America 250

A Life Cut Short

The Wadsworth household hosted important meetings and was the site of numerous visits between Generals George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau. Eventually Col. Wadsworth became the commissary for the French troops.

This monument was created for the Wadsworth family by son Daniel Wadsworth. The broken column is meant to symbolize Jeremiah’s life cut short.

Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth and his son, David, 1784.

This painting by Connecticut native John Trumbull is on view at The Wadsworth in Hartford, CT through September 27, 2026. 

Death & Probate 

Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth: July 12, 1743 – Apr. 30, 1804

Jeremiah Wadsworth died at the pinnacle of his life and spectacular career. Following the American Revolution, Wadsworth helped to invest in the infrastructure of Hartford. He built roads and banks, invested in agricultural innovations and trade, amassed acres of Connecticut farmland, and served in the new Congress.

Wadsworth was a founding member of The Society of the Cincinnati. 

A Descendant’s Tribute

This tall obelisk memorial was placed by descendent Charles Albert Hoyt in April, 1895. According to the “Champion Genealogy,” Pownal (also spelled Powning) was named after his maternal grandmother’s family. His first wife, Abigail Hubbell Deming probably died from childbirth. The couple’s son, Eleazer (1785 – 1828), moved to Burlington, VT and married Fanny Follet in 1807.

Pownal Deming’s second wife was Mehitable Boardman (1763 – 1856). Nearby this obelisk is the gravestone for their daughter Elizabeth Deming, who died at the age of two years old in 1787. The couple had another daughter who survived, Elizabeth / Betsy Deming (1793 – 1835).

Pownal Deming’s probate inventory listed large quantities of items, such as the entry above for “chintzes and calicoes.” Deming was a merchant following the war. 

Probate & Heir

Pownel died on April 9, 1795 at the age of 46.

Betsy Deming is listed as “the only daughter of the deceased” on Deming’s probate inventory. Her namesake, a child name Elizabeth, died at the age of two. Her stone is nearby. 

Service:
Mustered April 1775 at the Lexington Alarm from Hebron CT; Sergeant, 2nd Regiment, 8th Company under Capt. Levi Wells, 1775; Bunker Hill under Gen. Joseph Spencer, 1775;
Col. Samuel Wyllys’ 22nd CT Regiment, 1776;
Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, 4th CT Regiment, 1 January 1777; promoted to 1st Lieutenant 15 November 1778; served through December 1780. 

Deming was a member of The Society of the Cincinnati.

Daughters of the American Revolution

The Hartford Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is named after Ruth Stoughton Wyllys. Her second marriage was to her cousin, Samuel Wyllys, in 1777. He was a Colonel in the Continental Army and eventually became a General.  Ruth Wyllys shared with her husband all the dangers and privations of a soldier’s life, and was with him during the winter of 1780 when he was in quarters along the Hudson River with General Washington and his army.
When General Wyllys retired from the army in 1781 he brought his courageous wife back to Hartford to live. They found a home on Main Street across from Historic City Hall Square and near the Wyllys homestead.

Wyllys Family Crest

Woodbridge Family Genealogy

The marriage of George Wyllys to Mary Woodbridge, circa 1737, resulted in three sons who served in the American Revolution.

Epitaph

MR. EBENEZER WATSON / Printer, who Died Sept 16th 1777, / AET 33 His hear was benevolent, he / was kind to the distressed & an / advocate of the injured his life / exhibited the Marks of an honest / Man Friendship to the rights of / human nature At his death which / happened in the years of vigor & / usefulness he received the distinguished / Eulogy the undissembled grief / of a numerous Acquaintances / Man cometh forth like a flower & is / cut down, he flieth away as a shadow / & continueth not ; A. Williams This stone is a replication.

Elizabeth Watson

The stone for Ebenezer’s first wife is located next to him.
Here lies Interr’d / the Body of / MRS ELIZABETH WATSON / wife of MR EBENEZER / WATSON, Printer / who departed this life / April 11 1770 AET 28 / Teach me some Genius / from on high / Like her to live / Like her to die/ To emulate the paths / she trod All humane / generous grate and good

Hannah Watson

Hannah Watson, Ebenezer’s second wife, took over the operations of the Courant for two years. The newspaper was an extremely important tool for communication, thoughts, and opinions during the war, and even propaganda. “Hannah Watson’s articles called for support of the patriot cause and defiantly aided her country’s search for liberty, earning her a place in the Connecticut Journalism Hall of Fame and the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame.” Hannah is buried in Old South Cemetery in Hartford, CT.

Epitaph

Here lies interred the remains of
CAPT. ISRAEL SEYMOUR who was killed
by lightning Aug. 14 1784 in ye 49th
year of his age.
With awful reverence God adore
Whose holy Hand with Soverign power
Did in an instant stop his breath
And clos’d his Eyes in Sleep of Death.

Sermon

Rev. Boardman used this tragedy as evidence for repentenance for his funeral sermon, which was published immediately afterwards. “Awake to righteousness . . . Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out . . . for ye know not when the time is . . . “

Service: 
Capt. of 1st Company,
Col. J. Chester’s Regiment

Pottery Business

“Captain Seymour operated what may have been Hartford’s first earthenware pottery. He advertised for apprectices ‘at the potter’s business’ as early as 1778.”
From the book, “By Their Markers Ye Shall Know Them.”

Epitaph

In Memory of / Mr. Richard / Bernham. Killed / by ye Bloing up of / ye School house: / June 1766 Aged / 18 Years & 3 Months / Son to Mr. Elisha & Mrs. Sarah Bernham

The Schoolhouse

Richard Bernham was 18 years old when he died from injuries due to an explosion. The city of Hartford, like other communities, was preparing to celebrate the repeal of the Stamp Act in May of 1766. For unknown reasons, the schoolhouse was selected as a staging site for preparing the fireworks. A large group was assembled there to prepare when there was an explosion. Nearly 30 men were there and many were severely injured. The gravestone for Richard Bernham explains the cause of his death. Two other people in the Ancient Burying Ground also died from their injuries: Levi Jones and William Gardner.

Among the Dead

Six men ultimately succumbed to severe burns and injuries: Levi Jones, blacksmith John Knowles, Richard Lord, William Gardiner, and Richard Bernham. In addition, the treating doctor also died, Dr. Nathaniel Ledyard, purportedly from an infection treating the wounded.  

Abigail

Abigail was only 19 years old when she died in 1777, but she was already married to Elisha Skinner.

Timothy & George

It was devastating to lose a family member in the American Revolution, but many people made sacrifices. The Pratt family lost two.
Timothy Pratt responded to the call from the Lexington Alarm in 1775. He died at the ages of 32 on May 31, 1783.

George Pratt enrolled in 1778 and was a Payroll Guard. He died much later, in 1805, in his 50th year. 

Father Zechariah

The replication stone indicates the name of the parents, Zecheriah and Abigail. Zecheriah’s gravestone is nearby. He died in the same year as George, in 1805. Abigail may have been responsible for both stones. Perhaps the older one is an indication of what the replication may have looked like. 

Tablestone Epitaph

Sacred to the Memory of the / Rev. Benjamin Boardman / formerly pastor of the Church / in Middle Haddam and late Pastor / of the South Church in this town / He died February 8th A.D. 1802 / in the 71st year of his age

Service to the Church & Militia

Rev. Boardman served as a chaplain beginning in 1775 and throughout the American Revolution for various regiments. Following the war he was the pastor of the Second Church in Hartford, Connecticut.

Click below to read “OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CHURCHES DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION” by Mrs. Albert Hastings Pitkin.

Sermons

Many of Rev. Boardman’s sermons were published and are available online. A sample link is below: