The Landon Family of NJ, Oct.  1936

The Genealogical Magazine

of

New Jersey

 


Vol. X, No. 4

OCTOBER, 1935*

(* published October 1936)

Whole No. 42


THE LANDON FAMILY OF NEW JERSEY

BY CHARLES CARROLL GARDNER

Associate Editor of the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey

Pages 73 to 103


    During a period of three months a group of members of this Society has made an intensive search of records in New Jersey and elsewhere for information on the history of the Landon family in Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey, and Crawford, Bradford, Luzerne and other Counties in Penn-sylvania. The results of this search, while not as complete as we should like, will be found in the following pages. The line has been traced back only one generation prior to the arrival of the family in New Jersey, but it seems likely that it dates back another generation in America, and it is hoped that in a subsequent issue we may publish more definite infor-mation about the beginnings of the family in this Country, and possibly its connection with England. There were several of the name who appeared in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Long Island and Virginia about the last quar-ter of the seventeenth century, some or all of whom may have been related. According to a memorandum written in a very old Bible preserved in the branch of the family located at Southold, L. I., that branch came here from Herefordshire, England, near the Welsh border, and the Virginia Landons, a family from which President Benjamin Harrison was descended, are believed to have come from the same County.

    It is perhaps worthy of mention 'that although the first Daniel Landon, referred to below, seems to have owned no land and to be mentioned in no records of the day except the registers of vital statistics kept in all New England towns, yet at the time of the Revolution one son and eleven grandsons, all from that part of Sussex County, New Jersey, which has since been set off as Warren County, answered the call to arms, and one of them gave his life for his Country. Within a few years after the War all but one small branch had left New Jersey and their names are found no more in the archives of this State, excepting one man, the great-great-grandfather of Governor Alfred M. Landon of Kansas, who came back to Sussex County for a few years about the time of the War of 1812, and two of whose sons enlisted in the army there.

The line of descent of Governor Landon from Daniel Lan-don is as follows:

Daniel Landon (No. 1 ) had son

William Landon (No. 6), 1727-1779, who had son

Thomas Landon (No. 28), 1752-1847, who had son

Thomas Landon (No. 71), 1789-1873, who had son

Manuel Landon (No. 104), 1823-1894, who had son

John Manuel Landon (No. 109), the father of

Alfred Mossman Landon.


    1. Daniel Landon first appears at Stonington, Conn., where he was married Nov. 5, 1718, to Dorothy, daughter of William and Deborah (Elliott) Holdredge, who was born in Stonington Oct. 17, 1699. The town records show the births of two children and the family then moved to Colchester, Conn., where the births of four more children are recorded. Where the family spent the years immediately following the birth of the sixth child does not appear. By 1746 Daniel Landon had died and his widow had moved, presumably with her family, to New Jersey where on Feb. 12, 1746/ 7, a marriage license was issued to Obadiah Ayers of Somerset County, yeoman, and "Dorothy Landol, widow." (N. J. Marriage Bonds, Trenton, A :19) Obadiah Ayers was a son of John Ayers, a founder of the Presbyterian Church at Basking Ridge, Somerset County, and was himself one of the seven trustees to whom his father deeded 11/2 acres there for church purposes in 1731. Not long after his marriage to Dorothy, who was his second wife, Ayres moved to Hardwick Township, Sussex County, and in 1754 he obtained a deed from the heirs of Thomas Lambert of Burlington County for a tract of 1200 acres (plus allowance for highways) which had been surveyed to Lambert in 1716. There was a house already on the property in 1754 and there is reason to believe that Ayers had been living there for a few years, perhaps since 1749, when he evidently made some sort of a purchase agreement, or possibly a lease with the privilege of purchasing. The tract was in the center of what is now Hackettstown, running from the Musconetcong River west to the hills. In 1752 he is mentioned in connection with obtaining timber for the Musconetcong (Hackettstown) Church. (N. J. Deeds, Trenton, Vol. A-E, p. 479, and Vol. Q, p. 145; James Alexander's Account Book, 1751- 1755, p. 119, N. J. Hist. Soc.). Whether Dorothy and her family had first settled in Somerset County and then moved to Sussex County with her second husband, is not known. No trace of the Landons has been found in Somerset County, and no mention of Dorothy after her marriage. Obadiah Ayers married a third time and died in 1780, leaving a will which names (his stepson) Samuel Landon as one of the executors. (N. J. Archives, 34:25).

