniel Wyman in 1772 after William’s death.

Zachariah married Molly Washburn in 1783 and moved to Keene, New Hampshire where he left a very large legacy. Many of his 12 children had large families as well and many more soldiers are among them I have tried to detail them in a readable fashion below. There are bound to be some mistakes. I have found a few just preparing this detail. Much of this information comes from the Tufts best reference Tufts Kinsmen 2010 and Vol. II, (2012).  Much of it also comes from available resources on line such as ancestry.com. Please forward any additions to me or corrections or leave them in the comments section. I am sure many of the gaps are living people and haven’t pursued their families for privacy reasons. Family descendants of this hero may still be in existence in the area today. I am looking for any local descendents to help me find Zachariah’s grave. It should be marked and recognized as all veterans should be.

ZACHARIAH TUFTS

Born: 15, Dec. 1759 in Medford, MA

Died: 12, Mar. 1828 in Keene, N. H.

Married: 2, Oct.  1783 in Keene, N. H. to:

MOLLY WASHBURN, or Polly, daughter of Simeon and Jemima (Gary) Washburn

Born: 29, Apr. 1765 in Attleborough, MA

Died: 23,  Aug. 1836 in Keene, N. H.

had 1) Sarah, 2) Lucinda, 3) William, 4) George, 5) Daniel, 6) Zachariah, 7) Joshua, 8) James, 9) John, 10) Mary, 11) Abigail, 12) Caleb.

Sarah was born in 1783 and married Eleazer Coffin in 1809 and may have lived in Chester, Vermont, where Eleazer was born in 1766. I am looking for any information on this family to complete the lineage.

• Lucinda was born in 1785 and married Daniel Smith of Keene in 1800. They lived and passed in West Fairlee, Vermont. They had Nathan, Harriett, and Monroe F. They left Smith and Badger families. Harriett married Elisha Badger.) Their graves can be found on findagrave: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=104639252
• William was born in 1787 in Keene. He may have removed to Grand Rapids, Michigan and married. There are some William Tufts there in the Greenwood cemetery.  I would love to complete this lineage if anyone has information to share.
• George, (possibly George S) was born December 29, 1788 married Martha (Patty) Linkfield in 1810 in Winchester New Hampshire and had Benjamin, Elizabeth, George (Jr.) Sarah, Martha, Albert L Tufts. She died around 1820 and he married Lydia Putnam in 1826 and had Amos Putnam Tufts. His record is unclear possibly because of errors in records. His census record of 1850 in Winchester states he was born in Connecticut. The New Hampshire vital statistics from Winchester clearly have his birth and death records and his marriage to Patty Linkfield.  Tufts Kinsmen and some ancestry.com trees say she passed on Christmas 1820 but I have found no record of her death. The record in History of Cheshire and Sullivan Counties shows that George, left with six children under the age of ten, then married Lydia Putnam, (and then had Amos P. Tufts) after Martha’s death. Also, the birth record of George’s son Benjamin and other children states their mother was Lydia Putnam. At close inspection the record is dated 1906 as are all of the records from Winchester. Research may show they were all transcribed in 1906 but I have not been to Winchester historical society yet to confirm this. Benjamin was born in 1811, soon after George’s marriage to Martha and the initial could be read as Benjamin L or S. Benjamin died in 1832 at age 21 and his death record also states his mother was Lydia Putnam. While census records can be wrong, researchers can also be wrong, so this George may be from another descendant but this is not likely. George died in 1860 in Winchester. (Tufts Kinsmen has the notation “Capt.” But no explanation of any military service.)

George and Martha’s children:

• Benjamin Linkfield Tufts was born in 1811 in Winchester and died in 1832, single. I have found no other information about what stole this young man from his family at age 21.
• Elizabeth Linkfield Tufts was born 12 November 1812. She married William Henry Lawrence and had 12 children in Winchester and Warwick, Massachusetts. She died in 1858 in Warwick.
• George Tufts Jr. was born 22 November 1814 and died there in 1856, single. No description of his death is listed.
• Sarah born in 1817 died as an infant (1818)
• Martha, (1818) also died young, (1819).
• Amos P, born January 11, 1823 in Winchester, New Hampshire married Eunice Hutchins in 1846 and had five children. He later married a second wife, Olive T. Smith and had two children. Amos owned a steam sawmill in the village of Ashuelot near Winchester in 1884-1885, possibly on the Northfield Road. (Gazetteer of Cheshire County). This house may still be in Ashuelot, just over the covered bridge off Route 119 on the old Hinsdale Road. There is also a cemetery there called the Tufts Cemetery. North of Route 119 here is located Tufts Mountain, Tufts Pond and Tufts Brook.

Amos and Eunice’ Children:

• Amos L, died at age 1
• Charles E. Tufts was born February 29 1850 and died in 1930 in Tampa, Florida. He was a farmer there according to his passport application which included a small picture. He married Catherine Jane Smythe according to Kinsmen. No further information of this family have been found but Kinsmen states they had no children.
•  
• Walter Eugene Tufts was born 23 November 1853 in Winchester and died there in 1893. He married Elva Emeline Putnam in 1886 and had no children.
• Ella Augusta Tufts was born 1 October 1855 and died in 1933 in Worcester, Massachusetts. She married George Franklin Howard in 1880 in Winchester and had at least one son Charles Roswell Howard.
• Adelie Carrie Tufts was born in 1862 and died in 1936 unmarried.
• Amos and Eunice may have had another child who died as an infant.
• Amos and Olive’s children:
• Horace Smith Tufts was born 6 May 1872 in Winchester, NH and died in 1948 there. He married Cora M. (Fuller) Butterfield in 1913 in Keene, NH. They had James A Tufts and Russell F:
• James Amos Tufts was born in 1915 in Winchester and died in 1996 in Winter Park, Florida. He married Mary Teresa Fish and had a daughter Christine. He served in World War II as an aircraft mechanic.
• Russell Fuller Tufts was born in 1918 and was living in Syracuse, New York in 1998. He and his wife Stephanie had Alexander F and Merriam L.
• George Archie Tufts was born in 1874 and died in 1876. (Kinsmen) 

Zachariah’s children continued:

• Daniel was born in 1791 and married Eunice Watkins in Chester, Vermont in 1810. They had eight children in Vermont. It appears he was a Wheelwright and is listed in the census as living at the Chester Town farm in 1870. (His death is probably October, 10 1877 as indicated by the record below and by Kinsmen but that record might make some think it is his son Daniel’s. Many ancestry.com trees list the younger Daniel’s death date as July, 10 1877.)

Daniel and Eunice’s children:

• Sarah Tufts 1814-1866. She died single.
• Holly Daniel Tufts (Daniel) was born in 1817. His death record has not been seen by me. Kinsmen states the date as his father’s, possibly due to the error above, and some family trees agree or list it as July 10, 1877 and possibly as Washington, DC. . He married Mary Ann Benton in 1839 and had:
• Sabra Maria Tufts was born in 1840 in Vermont and married John Langdon Britton a carpenter and civil war soldier of Chesterfield, NH. They had 5 Britton children in Surry, NH. (Nearly 60 years old he served in the 2^nd NH infantry as a musician and was later discharged disabled in 1862 from Virginia and served from 1863 to 1865 in the Veteran Reserve Corps.)
• Celuda (or Celinda) Jane Tufts was born in 1842 in Andover, VT (no record) and married George Wilcox of Surry and had 3 Wilcox children. They both died in Surry.
• Owen Benton Tufts was born in 1843 in Andover, VT and died in 1903 in Ilion, NY. He married Lavina Fairfield and had 4 children near Ilion, NY. He served in the 16^th Vermont Infantry and was a merchant after the war in NY. (More is available on this hero and his family.)
• Sidney Daniel Tufts was born in 1845 in Andover, VT. He married Jerusha Emma Snow of Meriden, CT in 1866. They had two children George S. and Arthur S. who both died as infants. He passed in Meriden in 1891, she died in 1924 there.
•  Another daughter, Rhoda Ann Tufts, is listed in Kinsmen stating she was born in Andover VT in September 1849 and died in January 1850. Perhaps a small stone in a cemetery somewhere is the only record of this.
• John Tufts was born June 1, 1819 in Chester and died there in 1891. He married Mary Ann Richardson of Landgrove, VT in 1850 and had 7 children there.
• Amy Rosanna Tufts was born in 1851 in Landgrove, VT she married Oscar Slate and had at least 4 Slate children near there or possibly Bernardstown, MA. She remarried Evander Starkey after Oscar’s death and lived in Northfield, MA (more info needed).  
• Abigail (Abby) Udora Tufts was born in 1852 in Landgrove, VT and married George F. Davis in 1868 in Chester, VT and had 6 Davis children there, later removing to Charlestown, NH where she passed in 1942.
• Clara Ellen Tufts was born August 30, 1854 in Landgrove, VT. She is listed in many census records including Londonderry, VT in 1910 with a Goddard family, and 1920 as a patient in hospital in Waterbury, VT, single, age 61. Her death record eludes me as it has other researchers.
• Jerome Wesley Tufts was born in 1856 in Chester, VT. He married first, Cora E Perry and had 13 children. She died in 1903 and in 1909 he married Phoebe Ruth Brockway and had 2 more children. Jerome and Cora’s children:
• Ernest N. Tufts was born in 1879 in Springfield, VT. He was a blacksmith. He married Ina Olney and had Leslie Arthur Tufts and Helen Elizabeth Tufts. Their families have not been followed down to living persons, but their families may be in Vermont today. After Ina died in 1920 he married Nellie Susan Whitcomb.Eva Mabel Tufts was born in 1881 and married Fred Pollard in 1900 in Weathersfield, VT. (Her marriage record states Eva E.) They appear to have had three children in Springfield and she may have remarried Joseph Wynott in 1936.
• Bertha E. Tufts was born in 1883 and married Eben Rumrill. No family record has been seen by me. She may have divorced and remarried Alexander MacDonald in Concord, NH later.
• Bert Elmer Tufts (twin of Bertha) was born in 1883 and married Ida Blodgett of North Walpole, NH in 1908. He died in 1972 in Los Angeles, CA. No record of a family was found.
• Cora Rest Tufts was born in 1886 and married Hiram Burton Peters and had a family in Springfield, VT. She remarried to William Blake and had 2 more children and died in Springfield in 1959.
• Jerome Wesley Tufts Jr. was born in 1888 in Springfield, VT. He married Ruth Damon first, then Myrtie Gertrude Gouch and may have had 2 daughters Elsie G Tufts and Charlotte Gertrude Tufts
• George Consul Tufts was born January 27, 1890. He married Helen Blunt in 1915. No record of a family has been found.
• Herbert R. Tufts was born Aug 8, 1891 and died in Concord, NH in 1913. His death certificate states he died of Acute Nephritis (2 weeks) and that he was a teamster by trade.
• Luella May Tufts was born in 1894 in Vermont and married George Augustus Shaw in 1910 in Concord, NH. He died in 1914 in Salisbury, NH (death record states suicide by drowning). In 1918 she married Harold Leroy Mahoney. They appear to have had one daughter Haroldine in Concord in 1924. A quick search revealed she passed away in California in 2004 and was a Navy veteran.
• Harold W. Tufts was born in 1895 in Vermont in 1895 and married Shirley May Cummings in 1920 there. They moved to Hudson NH and in the 1940 census he is a “poultryman” with his own farm and a daughter Pauline born about 1921. Harold’s death is recorded in 1965 in California. Further records of this family elude me.
• Edith S. Tufts was born in 1897 in Vermont. She married William S Dennett in Concord, NH in 1914. They may have had at least one daughter and lived in Leominster, MA and Springfield, VT.
• Mildred R. Tufts was born in 1898 in Vermont and married George Leslie Thomas and may have had one son Donald then married Alfred Bengsch and died in California in 1982. More information about this family would be appreciated to fill in the gaps.
• Milton J. Tufts was born in 1902 in Vermont. He married Anna Scalpen and after living in different places settled in Litchfield, NH and had a large family. He was in the poultry business. (Perhaps with his brother in nearby Hudson). Milton and Anna’s family is only determined by the new 1940 census. They appear to be:
• Milton Tufts Jr. 1924-1945 US Navy killed in action in WW II
• Walter L. Tufts 1927-
• Harry J. Tufts 1929-
• Lorraine Tufts 1932-
• Beverley Tufts 1935-
• Lucille Tufts 1937-

Jerome and Phoebe’s (Brockway’s) children: (continued)

• Eunice Laura Tufts was born in 1916 in Vermont. In 1936 she married Herman Maynard in Vermont. They appear to have had a family in Burlington, VT.
• Warren Neil Tufts was born in 1918 in Vermont. I believe he    married Laura Blow and had Louisa and Mary Tufts in Vermont and died in Maryland in 1966.

John Tufts children (continued)

• Warren Britain Tufts was born in 1860 in Vermont and married Ella Eliza Stoddard in 1881 in Brattleboro, VT. Before he died in 1894 they had:
• Mary E Tufts was born in 1883 and died in 1884.
• Charles W Tufts was born in1884 in Vermont. No further records found.
• Ada E Tufts was born in 1886 and married Walter Ray in Northfield, Massachusetts. Her mother Ella was living with them in 1920.
• Florence E. Tufts appears to have only lived 7years from 1888 to 1895.
• Elmer E Tufts was born in 1862 and died in 1913 in Manchester, NH. The death record states he previously lived in Uxbridge, MA and was divorced.

Daniel Tufts children: (continued)

• Charles P Tufts was born in 1824 in Vermont. He married Mary Cook in 1851 and had a family in Wallingford, VT. He served in the Civil War in the 5^th Vermont Infantry but unfortunately only served a few months as he died of disease in December 1861. Their children:
• Ellen Jane (Jennie) Tufts was born in 1852 in Vermont. She married Steven Cowan of Canada in 1872 in Newport, NH. More information needed. (Kinsmen states she married George Franklin Lovejoy of Hinsdale, NH but I did not find any record of that.)
• Alice (Mary) Tufts was born on Vermont in 1852 and Kinsmen states she married William Hager but in the 1880 census she is living with her widowed mother in Wallingford, VT with 2 siblings and a son Willie Hager.
• Martin Tufts was born in 1856 in Wallingford and died there in 1866. His death record states lung fever or whooping cough.
• Belle (Arabella Julia) Tufts was born in 1858 in Vermont. She married Walter William Benson in 1882 and died in 1944 in Rutland, VT. No evidence of a family was found.
• Frank Tufts was born in 1860 in Vermont and died in 1873 aged 13.
• Edward J Tufts was born in 1863 in Vermont and married Anna S. Holden in 1886. Anna may have passed away because in 1900 Edward is listed in the Shelton, CT census with a daughter Edna and mother in law Louise Holden. Kinsmen states she died in Wallingford in 1895.
• Henry Tufts was born in 1826 in Vermont and married Clarissa Lyman in 1852 in Boston, MA. He died in Boston in 1853 and was recorded as a piano maker but Kinsmen states Wheelwright. He may have served in the Mexican War, (Kinsmen) and there are several other military records which could be his but that will be researched later. His family:
•  George Julian Tufts was said to have been born at Mount Desert Island in Maine in 1853. He married Isabella Lincoln Parker of Boston in Medford, MA in 1876. In the 1880 and 1900 census they are in Boston with the children below and he is listed as a lawyer.
• John Lawrence Tufts was born in 1877 in Boston. In 1901 he married Ida Ayers in Boston. I haven’t been able to track him beyond the marriage record.
• William Lyman Tufts was born in 1879 in Boston No other information was found for him.
• Clarissa E Tufts was born in 1881 in Medford, MA. Records show she married John Burroughs of Connecticut in 1906. They appear to have had a daughter Henrietta and a son John and daughter Edith but this is not confirmed.
• Henrietta was born in 1889 and married Roy Wilson in 1910. They had at least one son Allen Wilson according to census records.
• Henrietta Tufts was born in 1855 and married James Hutchins of Maine in 1874. They appear to have had a son Charles. More information needed.
• Sophia Tufts was born in 1828 in Vermont. She married first Joseph E. Lyon in 1847 in Lowell Massachusetts then Frank C. Smith in 1863. No family records have been found for them.
• Maria Tufts was born in 1832 in Vermont. She may have married Frank Ball according to Kinsmen but I have not found a record of it.
• Louisa Ann Tufts was born in 1835 in Vermont. She married her first cousin George Tufts in 1852 in Chester, VT (the son of her father Daniel’s brother James). That must have been a large wedding party. They may have daughters Georgianna and Kate but the records were not found. A Georgianna and Kate appear in the 1870 census in Dublin, NH with Frank Ball, no spouse and a younger son (Ball). This could be the husband of Louisa above or some other arrangement not discovered yet. George’s children are listed below with his family and second wife Sophia Bishop.

Zachariah’s children: (continued)

• Zachariah Tufts (II) was born in 1793 in Keene, NH. No other records were found for him. Perhaps he died young.
• Joshua Tufts was born in 1795 in Keene, NH. No records of a family were found. There was a Joshua in Charlestown NH in 1850 and 1860 but no confirmation this is him.
• James Tufts was born in 1797 in Keene NH. He married Catherine Watkins in 1820 (of Albany, NY?).  They had the children below settling in Keene where he passed in 1857;
• Abbie T Tufts was born in 1823 in Keene, NH and married Samuel Richardson in 1846 in Northfield, MA. They had 8 Richardson children in Keene.
• William Tufts was born in 1824 in Keene and died in 1890 single
• George Tufts was born in 1829 in Keene and married Louisa Ann Tufts (above). They may have had children but I have not seen actual records of this. Subsequently he married Sophia (Bishop) Fairfield in 1865 in Peterborough, NH and had:
• Charles H Tufts was born in 1867 in Stoddard, NH. He married Sarah Josephine Backus in 1892 in Cambridge, MA. No family was found for them
• Eunice Jane Tufts was born in 1834 in Keene, NH. She married George William Eastman in 1852 in Vermont and had 10 Eastman children in Keene or nearby Swanzey, NH.
• Sarah Tufts was born in 1836 in Keene and married first in 1857 to Romeo Bowen with whom she may have had 2 children Adah Sophia (1858), and Abby or Anna (1861) (not confirmed). They were divorced in 1863. She married for the second time in 1864 to Benjamin Ruffle, (or Ruffley-a soldier). This information from the marriage record states he was the son of William Ruffle and Abigail Tufts Ruffle. Sarah and Benjamin were divorced in 1866 and she remarried in Keene to William Thomas. No details of family from these marriages was found or their death records. Please forward corrections or additions.
• John Tufts was born in 1800 in Keene and died in 1848. No record of a family or spouse was found.
• Mary Tufts was born in 1802 in Keene NH. Her records elude me (again) but she may have married a William Kelsey of Landaff, NH then William Eastman of Vermont with no children resulting from either marriage.
• Abigail Tufts was born in 1804 in Keene. Her records are difficult to determine as her cousin Abigail was born in 1803 in Marlborough, NH to her uncle Ebenezer, (Zachariah’s brother below). To top that difficulty for later researchers, the girls were married a day apart April 9 and 10, 1822. Kinsmen states that Zachariah’s daughter was the Abigail that married Joseph Harwood of Hillsboro, NH and had 8 children in Keene then married William Ruffle of Liverpool, England in 1842 and had 4 additional children in Keene. Kinsmen makes the note that the first children were born Harwoods but raised as Ruffle family. One of these sons must be Benjamin who married Sarah Tufts, the daughter of George (above).
• Caleb Tufts was Zachariah’s twelfth and last child. He was born in 1806 and died in 1873 in Westhampton, Massachusetts. He married Beriah Alvord of Massachusetts; (just about the strangest name this author has come across-Hepzibath Fosdick being the other). They raised a family in Norwich and Westhampton, and he remarried with no issue.  Their children:
• George Hayward Tufts was born in 1839 in Norwich, MA. He married Julia Augusta Wright of Northampton, MA and had George A, Emma A, Mary A, Julia F, and Charles H. George Hayward appears to have served the Union in the 27^th Massachusetts Infantry.
• Catherine Beriah Tufts was born in 1833 in Westhampton, MA and married Cyrus Dwight Alvord in 1852 in Northampton and had at least 2 children in Williamsburg, MA. She may have married William Brown in 1877 after Cyrus death in 1861. (war?)
• William Henry Tufts was born in 1838 in Westhampton, MA and married Emeline J Baxter in 1859 in Windsor, MA. They had Ellen, Isabel, and Frank. History records his military service in the Civil War and burial in Wisconsin. (Once again there are too many William Tufts to nail down his service without more research.)
• Caleb Franklin Tufts was born in 1841 in Westhampton, MA and married Clara Rebecca Chapin in 1866 there. Kinsmen states he served in the 31^st Massachusetts infantry in the war and that he and his wife are buried in Otis, MA.
• Otis Fisher Tufts was born in 1844 in Westhampton, MA and married Sarah Rutter. No family is recorded but they may have settled in Ohio after he served in the war.
• Elbridge Cushing Tufts was born in 1851 in Westhampton, MA and may have died in Connecticut unmarried. (More research needed.)

Zachariah’s brother, Ebenezer, lived in New Hampshire also. He lived in Marlborough in 1810 and Roxbury, NH in 1820. He was born in 1761 in Medford and died in 1830 in Roxbury NH. His first wife, Hanna Livingston,  was from Billerica, Massachusetts. Their children;

•  Hannah was born in 1781 in Billerica MA and married John Pierce in Medford MA passing away in Concord VT.
• Catherine was born in Billerica in 1783 living only a month.
• William Tufts was born in 1785 in Pepperell, MA and married Anna Cutter in 1812. He died in 1814 but they had 2 daughters in Cambridge, MA.
• Ebenezer Tufts was born in 1787 and died in 1809 in Boston, single
• Betsey Tufts was born in 1790 in Lunenburg, MA and married Moses Greenfield
• Eliakim Tufts was born in Keene, NH in 1794 and died in 1860 in Charlestown, MA, single.
• Lydia Tufts was born in 1795 in Marlborough, NH and married Rufus Chapin and raised a family in Milford, MA.
• Catherine Tufts was born in 1796 in Townsend, MA and married Reuben Clark of Dedham, MA. No family noted.
• Phebe Tufts was born in 1799 in Marlborough, NH and married William Sayles of Wrentham, MA and had 6 children passing in Detroit, MI.

Ebenezer remarried Elizabeth Travis and had:

• Abigail Tufts was born in Marlborough, NH in 1803 and married Joel Fairbanks of Dedham, MA. They had 7 Fairbanks children in Pepperell and New Boston, NH where they both passed.
• Eliakim Tufts was born in 1806 and may have died young.

• 
  

*There are many sources for images of the soldiers of the day. One good web site I found was the blog  http://flintlockandtomahawk.blogspot.com/ It has images from many sources but attributes this one to Gary S. Zaboly. Gary Stephen Zaboly is a highly regarded expert on the 18th-century Rangers. He is a Fellow of the Company of Military Historians, and a member of the New York Historical Society. Gary has written many articles for military magazines, and has illustrated and co-written several titles, including Blood of Noble Men, and Roger's St Francis Raid. His artwork appears in permanent exhibitions at The Alamo, Texas, and at the Lake George Historical Association. (From the Osprey Publishing website, this offers two books of his.) This image is labeled as a Continental soldier turned Ranger. While it is difficult to be sure what array of uniform Zachariah did wear, period dress of the soldiers would include these types of clothing like leggings, a green or brown coat,  hat and whatever accoutrements could be tied upon the body.  

William Tuffs Part 2: who are you?

Searching for the family of William Tuffs has been just as interesting as searching for his military record(http://tuftsgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/03/william-tuffs-history-or-mystery.html)

This Revolutionary hero and veteran in Elkhart Indiana left few records of his family origin.

Tufts Kinsmen states he was the son of James Tuffs (Kinsmen numeration; 12-5) of Medford Massachusetts and Piscataqua (Portsmouth, New Hampshire area).  Kinsmen states James was a lumber trader living in the woods of New Hampshire and sending lumber back to Medford by ship. Carl Mauck states in Portrait of a Patriot that, according to William’s own testimony, William’s father was John Tuffs an innkeeper in Mystic (Medford) and Boston. The History of the Tuffs Family by Patricia Tuffs Snyder states the Tuffs family was from Glasgow, England [sic] and were of Scottish and English descent. They were early settlers of New Hampshire, living off the land in the wilderness. We may assume that Snyder meant Glasgow, Scotland (there is no Glasgow, England).This part of her book isn’t laden with facts. She claims there were three Williams who served in the Revolution and that they were grandfather, father, and son. This information is not confirmed but there were many William Tufts who served.

The search for William’s father John Tuffs/Tufts of this time period is confusing. I would like to trust the research of Adams in Kinsmen, but too many records conflict. 

There is Deacon John Tuffs/Tufts of Windham, New Hampshire and Belfast, Maine whose story is told in my previous blog: http://tuftsgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/10/here-is-my-first-attempt-at-article-on.html

That story tells the conflicting stories of Deacon John either belonging to the Tufts of Medford from Peter the immigrant or being an immigrant from Ireland who was shipwrecked off Nova Scotia. In the New Hampshire records, I have found a John Tufts of Newbury who bought 2 parcels of land in Chester, New Hampshire in 1744. This describes him as a trader, no age given.  There was also a John Tufts of Newbury who was a minister of great renown who can be clearly tied to the Medford Tufts family through Peter the immigrant’s son Peter.

If we assume William was born in 1750 (even though he once stated he was born in 1740) we have the following John Tufts who could be William’s father:

I have attached the numbering for each person here from Kinsmen 2010 to better understand them. The first digit indicates the family number and second indicates the number in his family. They are all from Peter Tufts (A-3) the immigrant. His first son being 1-1 and second (James) being 1-2. The William Tuffs/Tufts subject of this story is 35-8.

      John Tuffs (12-3),  born Feb. 1704 in Piscataqua (New Hampshire) to James Tufts (4-1) and Hannah Woodman, descended from James(1-2) and Peter (A-3). This is the John who married Agnes Foote in 1731 in Newbury and raised the family in West Brookfield Massachusetts. This John was also the brother of James (12-5) who Kinsmen states is William’s father. Dr. James Hayden Tufts believed this John Tuffs was from Ireland, of Scots-Irish descent. 

 John Tufts (13-2), born in Feb. 1705/6 in Charlestown, Massachusetts was the son of James Tufts (5-1) and Ruth Grimes. He was descended from Jonathan (1-7) and Peter (A-3). This James was previously believed to the James above (4-1) but Kinsmen 2010 reversed them. This John (13-2) was a mariner, married twice, and raised a family in Medford, Massachusetts from 1727-1745, then removed to North Yarmouth, Maine where his second family was born. His children born in Medford included a William (1727) (37-1), John (1729)(37-2), and James (1738-1739)(37-6), all of whom could be our William Tuffs’ father (except James 37-6 who died young). John, the son, (37-2) was an innkeeper in Boston running the Yankee Hero. He married Mary Collins of Boston and had four daughters. He is mentioned in later court records regarding a divorce and indenture for property. His daughters all lived, had families, and died in Boston (1756-1828) . William certainly could be this John’s son born in 1750 (before the daughters) but no record of this has been found. John’s name also appeared on a loyalist list but he was later a constable so he must have only been suspected. If he was William’s father it would have been turbulent in that home if William’s claims of taking part in the Boston Tea Party are true.

John Tufts (3-3), born in Feb. 1688/9 in Medford was the minister mentioned above. He lived in Newbury, Massachusetts and raised a family of four from 1715-1726. He was the son of Peter (1-1) from Peter (A-3).  He died in Amesbury in 1750. John (3-3) had two sons, Joshua, who was in the ministry, and John, who only lived one year. It is unlikely that John (3-3) was William’s father and he was probably not the buyer of land in Chester in 1744, so there could have been two John Tufts in Newbury.        

John Tufts (16-1), born in 1723 in Medford is the Deacon John who raised two families in Windham, New Hampshire and Belfast, Maine. He was also the subject of the shipwreck mystery. His son, John, was a captain and master mariner. The younger John had two families in Newburyport from 1787 to 1794 but being born in 1749 would have been too young to be William’s father. Deacon John descended from John (6-2) and John (1-10) and Peter (A-3) or came from Ireland according to legend.

John Tufts (17-6), born in Feb. 1726/7 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, was the son of Nathaniel ((6-3) from John (1-10) and Peter (A-3). He married Rebecca Tainter in 1759 in Boston and died in 1760 in Maine. They had no children of record and were married after William’s birth date(s).  

