The theme for week 27 was “Independence” in honor of the 4th of July. I am working through reviewing all the patriots in my line, so I chose one John Douglas to feature for this week.
John Douglas was born in 1724 to Thomas and Hannah (Sperry) Douglas(s) of New London, Connecticut. He married his wife Esther Leach in 1746 and they had thirteen children together. He was apprenticed to a blacksmith at a young age and practiced blacksmithing and kept a farm after his apprenticeship was over.
I have not found a good summary yet of his military experience. The Douglas history written by Charles Henry James Douglas stated that he commanded a militia. The Daughter’s of the American Revolution ancestor profile states his superior officer as Capt. Eliphalet Holmes. Neither say what his dates of service were. According to the headstone surveyed at Chesterfield Cemetery, he died in December of 1777 and did not get to see the result of his efforts.
Source:
Charles Henry James Douglas, A collection of family records, with biographical sketches, and other memoranda of various families and individuals bearing the name Douglas, or allied to families of that name (Providence, R. I.: E.L. Freeman & co., 1879), 76-77; digital images, Internet Archive, Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org : accessed 15 July 2018).
Newtown Genealogy 