Roger Sherman Chapter NSDAR, inc. New Milford, Connecticut
Solomon hill & wife amy stone
Born 1759 Died 1839 ~~ Buried At West Meetinghouse Cemetery
Solomon, son of Silas Hill and Sarah Leach, who were farmers in New Milford. Solomon was born in New Milford in 1759 and died here in 1839 at the age of 80.
What amazing history they lived through witnessing the 13 British colonies under the rule of England’s King George; the birth of the United States; signing of the Declaration of Independence; US Constitution; and War of 1812.
Tension had been building for many years between the people who lived in the 13 British colonies in North America and the way that the British government treated them. Before the 1760s the colonies had a lot of freedom even though we were under British rule. The colonies had their own leaders and learned to solve their own problems. In the 1760s,
however, the British government tried to take more control over the colonies. One major reason for this was that England had spent a lot of money fighting in several wars. By the 1760s England decided that its American colonies should help to pay its debts. The British made the colonists pay taxes on everyday items that the colonists used. Intolerable Acts, the British punished the colonists for protesting the taxes. They made harsh laws and sent the military to rule Massachusetts.
The people realized that the colonies had to act together. In 1774, representatives from every colony except Georgia met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The meeting was called the Continental Congress. The representatives called on Britain to cancel the Intolerable Acts. The British government answered by sending in even more troops.
The American Revolutionary War began on April 19, 1775 with the British attempt to disarm the American colonists that resulted in the Battle of Lexington and Concord. An ardent patriot, Solomon was only 16 years old when he enlisted as a private in Colonel Hinman’s 4th Regiment, Connecticut Troops in 1775! The Declaration of Independence would not be signed until a year later.
On May 10, 1775, fewer than 100 militiamen, under the joint command of Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen’s Green Mountain Boys of Vermont crossed Lake Champlain a surprise dawn attack and captured the
still-sleeping British garrison at Fort Ticonderoga. This was the first American victory of the Revolutionary War and gave the Continental Army much-needed artillery. The cannons would later be used by Colonel Henry Knox’s Continental Army to end the siege of Boston
by the British in the spring of 1776.
Connecticut’s Colonial Governor Jonathan Trumbull ordered Colonel Hinman’s regiment, along with 10 companies (1000 men) were to march as soon as possible to reinforce the small garrison at Fort Ticonderoga, NY. Colonel Hinman was born in Woodbury, CT, and mainly recruited his troops from Litchfield County. They were made up of local state militia and volunteers. The troops had to walk 207 miles before reaching the fort. If you walked 24 hours a day it would take you four days!
Solomon, was only 16 years old when he enlisted as a private in
Colonel Hinman’s Regiment in 1775! The Declaration of
Independence would not be signed until a year later.
Philadelphia Continental Army was formed on June 14, 1775 by the 2nd Continental Congress. Colonel Hinman’s regiment officially became members of the newly formed Continental Army in October 1775.
Between 1775-1780 285 New Milford men fight in the Revolutionary War. In 1778 Three Brigades of the Continental Army (4,663 men) camped for two months on Second Hill under the command of General McDougal.
In the last years of the war, most of the fighting took place in the South. In 1780 the British, led by General Charles Cornwallis, won battles in South Carolina. But in 1781, American and French forces trapped Cornwallis in Yorktown, Virginia. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. The fighting was over.The peace treaty was signed on September 3, 1783, in Paris, France. By signing the treaty, Britain agreed that the United States was an independent country.
Solomon (24) and Amy Stone (20) when we were married on January 16, 1783. They were farmers in the Merryall section of New Milford. Together over the next 26 years they would have seven children: Solomon, Noah, Sally, Silas, Joyce, Garner, and Amy Maria. Sadly, Garner, drowned in Housatonic River at age of 23.
Amy was in born 1763 New Milford to Benjamin Stone and Amy Tolles. Her father, Captain Benjamin Stone was also a Revolutionary War Patriot who served under Col. Baldwins’ Regiment and turned out to repel the enemy at New Haven, July 5, 1779 at the time of General William Tyron’s invasion of Connecticut.
Amy died on March 30, 1836 (age 72) in New Milford, and Solomon died three years later at the age of 81 on August 28, 1839. They are buried side by side in the West Meetinghouse Cemetery in New Milford.