Any other John Tufts were born after 1730 and would have been too young to have been William’s father. The other note I made from these records is that William’s service in the Revolutionary War claimed he had experience as a mariner. During the Champlain Valley conflict, William was in Skeenesborough on Lake Champlain, New York building boats; he also served aboard the Trumbull and the Royal Empire. This would indicate to me that he was from one of the families that were seafaring men, such as John 12-3 or John 13-2.

William was said to have married in Boston but no record has been found of it (yet). He is credited with daughters Helen (Sally),  and Mary (Ann or Polly).; sons, William James Tuffs (1794-1865), and Dexter and possibly a second, John. William is listed in the 1790 census in Schoharie, New York. By 1820 he had moved to Medina County, Ohio. He was in Portage, Ohio in 1830 and his pension application was filed there in 1832 but none of these censuses list his spouse by name or enumerate any children. Most trees on the ancestry.com link William to James (12-5) as stated in Kinsmen, but I have seen no sources to prove it, so these trees could originate from the Kinsmen record. When it comes to William’s family, there are varying family trees. Some indicate the children as stated above. One tree of Olmstead families indicates his wife was Katherine. History of the Tuffs family by Patricia Tuffs Snyder does not detail any of William’s children besides the son William James (1794-1865). For the purposes of this story we will follow that history and refer to the Williams as follows:

William Tuffs (I) (1750-1848) (The war hero and subject of this story)

William James Tuffs (1794-1865) His son with unknown mother

William Tuffs (II) (1824-1865) child of William James and Phylinda Olmstead

William Wallace Tuffs (1853-1925) child of William (II)

William’s (I) children

Helen (Sally) Tuffs (1785-1840) (These dates are estimated from various family trees.) No records of birth and death have been located. It is agreed that she married Jonathan C. Braman about 1820 and had up to seven children. The only record of such is:

 Eunice Marilla Braman. Her record of marriage to Joseph Preserved Eastman is recorded in History and genealogy of the Eastman family of America….. available online. It records their marriage in Wyoming, New York on September 5, 1841 and her birth as Mar 1, 1822 and her parents as Jonathan and Sally (Tuffs) Braman. According to the Elsie Eastman family tree on ancestry.com, the records document the following family: Eunice and Joseph lived in New York then New Berlin, Wisconsin in 1850. They divorced, and in 1860 they both lived in Muskegon, Michigan but Eunice and the boys lived with her second husband, Edmund Towne. In 1870, Eunice and Edmund were in Owatonna, Minnesota where she died in 1879. Joseph Eastman remarried twice after divorcing Eunice and Towne was married twice before and once after Eunice. Eunice and Joseph’s children were: Oliver O. and Jonathan Orson Eastman. Eunice and Edmund Towne had Mary Merilla Towne in 1862 who died in Los Angeles in 1954

Oliver Orange Eastman was born March 2, 1843 in Attica, New York. He followed the family to Wisconsin and Michigan where he married his step sister Anna Elizabeth Towne in 1862. He served in Company H, Michigan 9th Cavalry Regiment on 14 March 1863 and mustered out on 20 May 1863. He then enlisted in Company Battery L, Michigan 1st LA Batty L Light Artillery Battery on 20 May 1863. He was promoted to full Corporal on 27 May 1865 and mustered out on 22 Aug 1865 in Jackson, MI. Because he had lost his leg, he received an invalid pension. Oliver and Anna lived in Iowa and Minnesota before removing to Snohomish, Washington where he lived his last days. They had:

               Marion Leroy EASTMAN 1866 – 1944 Spouse & Children: Mamie Marie JEWETT 1872 –                      1923

            Elma May EASTMAN 1896 – 1977

            Roy Winfield EASTMAN 1898 – 1956

            Sylvia Irene EASTMAN 1902 – 1931

            Cecil Clinton EASTMAN 1905 – 1912

            Lloyd Marian EASTMAN 1913 – 1914

             Ella Merilla "Ellie" EASTMAN 1868 – 1955 Spouse & Children: Carmi Bert CRAMPTON                        SR 1860 – 1901

Carmi Bert CRAMPTON JR 1886 – 1984

Bertha "Berta" CRAMPTON 1887 – 1969

Anna Amelia CRAMPTON 1888 – 1911

Bernice Marian CRAMPTON 1890 – 1980

Frederick James "Fred" CRAMPTON 1893 – 1969

Harold Paul CRAMPTON 1895 – 1943

Oliver Dewey CRAMPTON 1898 – 1901

Spouse & Children: Franklin Granger "Frank" MULLIKEN1865 – 1948

Gladys Irene MULLIKEN1903 – 1972

Ralph Franklin MULLIKEN1906 – 1951

Alta Margaret MULLIKEN1908 – 1993

Evelyn Maud MULLIKEN1908 – 1908

Charles G MULLIKEN1911 – 1913

     EDMOND OLIVER EASTMAN SR 1871 – 1952 Spouse & Children: MARY MAUDE                    OVERHOLT 1880 – 1965

                 Edmond Oliver "Ollie" EASTMAN JR1910 – 1962

                 Etta Elizabeth EASTMAN1916 – 1980

                 ELSE VIRGINIA EASTMAN1920 – 2009

     Franklin Burnett "Frank" EASTMAN1877 – 1964 Spouse & Children: Mary May                                UNZELMAN1888 – 1963

                Jasper A EASTMAN1912 – 1930

                Naomi Valeria EASTMAN1914 – 2002

                Elaine Evangeline EASTMAN1916 – 1989

    Clyde Garfield EASTMAN1880 – 1923 Spouse & Children: Fredolyn "Freda" Naomi                           UNZELMAN1884 – 1941

