Bethuel Washburn
by
Stefan Bielinski


Bethuel Washburn probably was born in Massachusetts about 1755.

Following the outbreak of hostilities in 1755, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the 13th Regiment of the Massachusetts Line. In January 1777, he was named Quartermaster of the Fifth Massachusetts Regiment. That August, he was appointed Deputy Commissary of Issues - a position he held til the end of the war. By that time, he had relocated to Albany.

In July 1779, he first appeared before the Albany Commissioners on official business. He was concerned with beef, bread, and other supplies. In 1781, he was petitioning Governor Clinton for payment of debts owed him while stating that he would be ruined financially if reimbursements were not forthcoming. He survived the war and was accorded a land bounty right in conjunction with the Albany regiment of the New York State militia.

By 1779, he had settled in Albany as his personal property was assessed as he was living in the first ward house of carpenter Egbert Bradt. At that time, he had just married the widow of Bradt's deceased son, the former Geertruy Lansing. A decade later, four children had been christened at his wife's church while Bethuel Washburn was affiliated with the Albany Presbyterian church.

In 1785, he was elected to be one of three asssessors for the first ward. In 1788, his personal property was taxed under the home of his mother-in-law.

Bethuel Washburn filed a will in April 1790. He was dead by April 1791 when the will passed probate. Several children were named after him at baptisms in early nineteenth-century Albany!

biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Bethuel Washburn is CAP biography number 6816. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. We believe he was from Massachusetts but seek defining infomation on his background.


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first posted: 10/30/05