Benajah Wolcott - American Revolutionary War Veteran Graves on Waymarking.com

Text adapted from www.TheKeepersHouse.org

One of the first settlers on the Marblehead Peninsula was Benajah Wolcott, who was born in New Haven, Connecticut on April 7, 1762. He enlisted in the army at the age of 14, fought in the American Revolutionary War, and served until 1784, when he was 22 years old.

Without land or a trade or profession, he worked for others until 1806 when he was hired to work on a survey team going out to map the western most one-half million acres of the Connecticut Western Reserve.

In 1809 he bought 114 acres near here, and came out with his wife, three children, and two hired men. They built a log cabin near the site of the present stone house, just down the street from this cemetery.

The times were unsettled on the frontier, and in 1812, fearing an invasion by the British and their Indian allies, the Wolcotts fled to Newburgh, on the Cuyahoga River. Shortly after they left, a large force of Indians came ashore and fought the first skirmish of the War of 1812 on Ohio soil on September 29, 1812. A monument about 1 mile southwest of the cemetery tells the story.

Elizabeth Wolcott died at Newburgh during the war.

Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry defeated the British at Put-in-Bay in 1813 and soon it became safe for the settlers of the Marblehead Peninsula to move back to their homes.

Benajah Wolcott and his children moved back after 1814 and found their cabin to be intact. Their financial situation was also much improved by Benajah's Revolutionary War veteran pension which he was granted and received in 1819.

He married Rachel Miller on March 10, 1822 and on June 24 he was appointed keeper of the newly completed lighthouse on Marblehead.

Benajah Wolcott was keeper of the lighthouse until his death due to cholera in 1832 at the age of seventy. At this time the Treasury Department appointed the most obvious and capable replacement it could. Benajah's wife, Rachel, became the first female lighthouse keeper on the Great Lakes on October 25, 1832.

Location type: Single Grave Date of Birth: April 7, 1762 Date of Death: August 11, 1832 Cause of death: Died Later Grave Marker Text: In Memory of Benajah Wolcatt Died August 11, 1832 Age 68 years (Note: His name is spelled incorrectly, and the wrong age is listed.) Ranks: Not listed

Visit Instructions:

PLEASE NOTE: This category is for American Revolutionary War Veterans only. Veterans of other revolutions are not part of this category.

I have allowed one entry for a grave of British solders, but it was an exception. Please only list graves for Colonial soldiers.

Simply visit the locations. Please provide as much information as possible. Pictures would be a great addition.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   06/22/2021 GrammiS and Bill visited it