Rev. Aaron Thomas

Ancestor #: A114126

Note: Wayne County is in the far northeast corner of Pennsylvania. Milanville is less than 170 miles from Somers, Connecticut.

GEDCOM Note

1996 - Beverly Branning Green, 4406 Island Drive, North Topsail Beach, NC 28460 910-328-0939 olsalte@aol.com

LDS file,#AF95-100332; submitter, Shawna Q. Keegan 101 Pearl St. Bangor ME 04401; first 4 ch. only listed in LDS AFN-092U4M -submitter: ArleneThomas Davidson-15545 Merriman Livonia MI 48154- [wrote, no ans. - bbg]

DAR Patriot book: came to Cushetunk abt. 1755; b.c. 1721/22 CT per DAR. d.1790 PA ArFvNY other sources: old newspaper & histories: Researchers Ruth Molloy & Penelope Branning info. per Skinner Records: Moses and brother AaronThomas came to Cushetunk abt.1755 History of Wayne County PA 1798-1998 by Walter B. Barbe and Kurt A. Reed: p.257 Manchester Twp. pg.185 [also lived next to John Lassleys] "The Thomas Saga" by Marjorie T. Anderson 1991 @ Equinunk Hist Soc. in 1997 - Boonville Graphics Inc. from the files of Richard Eldred: Aaron Thomas is listed as one of Revolutionar War Soldier buried in Wayne Co. Per The Historyof Wayne, Pike and Monroe Counties, Pennsylvania, authored by Matthews, page 456, Aaron Thomas and his brother, Moses, came in about 1755. Moses built the first block-house at Milianville, PA, just above the mouth of Calkins' Creek.

from EARLY HISTORICAL EVENTS IN THE DELAWARE VALLEY, by John T. Bradley ; ( A series of historical articles of interest to everyone who resides in the Delaware section of the county ).: There is an account that Moses & Aaron Thomas brothers were sent to this section to look after the interests of the Penn Brothers but they bought their land under the CT claim. Another statement is that in 1750 Moses came to Cushetunk and located on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware almost directly across from where in modern times the New York Transit Company had a Pump Station. The farm is yet spoken of as the Thomas farm. As one of the older generations of Rosses married a Thomas. The farm was then called the Ross Farm. Although but little is said of Aaron Thomas he must have filled in his chapter in local affairs. He located below the Cochecton Falls, the same farm being in the possession of the Hockers for a number of years, supposedly 1 1/2 mi. from his brother Moses. Their first cabins were within the stockade. The property now owned by James O. Card in 1968. per: The Honesdale Citizen newspaper: Rachel Thomas' father Aaron Thomas, was know as the Rev. Aaron Thomas. He seems not to have an established church, but is suspected of having married together many of the early settlers. If he did keep records they have been lost or misplaced. So this is the reason that there seems to be so many unvalidated marriages in the area.

1790 Census Township: Cosikton District County: Northampton State: Pa Solomon Decker 1 6 3, next: Aaron Thomas 1 4 1, John Lashley 1 1 1 , Cornelius Lashley 1 0 2 and 4 away: Reuben Decker 1 0 1

per Clark Leonard: The family moved to Litchfield County, CT in 1747. In 1755 Moses and Aaron Thomas were members of a committee of 104 Connecticut families who were granted land by the Indians, in the Valley of the Delaware River in Wayne County, PA. This was a dubious deed at best achieved by trickery. The family moved west, likely going to Kingston, New York and then to Port Jervis on the Kings Highway, now called the Old Mine Road or route 209. This would be a long perilious journey by wagon. They arrived in June 1760 in Cushetunk, now Milanville, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, where they were among the early settlers. They may have replaced Simon Calkin and Timothy Skinner who left in 1761 after warnings from the government of Pennsylvania about Connecticut settlers not being wanted on land claimed by Pennsylvania. The family settled on the about 1/2 mile south of Calkin's Creek on the west side of the Delaware River on the 100 acres Aaron had selected on a previous trip to the area. After the Indian Raid of 1763 the family moved down river and settled about 1.7 miles south of Calkin's Creeks on the Pennsylvania side. Aaron was called Rev and may have been a Minister, but did not have a church. He may have married some of the couples and this is why there is no record of so many marriages. In 1775 Aaron had his land surveyed and applied for and received a warrant from the state of Pennsylvania. Aaron Thomas served as a Private in Captain Peter Mills Company of Artificers during the Revolutionary War. Aaron signed some legal papers in 1774/75. Aaron and Alice lived the rest of their lives on the farm he had homesteaded in 1760. Aaron and Alice died prior to c1810.

Zipporah Button, Aarons wife in Barbour Collection per KLS in 2007 (our ancestor is not the Aaron Thomas married to Zipporah Button - bbg- per a Scranton PA genealogist) (our ancestor is not the Aaron Thomas married Zipporah Button, as first reported by Penelope Branning and other early researchers in 1990).- bbg

