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acob was the first son of Archibald and Sarah (Savage) Crossett.
He was their only son until he was ten years old. Undoubtedly he
learned much from working with his father who was both farmer and
housewright. This meant learning not only carpentry but
also the craft of stonemasonry and all the skills of farming
needed in that new land.
Apparently, he learned his lessons well for in 1771 at his
twenty first birthday his father deeded to him a lot in New Salem,
Massachusetts near Pelham. In December of 1772 Jacob settled on this
land with his new bride the former Elinor English of Greenwich. Together
they developed their land and their family. Issa was born in 1775 and
Jacob Jr. in 1777.
Unfortunately, a peaceful life was not to be theirs. In
1776 the war broke out to sever America's ties with England. The
Scotch-Irish settlers all over the colonies turned out to fight in large
numbers. There was very little affection in their hearts for England
after what their parents and grandparents had experienced in
Ireland. In March of 1777 Jacob
joined the Continental Army in Captain Daniel Shays' Company of
Colonel Rufus Putnam's Regiment. Shays was later to lead a popular rebellion which involved other Crossetts. Eight
other Crossett men from the nearby towns also enlisted in various
regiments.
Colonel Rufus Putnam
was present at the Battle of Bunker Hill and was Chief Engineer of the
Continental Army until the close of the war. Continental Army pay
accounts and regimental records were kept as you might expect in the
early days of our nation when there was no clear organization that was
not made up as it went along. Still, Jacob's record as it appears in the
publication Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the
Revolution indicates that he served for three years until
February 29, 1780. Regiments and commanding officers changed
often but it is possible to say that Jacob was with the
Massachusetts line of the Continental Army throughout the war and
probably not far from Colonel Putnam. Being Chief Engineer the
Colonel was always near General Washington. There are no pension records
for Jacob, but his immediate commanding officer, Daniel Shays, did leave
a record. It may not be too long a leap to suppose Jacob was with him.
He says he was present at the surrender of General Burgoyne, the
storming of Stony Point, and was under General Lafayette. Many other
battles and skirmishes were mentioned without specifics. General
Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga, New York in 1777. Stony Point is a
small peninsula extending into the Hudson River twenty five miles above
Manhattan. The British fort there was taken in 1779 by soldiers carrying
unloaded weapons with bayonets in order to insure surprise. They were
under the command of General Anthony Wayne, sometimes known as "mad
Anthony". These battles were scrappy affairs, with British tactics of
firing in line against colonial tactics of shooting from cover. An
advance with fixed bayonets was not their style but surprise won the day
for them.
Between these two battles
the record says Jacob was taken prisoner by the British. That was on
June 28, 1778. This is the date of the Battle of Monmouth. Eleven
thousand British regulars together with a thousand Loyalists were
marching on Philadelphia through New Jersey. Washington's generals did
not believe that their troops could stand against the regulars and
advised against open fighting. Washington compromised and sent a small
group to harass the enemy under General Lafayette. General
Harry Lee who had at first refused the command, reversed himself at
this and took the command. However, he made no reconaissance, sent out
no sentries, and issued no orders. Colonel Putnam's engineers were on
the field and, not being trained infantry, they broke under British
advance. General Lee did nothing to stop them. General Washington rode
up and relieved him.
Following this, a regrouping
took place and while exposing himself to enemy fire, Washington regained
the initiative. British commander, General Clinton, withdrew his forces
under fire and left the field to the Americans. While the Battle was not
decisive, the British left the field and lost much of their
stores and equipment. General Lee was court-martialed and removed
from command for a year. This was the last large battle of the war,
which then moved to the south.
A famous incident of this
battle is the story of Molly Pitcher who, when her husband was wounded,
took over his position at the artillery and served the gun throughout
the fight. 
I believe that Jacob
must have been one of those under Putnam who was doing field engineering
work dismantling British defenses when he was captured. Putnam had
many special units made up of skilled workers for these jobs. They
received better pay than usual and were sometimes the object of envy of
the regular troops who got less pay. Nevertheless, they were in harms
way constantly. Since Jacob survived and went on to serve until 1780, he
was either rescued or exchanged soon after capture. Neither side wanted
to be encumbered with prisoners needing guards and feeding. As we saw
with the story of Remembrance Philley elsewhere on this site, Lafayette
was sent south to bother General Cornwallis, leading to the final
surrender at Yorktown. Men of the Massachusetts line went with him.
Returning home from
war was probably a joyous occasion especially since Jacob had
not seen much of his son, Jacob Jr. who was born in October of 1777. His
joy was brief. Elinor died that same year. The exact date of her
death is not recorded but it must have been soon after his return,
because before the year was out Jacob remarried. She was Fanny Savage,
maybe a cousin. Jacob sold his Salem property in 1783 to his
cousin Samuel Crossett who, with his brothers Robert, Ebenezer, and
Edward lived on adjoining properties in New Salem. Their parents were
Jacobs aunt and uncle Mary (Savage) and Robert Crossett. Jacob and Fanny
moved to Shutesbury, Massachusetts, not far northwest of Pelham.
Jacob and Fanny had a son whom they named John Savage Crossett, likely
after the John Savage who came with his parents and hers to America
in 1716. The 1790 Census shows another boy under 16 living with Jacob
and Fanny in Shutesbury but it is not known if this was a son or
another relative. It is probably the latter since there is no further
sign of him. In 1793 Jacob bought land in Pelham where he is shown
on tax records. The stay there was brief and in 1794 he sold the land to
Libious Howard and went west to stay.
Jacob is next found in
Salem, New York. He went there
to settle on land known as the Turner Patent. In fact, he lived close to
Alexander Turner, the patentee. 14,246 acres were granted in 1764 to
Turner and others, among whom was James Crossett. Only a few of the
owners got settled before the war broke out. The land on the east side
of the Hudson River near Albany was the scene of much fighting and land
was taken by the British and given to loyalists. When the war was
over the land was taken from the loyalists and given back to its
original owners. By that time many of them had died and their heirs
claimed their portions. By 1790 James, Samuel, and two John Crossetts
were in Washington County. By 1800 the number had climbed to eight as
Jacob, David, William, and Ann are found there.
It was during this time that
Vermont and New York were haggling over the boundary. Vermont wanted all
up to the Hudson River, but New York wanted the portion east of the
river which is now Washington County, where Salem was located. A lot of
the westward movement followed immediately after Shays Rebellion. It is not known whether any other
Crossetts participated, but it is likely since Shays was from Pelham and
Jacob served under him in the war. The need for a loyalty oath and
the taxation practices of Massachusetts did not sit well with these
hardy and independent men. By 1810, Jacob is living in Clinton County
Town of Peru. He is not found in the record after that. We now can
follow his eldest son, Jacob Crossett Jr.
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