Families Committed to Freedom - The Gilbert Family of Ripton Parish

The Sarah Riggs Humphreys-Mary Silliman Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution celebrates America 250! In anticipation of the July 4, 2026, 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by the 13 Colonies, the DAR wishes to remind everyone of the sacrifices and heroism of everyday men and women who fought for our freedoms that we enjoy today.

John Gilbert and his wife Sarah (Marchant) lived in the ‘Knell’s Rocks’ area of Ripton Parish in the mid-1700’s. John and Sarah had ten children. Three of their sons, John, Lemuel and Thomas, served in the American Revolution.

Every parish had a militia. When the call came to defend the shores of Long Island or to march to New Haven, Fairfield, Norwalk, Ridgefield, and Danbury, the militia from each of the parishes took arms and followed their captains and generals to prevent the British soldiers or the Hessian troops from taking over the area. On July 4, 1779 John and Thomas were in Captain Joseph Birdsey’s Company in Col. Whiting’s Regiment. The Alarm was raised and the militias marched to New Haven and then to Fairfield to repel the British invasion.

Peekskill, NY was a pivotal area in the defense of the Forts and passages on the North River (Hudson River). On March 6, 1777 General George Washington requested Connecticut’s Governor Jonathan Trumbull to send “two thousand of the Militia of your State to march immediately to Peekskill, & there wait further orders….” The CT troops were needed at Peekskill, NY to “secure the Forts and passages upon the North River.” Two weeks later, on 20 Mar 1777, Governor Trumbull and the Connecticut council of safety ordered 2,000 troops to be drafted out of the state militia and marched to Peekskill, N.Y., under the command of Brig. Gen. James Wadsworth. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-08-02-0557

The three brothers were together in Captain John Yeats’ Company commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Dimon and marched to Peekskill, NY October 5, 1777.

Revolutionary War Pension records offer first-hand accounts of the men and women who lived through the war. Lemuel’s and Thomas’ pension affidavits provide insight into their service during historic events of the Revolution.

Lemuel Gilbert petitioned for a pension at the Derby Court of Probate on 10 Nov 1832. He served five years, off and on, from July 1, 1775 when he was sent to Boston to the Fall of 1780 when he escorted four prisoners from Fairfield to Danbury to General Parsons.

General George Washington took command of the Continental Army surrounding Boston on July 3, 1775. Lemuel Gilbert enlisted on July 1, 1775 in the CT State Troops for 8 months. He said “the company was ordered to Boston where we were chiefly employed and quartered during said time. . . . General Washington arrived with 700 riflemen before I was dismissed…. I served 8 months and returned home”.

In early 1776 the British and Hessian forces planned to take over New York City. Several forts and entrenchments were constructed at the narrowest part of the Brooklyn peninsula. Lemuel Gilbert described his role in this defense: “On the first of March 1776 I enlisted for two months with a Company of State Troops or part of a Company under Lieutenant John Judson and marched to Long Island where I was employed with others during said time in building a Fort opposite New York. Of which I had the mortification to see the British take possession the same summer….” “In July following the Company of Militia in Stratford, now Huntington, was ordered to New York under Beach Tomlinson then Captain for two months and shared a part of Col Lewis’ Regiment….”

“…About the middle of March 1777 I was drafted for two months with Bennett Bray, Elisha Hubbell & Nathan Judson of the same Company [Stratford Militia] who marched with me to Peekskill where we were ordered and served our said time…”

“In December 1779 Henry French of our Company of Militia was drafted for two months. I engaged as his substitute and served at Horseneck in a Company of which John Yates was Captain….”

“In the Fall of 1780 I was drafted and served two months at Fairfield….4 prisoners were taken and I was one who escorted them to Danbury and delivered them to General Parsons.”

Thomas Gilbert petitioned for a pension at the New Haven Court of Probate on 10 Nov 1832.

About 1772 Thomas was living in Ripton Parish and was an apprentice learning the carpenter’s trade. David Hubbell, from Huntington, deposed that Thomas Gilbert was an apprentice to his Uncle Richard Hubbell until the age of 21.

He said he was drafted in December 1776 from the Stratford Militia Company for 2 months under Captain John Yates and went to Horseneck. Agur Tomlinson who served with Thomas remembers they went to Horseneck and Kingsbridge under the command of General David Wooster.

In March 1777 he was drafted for 3 months in Fairfield under Captain Edmund Leavenworth and served at Black Rock.

On Sept 1st he enlisted into a Company of Mechanics under the command of Capt. Daniel Pendelton of Stratford and marched to West Point. “I was employed with the Company in building Platforms for cannon & hewing out Pickets….I served 3 months.” Nathaniel Beach also remembered that Thomas Gilbert built “Block Houses and Platt-forms for gun carriages”. When encamped at the Hudson River his company was surprised by a company of Hessians and narrowly escaped being taken prisoner and had to leave his carpenter tools behind.

“In 1779 July I went to New Haven when invaded by the British & was gone 3 days.”

“In June & July 1780 I served 2 more months at Horseneck … under Capt. Jabez Botsford of Newtown.”

No Revolutionary War Pension Record could be found for John Gilbert. He served under Captain John Yeats commanded by Lieut. Col. Jonathan Dimon in Col. Samuel Whiting’s 4th Regiment Militia and marched to Peekskill, NY with his brothers in October 1777.

The DAR is a non-profit women’s service organization dedicated to historic preservation, education and patriotism. Any woman over 18 who can prove lineal descent to an ancestor who served in the American Revolution is a prospective member. For more information on the DAR visit http://www.sarahriggshumphreysDAR.org The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution asks everyone to celebrate the 250th Birthday of the United States of America and the Patriots that achieved American Independence. For more information visit https://honoringourpatriots.dar.org/