GenMassachusetts-L Archives
Archiver > GenMassachusetts > 1998-11 > 0910716581
From: <>
Subject: John Stark m.Elizabeth Page on Aug. 20, 1758 had 10 kids
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 11:49:41 EST
OK, we found his wife and fact that they had 10 kids...need his parents & his
kids?
http://seacoastnh.com/framers/stark.html
NEW HAMPSHIRE'S most famous soldier, Gen. John Stark, the hero of Bunker
Hill and Bennington, was the right man in the right place at the right
time. His early training with his father in heavy farm work and
lumbering operations, his later practice in hunting and trapping, his
capture by the Indians and his study of their language and customs, all
led to his success as a member of Rogers' Rangers in the French and
Indian Wars. This in turn fostered the soldierly quality of leadership
that he showed so strongly in the Revolution. He developed an ability to
foresee what the enemy would do and to forestall him, thus gaining
distinction among Revolutionary officers. Stark's life encompassed the
whole revolutionary period, and he was instrumental in the cataclysmic
events that produced a free and independent nation.
John Stark was born in Londonderry, New Hampshire, August 28, 1728. When
he was eight years old he moved with his family to Derryfield
(Manchester), his home for the remainder of his long life.
Rodgers' Rangers & Molly Stark
He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in Rogers' Rangers attached to Col.
Blanchard's regiment at the outbreak of the French and Indian Wars. In
1758, hearing of his father's death, he obtained a leave of absence to
come home to help settle the estate. At this time he was a frequent
visitor to the Page homestead in Dunbarton and on August 20, 1758, he
and Elizabeth Page were married. From that time on, she was known as
Molly Stark. The couple settled in the Page home but after a few weeks
of inactivity, Stark eagerly responded to Gen. Amherst's request to
build a road from Crown Point to Fort No. 4, Charlestown.
It soon became apparent that resentment of the British was building. The
rangers, a rough and independent lot, were consistently made to feel
inferior to the British. Army discipline was severe and unyielding and
the rangers were in no mood to endure it. In 1760, the French
capitulated and Stark, after a dispute with his superiors, was glad to
come home to build up the family property. His father's estate settled,
he bought the land his brothers and sisters had inherited and became
sole owner of a substantial estate. He and Molly were now living with
his mother in Derryfield.
Resentment of British soldiery following the French and Indian Wars came
to the surface as King George imposed more and more taxes on the
colonies. The Stamp Act of 1765, the Boston Massacre of 1770, the tea
tax resulting in the Boston Tea Party of 1773-all were sparks helping
ignite the conflagration which would soon envelop the colonies.
War Breaks Out
The Battle of Lexington and Concord was the opener, followed by the
Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. Stark was a formidable
antagonist in that battle and following it was attached to the
Continental Army under George Washington. He took part in the New Jersey
campaign and commanded the right wing at Trenton.
Knowing how New Englanders would ally to Stark's call, Washington sent
him home to recruit new troops. Stark was in a cheerful and optimistic
mood as he travelled around the settlements, talking to farmers and
townsmen as he recruited replacements for the troops. But the calm was
abruptly shattered when word reached Stark that Col. Enoch Poor of the
Second New Hampshire Regiment had been promoted to brigadier general.
This was the last straw for Stark, whose limited patience had run out.
It was not the first time he had been passed over for lesser men with
less experience but with more social graces and more tactful tongues. He
appeared before the Exeter Legislature and resigned his commission,
receiving their vote of thanks for his services. In spite of urgent
efforts to get him to reconsider, Stark remained adamant, though he
pledged immediate assistance to New Hampshire should it be needed.
After four months as a private citizen, Stark was asked by the Exeter
Legislature to accept a commission as brigadier general of the New
Hampshire militia He agreed on condition he be answerable only to New
Hampshire. This proved to be wise. When ordered to join Schuyler at
Saratoga, Stark refused and went instead to Bennington. The Battle of
Bennington, often called the turning point of the war, led directly to
the Battle of Saratoga where Burgoyne was defeated.
The war dragged on for six more years. Stark sometimes took part and
sometimes, when cold weather settled in, went home to recuperate from
the attacks of rheumatism that were to plague him the rest of his life.
Retirement In Manchester
At the close of the Revolution, he settled down on the home farm. He and
Molly now had ten children, five boys and five girls, having lost one
daughter in infancy. In 1783, John Stark was ordered to headquarters by
Washington, given the personal thanks of the Commander-in-Chief and the
rank of Major General by brevet.
Molly Stark died of typhus in 1814, aged 78. John was 86. He lived to
his 94th year and died May 8, 1822, reportedly the last surviving
Continental general of the Revolution.
By Isabel Tarant
Originally published in "NH: Years of Revolution," Profiles Publications
and the NH Bicentennial Commision, 1976.
1997 SeacoastNH.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RELATED ARTICLES NH At Bunker Hill
List of Seacoast NH Framers of Freedom
Josiah Bartlett Joseph Cilley Henry Dearborn Nathaniel Folsom
Gilman Family John Langdon Woodbury Langdon Samuel Livermore George
Reid John Stark John Sullivan Matthew Thornton Meshech Weare John
Wentworth William Whipple Women of the Revolution
<A HREF="http://seacoastnh.com/framers/stark.html">John Stark</A>
PO Box 4458
Portsmouth, New Hampshire 03802
URL: http://www.SeacoastNH.com
Voice: 603-427-2020
Email:
This thread: