Bidwell Connection to Revolutionary War

In the summer of 1997 Mrs. Marie Bidwell Leuchs, a direct descendant of Rev. Bidwell, shared some interesting historical findings.  In her genealogical research, Mrs. Leuchs found the service records of Adonijah Bidwell, the younger. Adonijah, the younger was the eldest son of four children born to Rev. Bidwell and his second wife, Jemima Devotion. Named after his father, Adonijah, the younger, was born at The Bidwell House in 1761.

The military records were found by Mrs. Leuchs in Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, volume 11 page 21, and American Ancestry, page 12. This information was listed under the spellings of both Adonijah Bidwell and Adonijah Bid will.

From the ages of 16 to 20, Adonijah, the younger served at the rank of private under the following commanders:

• Captain Ezekial Hearick’s Company, Colonel Brown’s (Berkshire Co.) regiment. Enlisted June 29, 1777; discharged July 21, 1777.
• Captain Noah Lankton’s Company, Colonel John Ashley’s ( 1^st Berkshire Co.) regiment. Enlisted July 22, 1777; discharged August 14, 1777. Marched from Kingsbury by order of Brigadier General John Fellows.
• Captain Noah Lankton’s Company, Colonel Ashley’s ( 1^st Berkshire Co.) regiment.  Enlisted September 19, 1777; discharged October 17, 1777.Marched on expedition to Stillwater by order of Brigadier General Fellows.
• Lieutenant Solomon Jackson’s Company, Colonel Ashley’s regiment. Enlisted October 10, 1781; discharged October 20, 1781. Marched to the Northward under Lieutenant Colonel John Collar by order of Colonel Ashley on an alarm.

Adonijah inherited the Bidwell House and farm on the death of Rev Bidwell in 1784. He expanded the landholdings and developed the property into a prosperous dairy farm and raised sizable flocks of sheep. Upon its establishment, he became an active member of the Berkshire County Agricultural Society. In 1789 he married Meliscent Dench, second eldest of 12 children born to Gilbert Dench and Anne Gibbs. Adonijah and Meliscent also had 12 children. Adonijah continued his military service. In 1798 he was appointed First Lieutenant of the First Brigade and Ninth Cavalry. He was given this commission by Governor John Hancock.

Mrs. Marie Leuchs is a direct descendent of Adonijah Bidwell, the younger. He was her great-great grandfather. Click here for a continuation of the story: Adonijah Bidwell the elder's connection to the Revolutionary war written by Mrs. Wilma Heckenlaible Spice, another Bidwell descendant.