Jeremiah Lott Revolutionary War Veteran

4th Regiment Continental Light Dragoons Pennsylvania Line

Jeremiah Lott (1758-1822) is my sister-in-law, Linda Smith McAdoo’s 5th great grandfather. He was a private in the 1st Co. of Light Dragoons attached to the 4th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line commanded by Col. Stephen Moylan. He fought in the battles of Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, Chestnut Hill, Monmouth, Stony Point, and Eutaw Springs, SC. He was wounded three times - sword wounds to his right shoulder and right thigh, and a musket ball wound to his head. He served more than seven years during the Revolutionary War.

I have found numerous sources indicating that Jeremiah Lott was buried in the Old Greenwich Presbyterian Church Cemetery located Stewartsville, Warren County, NJ. I contacted the church and the adjacent cemetery association to confirm his burial, and to find out if there was a marker on the grave. Both organizations informed me that they have no records of his burial. Yet I had evidence that this was not the case. Here are a few examples of the sources that led me to Old Greenwich Presbyterian Church.

The references cited below are from The McAlvey Family Tree at genealogy.com.

“After the war, Jeremiah Lott married and settled in Bethlehem township, between the John McRea farm, and the farm of Jacob Race, now of Milford. He afterwards moved to Bloomsbury where he died in 1822. His grave is now to be seen in the Presbyterian Cemetery.”
Source: "TRADITIONS OF HUNTERDON"
Originally published as a series of articles on the Early History and Traditions of Hunterdon County in the Hunterdon County Republican, Fleminton, N. J., in 1869-70 under the title
"TRADITIONS OF OUR ANCESTORS'
The author is believed to have been John W. Lequear
Republished in 1956-57 in the Hunterdon County Democrat with the cooperation of the Hunterdon County Historical Society.
"TRADITIONS OF HUNTERDON"
CHAPTER 10 - JEREMIAH LOTT, HERO OF THE REVOLUTION

“He, with his wife, are buried in the Greenwich Presbyterian Cemetery near
Bloomsbury, N.J.”
Source: DAR-1915-Dolly Todd Madison Chapter-Tiffin Library

“JEREMIAH LOTT
BORN: About 1757 in Bucks Co., Pennsylvania
DEAD: August 31, 1822 in Bloomsbury, NJ
Buried: Greenwich Presbyterian cemetery
Old Greenwich Presbyterian Church, located
at 17 Greenwich Church Rd., Stewardsville, NJ
is 1.9 miles West of Bloomsbury.”
Source: NOTES BY DAVID LOTT ON APRIL 1, 2002

I found another reference at RootsWeb Archives from a Don Parriott dated 22 Mar 97 -

“Jeremiah(2) Lott (Peter(1) was born Abt 1758 in Bucks County, PA
(Source: Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Book), and died
31-Aug-1822 in Bloomsbury, NJ (buried Greenwich Presbyterian cemetery)
(Source: Abstracts of Rev. War Pension Files & Lott Lineages issue #4
7/1991).”

It saddens me to learn that burial locations have been lost, particularly when they are veterans who have fought for our country. Who is responsible for assuring that burial information is not lost? Is it the cemetery’s responsibility, or the family, or the community? Perhaps it is a shared responsibility.

In memoriam Marjorie Peel Rathey (1925-2012)

Comments delivered at the funeral service for Marjorie Peel Rathey, 23 Jun 2012

I would like to share with you some information about Marge’s ancestors that probably will surprise and perhaps shock you. I have been researching my ancestors, and those of my wife Virginia, who is Marge’s younger sister. In the last year, I have discovered amazing information about the Peel family.

I would like to begin with the maternal side of Marge’s family. Her mother, Violet Dripps was born and raised in Philadelphia. Her grandfather, Joseph Dripps was a gardener who worked on private estates in Germantown and surrounding areas. He immigrated from  County Derry, Ireland about 1884/5. Marge’s grandmother, Hannah Wilson immigrated to Philadelphia about the same time from County Donegal, Ireland. I have learned some information about Marge’s Irish great grandparents, which include the surnames Connor and Laird, but the trail ends there.

The paternal side of Marge’s family hails from Elland, Yorkshire, England. Marge’s father Gilbert was born in Philadelphia. Her grandparents, Ogden Peel and Elisabeth Warrington both were born in Elland. Ogden immigrated to Philadelphia about 1888. Lizzie, as she was known, immigrated with her family about 1883/4.

If I may, I would like to digress for a moment. There is an old British nursery rhyme that was written in 1708/9 about Old King Cole. You all remember it -

Old King Cole was a merry old soul
And a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl
And he called for his fiddlers three.

Every fiddler had a fiddle,
And a very fine fiddle had he;
Oh there’s none so rare, as can compare
With King Cole and his fiddlers three.

Old King Cole was a historic figure whose name was Coel Hen “the Old” ap Tegfan who lived from about 350 AD to about 420 AD. He was the King of Northern Britain, and is Marge’s 48th great grandfather.

Coel Hen is just one of many historic figures that are among Marge’s ancestors. I would like to share a few with you -

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1132-1204) was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. After the annulment of her first marriage to King Louis VII of France, she married Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou, who became King Henry II of England in 1154. They were Marge’s 26th great grandparents.

William the Conqueror (1024-1087) was the first Norman King of England (1066-1087). He was Marge’s 28th great grandfather.

Charlemagne (742-813), King of the Franks, King of the Lombards, and Emperor of the Romans (Holy Roman Emperor). He had 18 children with 8 of his 10 wives or concubines. He was Marge’s 38th great grandfather.

Fulk V (1092-1143) was Count of Anjou, France, and a wealthy Crusader (1119/20), who became King of Jerusalem in 1131. He was Marge’s 28th great grandfather.

Malcolm III (1031-1093) was King of the Scots for 35 years. He is the historical equivalent of the character of the same name in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Malcolm’s wife Saint Margaret is the only Catholic saint in Scotland. They were Marge’s 29th great grandparents.

I could go on naming other important ancestors, but the point I would like to make is that Marge’s ancestors helped shape the history of Great Britain and Western Europe. They were among the rulers of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Germany, and Spain. They were owners and rulers of vast amounts of land in England and France.

Ultimately the many ancestral lines evolved into reduced power and fortune. Through many marriages, we find Marge’s an ancestral line settling in Elland, Yorkshire, where it connects with the Peel line.

In closing, I am reminded of the words of the humorist Garrison Keillor - “be well, do good work, and stay in touch.”

23 Jun 2012