Col. Nathan Payson, 1761
Nathan Payson spent nearly half his life fighting in various conflicts to defend Connecticut and to advance British dominance in North America. He is one of more than two dozen veterans of wars fought by the Colony of Connecticut from 1637 to 1763 who are interred in the Ancient Burying Ground.
When Nathan Payson signed on in 1756 to fight in the French and Indian War, he was appointed a lieutenant colonel. He died in Hartford in 1761, just 40 years old, his epitaph proclaiming his loyalty to the British crown and the Colony of Connecticut.
Seven of these veterans, including Nathan Payson, served as loyal subjects of the British crown in the French and Indian War. That conflict ended in 1763 with the defeat of the enemy French and their Native American allies, leaving Great Britain in control of much of North America east of the Mississippi.
When Nathan Payson signed on in 1756 to fight in the French and Indian War, he was appointed a lieutenant colonel. He died in Hartford in 1761, just 40 years old, his epitaph proclaiming his loyalty to the British crown and the Colony of Connecticut.
Dr. Eliakim Fish, 1804
“To the Memory of Doct Eliakim Fish ob May 7. 1804, AE 63. In life by all respected Death by all lamented An honest man The noblest work of God”
Dr. Eliakim Fish served in one of the French and Indian War’s last campaigns. Great Britain laid siege to Havana, Cuba, which belonged to Spain, France’s ally in the conflict. Dr. Fish, 21 years old and fresh out of Yale, enlisted in 1762 as a surgeon’s mate in the Connecticut regiment that was part of the besieging force.
Connecticut’s recruits had been promised a considerable reward from the wealth of the city of Havana once it was captured. Havana did fall to the British, but the Connecticut troops saw little financial compensation. In fact, hundreds of them never left Cuba, succumbing to tropical diseases. Dr. Eliakim Fish was one of the lucky ones to survive and return to Connecticut.
Learn more about the stories of people buried at the Ancient Burying Ground:
- Reverend Thomas Hooker and Government by the Consent of the People
- Nathaniel Willet and his role in Connecticut’s Witchcraft Trials
- Governor William Leete – Connecticut and New Haven Became One
- John Allyn, securing the Royal Charter and the Charter Oak
- Elizabeth Willson from Hartford as a successful Colonial Business And Commercial Center
- Col. Nathan Payson and Dr. Eliakim Fish, who served in the military in several Colonial Conflicts
- Richard Bernham and Ebenezer Watson in Connecticut’s Run-Up To Rebellion
- Captain Pownal Deming and Moses Dunbar – opposing roles in the American Revolution
- Jeremiah Wadsworth – Creating A New State And Nation
- Learn more about the People of Diverse Races and Ethnic Heritages found at the Ancient Burying Ground