Jul 29, 2008 Questions have been raised regarding the identify of the wife of Aaron Thomas. This has occurred because there were two Aaron Thomases, both from Connecticut, either of whom could have come to the Cushetunk area during the late 1700s. The first Aaron Thomas married Allice/Else Chittester on April 14, 1767, in Suffield, CT. This data is recorded in Suffield Church and Suffield Vital Records. The church records that record this marriage are: Records of the Congregations Church in Suffield, CT, page 124. The other Aaron Thomas married Zipporah Button, both of Preston on Oct 1, 1751, in Preston, CT. This data is recorded in the Preston Vital Records. The only way to determine which Aaron Thomas came to Cushetunk, and who his wife was is to compare all possible information and to eliminate one of these candidates. Since very few original data sources exist, it was also necessary to do "sideways genealogy" looking at children and grandchildren for clues, particularly for clues for the given names of the wife of Aaron Thomas, was it Allice/Else or was it Zipporah? First note the names of the children of the Aaron Thomas who came to Damascus. Among them were Aaron, born about 1757 in Litchfield, CT where it is documented that Aaron Thomas and his wife were located, prior to moving to Damascus. There was also Elsie, born about 1750, also in Litchfield, CT. There were 7 additional children, but none were named Zipporah. To determine more about Aaron Thomas and his wife, a search was made to determine, which if any of his sons served in the Revolution. Reference was made to New York in the Revolution, Volume I, page 67, where it is recorded that both Aaron Thomas and Joseph Thomas, his brother, served as Artificers in Captain Peter Miils Comapny, under Lieut. Col. Luther Baldwin. It can be concluded that the Aaron that served in this citation was the son of Aaron, Sr, and not Aaron, Sr. himself. This conclusion is based on the age of Aaron, Sr., who would have been 55 years of age at the time that his sons enlisted in 1778, or too old to serve. Since both Aaron and Joseph are documented as being in the Revolution, Pension Records were sought for these two men. No pension was found for Aaron, which indicates that neither he, nor his dependents requested a. 2 Jul 29, 2008 pension. The pension record was found for Joseph Thomas, Pension Record # W2972. These records were obtained and examined. In the Revolutionary War Pension Records of Joseph Thomas, W2972, we find the names of Joseph Thomas' children, particularly Aaron born November 8, 1791 and Elsey born December 24, 1793. There were no children in this family named Zipporah. Also we find that Joseph Thomas married Phoebe Tyler, a daughter of Bezaleel Tyler who died at Minisink. It is also recorded that this couple, Joseph Thomas and wife Phoebe Tyler lived in Damascus, PA, and after the War moved to Great Bend, Susquehanna County, PA. From this information we find the following facts, Aaron Thomas, Sr. had 9 children, and among them a daughter named Else, and a son named Aaron, several other daughters and sons, including son Joseph, but none named "Zipporah". We find that sons Aaron and Joseph served in the Revolution, enlisting in 1778. We find that son Joseph and his wife were from Damascus, PA, meaning that his brother Aaron was also, and that the parents were there too. We also find the names of all of Joseph's children listed in his pension records; there was son named Aaron (for Joseph's father), a daughter named Elsie (for his mother), and several others but none named Zipporah. From this data we know that we have Aaron Sr.'s sons, Aaron and Joseph, who were from Damascus, and can conclude that of the two Aaron Thomses who were from Connecticut, it had to be the one who married a woman named Else that came to Damascus. In order to test this conclusion, vital records were examined for the other Aaron Thomas who remained in Connecticut. First we find that there was a daughter "Zipporah" born on Dec 11, 1753, to parents Aaron and "Zipporah" Thomas in Preston, CT, and recorded in the Preston Vital Records. There was also a son Aaron born Nov 16, 1754, to Aaron and Zipporah Thomas, Preston, CT, Preston Vital Records. There were no daughters named either Alice or Else or Elsie born to this couple, or any other couple with a surname of Thomas. Next, the pension records were sought for any Aaron Thomas who lived in Connecticut during the Revolution. Those of Aaron Thomas, born on Nov. 16, 1754 were located and examined. These were pension records #S35098. Note two facts, no other pension records for any Aaron Thomas who served in Connecticut were found, and the ONLY Aaron Thomas listed in the Connecticut vital records who was born on Nov. 16, 1754, was the son of Aaron Thomas and "Zipporah Button". These records indicate that Aaron, son of Aaron and Zipporah resided in Connecticut during the Revolution, and that afterward, Aaron, son of Aaron and Zipporah moved to Detroit, Michigan, were he lated died. From this information we know that the Aaron Thomas, who was the son of Aaron and "Zipporah Button", did NOT move to Damascus, PA, nor did his parents. We also find that no children by the name of Else Thomas were born in Connecticut, suggesting that no mother named Else Thomas existed in Connecitcut at that time. We do see that a child named "Zipporah" Thomas was born in Connecticut in 1753 making it certain that this child's parents, Aaron and Zipporah, lived in Connecticut at that time. From the above information is is certain that the Aaron Thomas who moved to Damascus, PA had a wife named Else, and this was Else/Allice CHITTESTER. by KLS

6/5/09 per KLS Connecticut Nutmegger, Vol. 18, No. 3, Dec. 1985, Aaron Thomas is buried in Old Overlook Cemetery, Damascus, PA

Aaron Thomas Birth: Oct. 2, 1723 Somers, Tolland County, Connecticut, USA Death: 1810 Milanville, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, USA Aaron Thomas born 10/2/1723 in Somers, Tolland Ct and died 1810 in Milanville, Wayne Pa Married Alice Chittester on 4/24/1747 in Somers, Tolland Ct. Alice Chittester born 6/17/1728 in Wallingford, New Haven Ct and died abt 1810 in Milanville, Wayne Pa Their 9 Children Dorothy (Dolly) 1748- Mary (Polly) c 1750- Elsie 1756- Lois 1756- Charity 1756- Aaron ll 1756- Benjamin 1759- Joseph May 1761- Rachel 4/23/1763- Contributed by Bev Branning Green-Branning Family Historian Burial: Overlook Cemetery Damascus Wayne County Pennsylvania Created by: A M P Record added: May 05, 2010 Find A Grave Memorial# 52009635

Family Data Collection - Deaths Name: Aaron Thomas Thomas Death Date: 1810 City: Milanville State: PA Country: USA