               Ray Clyde EASTMAN1906 – 1967

               Buelah May EASTMAN1907 – 1990

              William G "Willie" EASTMAN1908 – 1993

              Ivy Freda EASTMAN1909 – 1930

              Clyde Guy EASTMAN1910 – 1997

              Dewey Gordon EASTMAN1911 – 1992

              Daisy Viola EASTMAN1913 – 1929

              Marcelious "Marcy" Orange EASTMAN1916 – 1965

              Marion Oliver "Red" EASTMAN1916 – 2001

              Oral O EASTMAN1917 – 1979

              Orval Harold EASTMAN1920 – 2002

               Goldie Ione EASTMAN

            Jonathan Orson Eastman was born in 1846 in Ohio and followed the family through Wisconsin,                 Michigan, and Minnesota. He did not go to Washington and died in Owatonna, Minnesota in 1938.               He married Anna Catherine Snyder in 1870 in Wisconsin and had;

              Elizabeth Merilla EASTMAN1872 – 1921

              Anna Amelia EASTMAN1876 – 1878

              Mabel Eunice EASTMAN1878 –

  Olive Anna EASTMAN1880 – 1966 Spouse & Children: Byron Miton BOWE1881 – 1957

Harold Melvin BOWE1909 – 1991

Kenneth Eastman BOWE1913 – 2011

Sergeant Stanley Ervin BOWE1915 – 2002

              Etta E EASTMAN1883 – 1960 Spouse & Children Orlie William FARNHAM1884 – 1966

(Unknown child)

Donna May FARNHAM1908 –

Evelaide FARNHAM1911 –

Everett L FARNHAM1915 – 1989

Dorothy L FARNHAM1916 – 2001

William John FARNHAM1920 – 2003

Elements of these families must exist today in the state of Washington. Any information about their ancestor William Tuffs would be appreciated. The Elsie Eastman tree has many pictures of these descendents on ancestry.com. Please feel free to add or correct these families in the comments section for everyone to see.

Mary Marilla Towne (1862-1954), Spouse & Children:

Alfred Lane 1864 –

Eunice Halvorson Lane 1881 –

James B. Belvidere

Eva Smedley Belvidere 1888 –

Charles C. Hoff 1862 –

Marilla Hoff  1903 – 1905

These marriages and children are not confirmed. I am looking for any information on them or their descendents.

William (I) Tuffs children: (continued)

William (James) Tuffs was born 31 March 1794 in Schoharie, New York and died 23 May 1865 in Byron Township, Michigan. In 1823, he married Phylinda Olmstead and soon after removed to Michigan. William was a farmer, born in New York in 1792” (or 1794) according to jabezolmstead.com William and Phylinda may have lived first in Saginaw, Michigan, but by 1844 they had settled in Byron Township, Kent County, Michigan. An historical sketch of Byron Township quotes “Mrs. Tuft” as saying that they moved onto their place on the last day of December 1843 and the only sign of a house was a small sled load of lumber.  Their children were George, William, Elizabeth and Eliza. William may have served in the war of 1812 but it is not clear which of the Williams are which in the records available on ancestry.com (see part 1).  William also may have served in the Mexican War (according to Tuffs Family History). William and his son William (below) died within days of each other in 1865.

Researchers of the Olmstead family have discovered more about this family in recent years and have shown the family to be as listed below. The Olmstead family researcher, Doreen Dolleman, recorded the main differences relating to Phylinda’s marriage to William James was that the children were her own and not from his previous marriage as stated in Patricia Snyder’s article. Doreen Dolleman discovered Phylinda and William’s marriage record of 1823. Both of the above articles are available by internet search and are quoted below. At http://jabezolmsted.com/VOL_9.2/JOB_OLMSTED_UPDATE.htm

“La William Reynolds Clerk of Common Pleas of Stark County July 12, 1823. I joined William Tuffs and Philinda Olmstead in holy bounds of matrimony according to law. Orlando Metcalf Justice of the Peace”

William James Tufts children:

 Mary (Ann or Polly) Tuffs (1832-Ohio). She married Samuel B. Osgood which is confirmed by a Michigan marriage record but other records of Samuel are difficult to find. One states that Samuel B Osgood was the son of Hiram Osgood of New Hampshire and his wife Eliza Edgerley of Exeter, NH. Samuel and Mary are enumerated in the 1850 Newaygo, Michigan census with an infant (Ellen?).The Edgerley family tree on which I found the connection to Hiram also states Samuel died in 1862 by drowning in the Ohio River. There are also records of Mary marrying Thomas Ainslie of England and possibly having a family. Two Osgood children (Hiram and Clara) are listed in the 1870 Byron Center census with Phylinda Tuffs in the home of William and Elizabeth (Tuffs) Evans. Please contact me with any information on their descendents.See the notes in comments below

George (?) Not much info has been found on this son. He possibly died in Middlebury, Indiana after 1850 (Kinsmen). Adams discontinued the line from here. (Possibly confused with George Tufft-below)

William (II) (1824-1865) was born in   Ohio and followed family to Byron Township. He died about May 21, 1865 from disease contracted in the Civil War as a prisoner of war. He had been released and made it home but succumbed after hearing of his father’s death. He married Almira Jane Cronkright and his sons William Wallace and Alonzo Tuffs were born in 1854 and 1856 in Byron.  A graphic description of this couple’s pioneer life in Ohio is in “History of the Tuffs Family as told in 1985 by Patricia Tuffs Snyder. Further research has found some variations in this story but it really tells the story of this pioneer family.

When they moved into t heir new home, they had one corner with pine needles spread on the floor for a bed. Their table was a large block of wood, with two smaller ones to sit on. They had a fork and spoon, a large ladle, an iron (spider) skillet, and an iron kettle. Until a well was dug, she carried her wash to the big spring at Spring Grove a mile and a half from the cabin. This is the same place where the Tuffs family had their reunions for many years.

William and Almira cut wood and hauled it to Grandville. Each trip they were able to buy something for their home. They bought a cow, a pair of geese, and windows for their cabin. They worked from sun up to sun down because as yet they had no candles or lanterns.

One day while eating, a large skunk wandered through the cabin, in the back door and out the front, before he left he sprayed them both with his scent. From that day till her death, Almira had her own personal war with skunks. She would hunt them down no matter where they might be. It was a joke for many years among family and friends if any one saw or smelled a skunk they would say “send for Almira, she’s a good skunk hunter”.

William often took his sons to visit his father and sister. Sometimes Almira would go but she’d rather stay home and accomplish some of her goals. She could not stand her sister-in-lay, Elizabeth. Elizabeth had married William Evans. They lived with her and William’s father in Byron Township. Elizabeth had to be waited on for the least little task. She never split wood, carried water, killed chickens, or planted fields as Almira did. The two women had very little in common. Elizabeth had become addicted to morphine in her early teens. A doctor had given it to her for some minor ailment, (at least in Almira’s mind). This addiction lasted her whole life. Everyone in her family suffered her change in moods.

When William went to visit his father, Almira always got a surge of ambition. Anything from cutting and splitting a huge pile of wood, to building a chicken coup. She did not waste good strength on resentment.

The one thing that Elizabeth Evans made that Almira admired was the family “hair wreath”. This was made from locks of hair of all the family members, woven into flowers and buds that were mounted on satin or velvet and framed. Elizabeth Tuffs Johnson, (grand daughter of Almira) has the Tuffs family Hair Wreath today. It truly is a work of Art. The last hair to be put into it was Libby’s (daughter of Alonzo), and Francis (son of Wallace).

Their children:

William Wallace Spouse & Children: Ellen C (Ella) Leonard1873 – 1949

Francis Tuffs1903 – Spouse & Children Hazel M (Brown) Tuffs1900 –

Muriel A Tuffs1923 – (1940 census Wyoming Michigan)

Lawrence J. Tuffs1905 – 1905

Lewis Leonard Tuffs1907 – 1908

Elizabeth Tuffs1910 –

Patricia Tuffs1913 – 1995 Spouse & Children: Stanley Harry Snyder1917 – 2004

Damian Lawrence Snyder1941 – 1999

(presumably the author of History of the Tuffs Family)

Eliza (1824) married Robert Konkle and had a large family in Michigan and died in 1897 in Byron Michigan. Spouse & Children: Robert KONKLE1822 – 1886

Sophronia Phylinda KONKLE1846 – 1874

Abram W KONKLE1848 – 1913

Wallace Robert KONKLE1851 – 1927

Ella Elagan KONKLE1853 – 1913

Hallie Dellaphine KONKLE1855 – 1873

Sidney James KONKLE1858 – 1925

Catherine E KONKLE1860 – 1860

Myrtle A KONKLE1864 –

Elizabeth (1837) married William Evans and died in 1925 in Michigan. Spouse & Children: William I EVANS1837 – 1907. (no records of family have been found)

William (I) Tuffs children: (continued)

 John Tuffs, born about 1800 was said to live in Elkhart, Indiana and one census records this. It does not, however, enumerate who his spouse and children are. John is nowhere to be found after 1850 and at least one tree notes he must have died before then. We do find records of his son George who went by the spelling TUFFT. George was in the Civil War; he enlisted in Company A, Michigan 13th Infantry Regiment on 17 January 1862.Mustered out on 04 July 1865. One tree, which states George’s death record, indicates his father was Simon Tufft and his mother was Esther Draper.  That record can be seen at the Michigan site http://cdm16317.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/search/collection/p129401coll7

If anyone has more information on this family, please forward it.

Family of George Tufft: Spouse & Children: Sarah A. Phillips1846 – 1926

Clara Edna Tufft1874 – 1930

                        (married three times)Spouse & Children: Samuel Eugene Hanson1871 – 1957

Spouse & Children: Joseph Smith1867 –

Milo Allen Smith1893 – 1952

Harley Smith1898 – 1978

Spouse & Children: Charles Mathew Mahoney1866 – 1918

Max Leo Mahoney1901 – 1961

Lloyd Mahoney1904 – 1963

Clifford E Mahoney1908 – 1971

     George Emery Tufft1879 – 1943 (no family found)

     Clifford Jacob Tuffts1885 – 1961Spouse & Children: Helen Viola GARNER1868 –

Roland G Tuffts1909 – 1978

Elements of this family may exist in Michigan today. George may have lived in Lee in Allegan County, Michigan.

Dexter Tuffs. There is no record of a Dexter Tuffs, son of William or any other Tuffs. There is the possibility that this name comes from a record of George Elbert Reed’s application for the Sons of the American Revolution under William Tuffs the Revolutionary hero.

This is the only mention of a Dexter I have found regarding the Tuffs family but it is a last name in this record. It appears to show an additional daughter of William. If that is the case, she married a Dexter and had a daughter who married a James Fisher. Their daughter Harriet married Ira Reed and their son George is the applicant. There are records of Ira Reed but they list no family of his wife Harriet. Census records of 1870 and 1880 show that Ira and Harriet lived in Jamestown, Indiana and her parents (James Fisher and Unknown Dexter) were from Ireland and New York (respectively).

Again I have to ask if anyone has information on these families, please contact me to fill in the blanks. What I really seek is anyone who may have more information on the patriarch of this family William Tuffs the soldier and hero of many battles. If he is from our Tufts clan he joins many other soldiers and patriots. The family he is assigned to by many researchers is already full of soldiers and patriots and,  if William Tuffs is not from our group, we still salute his service. I would especially like to hear if any of this family state they are of Irish descent (Scots-Irish).

I am sure there are records I have missed and clues that may lead me to them. At some point in one’s research there comes a point at which you must publish what you have and hope it opens up some more doors. Please feel free to distribute this article to fellow researchers or suggest avenues for me to pursue. For now William Tuffs remains memorialized in history and remembered by family and others.