Children of Daniel and Dorothy (Holdredge) Landon:

+2.     i.  Daniel, b. at Sonington, Aug 19, 1719; m. (perhaps as second wife) Ruhama ________ and d. early in 1774-

3.    ii.    Ann, b. Dec 19,1721

+4. iii. Samuel b. Dec 19, 1721

5.     iv.  Deborah b. Feb 17, 1725

+6    v.  William, b.  April 15 or 25, 1727; m. Mercy _______ and d. Jan 24, 1779

7.    vi. Joshua, b. April 13, 1729

 

  2. Daniel Landon, son of Daniel (No. 1) and Dorothy (Holdredge) Landon, ,was born at Stonington, Conn., Aug. 19, 1719. He probably came to New Jersey as a young married man with one or two children, not far from 1745. This is inferred from the date of his son Benjamin's birth in 1742 and his mother's remarriage. The earliest positive record of him found thus far is under date of July 3, 1754, when he witnessed a deed of the heirs of Thomas Lambert to his stepfather, Obadiah Ayers. From the form in which the deed was witnessed and acknowledged it may be inferred that Daniel Landon went to Trenton for the purpose and that some of the heirs signed there. (N. J. Deeds, Trenton, Q :145). His next appearance is on Nov. 1, 1755, when he witnessed the will of Joseph Huff of Hardwick Township. (N. J. Archives, 32: 168).  This township then comprised practically all of the northeasterly part of Warren County and the southwesterly part of Sussex County, as they now exist. Daniel Landon doubtless settled early in his career on a part of the 1200-acre Ayers tract in what is now Hackettstown, mentioned above. He is not known to have taken title to any of the land until Nov. 3, 1770, when he, described as a yeoman, of Hardwick Township, received a deed from Obadiah Ayers for 200 acres at the north end of the large tract and back from the river, the consideration being stated as �50. proclamation money. It adjoined on the southwest land owned by his brother William. (N. J. Deeds, Trenton, Vol. A-E, p. 479). Tradition tells that he cleared land and built a mill on the river near where the brick mill later stood. Richard Stephens, who married his daughter Dorothy, helped in the construction of the mill. (Anniversary Sermon of Mount Olive Presbyterian Church). The Sussex County Court Records of the May Term in "the 29th Year of His Majesty" (1756) show that Daniel Landon and Isaac Bell had been elected as Commissioners of Roads for the Township of Hardwick. In May 1757 and May 1758 D aniel's election as a Freeholder for Hardwick was noted. At the May Term, 1762, it was stated that he had been elected a Constable. On March 8, 1764, Obadiah Ayers deeded to eight Trustees, including Daniel and Samuel Landon, the tract on which the Presbyterian Church at Musconetcong (Hackettstown) had already been built. (Snell's History of Sussex and Warren Counties, p. 584). The County Court Records show that he occasionally served on the Grand Jury and in 1769 he and John Bulkly were sued by Samuel Wiggins for �13.17.9. The nature of the suit does not appear. The last appearance of Daniel Landon as Grand Juror was in August, 1773.

    In July 1766 Daniel Landon had been bondsman for Catherine Simson as Administratrix of the estate of Samuel Simson of Hardwick, deceased (N. J. Archives, 33 :387), and at the May 1771 Term of the Sussex County Court he and Benjamin Landon were witnesses for her in her suit against the Executors of Nicholas Misner. At the same Term, Daniel Landon was one of two sureties furnished, as required by law, in connection with the granting of licenses to the following tavern-keepers: William Hedden of Newton, Robert Breden of Hardwick and Stewart Martin of Mansfield-Woodhouse. On May 22, 1773 Daniel Landon of Hardwick and his wife Ruhamah sold to Edward Dunlop, of the same place, merchant, for �700. the 200 acre tract that he had purchased in 1770, and on the same day he purchased from Dunlop for �300. a lot at Hackettstown, in Hardwick Township, containing a little more than one acre, on the southwest side of the main road ; also 36 acres in Roxbury Township called the Vineyard, which was formerly owned by Thomas Helms, adjoining the Musconetcong River, near Mark Thompson's Mill, formerly Helms' mill. This deed was witnessed by Saml Landon, Sen. (N. J. Deeds, Trenton, Liber A-K, p. 407). Daniel Landon of Hardwick, "turner", made his will Sept. 28, 1773. By its terms he left to his son Benjamin the house that Thomas Wells was living in in Morris County and half of the land there; also, "the cow he now milks", a colt, half of testator's carpenter tools, and his choice of three books. To son Daniel he left the other half of the land in Morris County, a yoke of oxen, "the Big Rone Hors", "the Bead he now Lyes in", the turning tools and half of the carpenter tools. To daughter Dabrah he left her bed. To his well beloved wife Ruhamah he left the house in which they dwelt, and the land adjoining, with all other property not mentioned, "for the Bringing up of my children and to Despos to them the young children not yet grone up as she shall Think fit." As executors he named his wife, his brother Samuel Landon and his son Daniel Landon, Jr. The will was proved and letters granted to the three executors on April 25, 1774. In qualifying, the two men signed their names, while Ruhamah made her mark. The inventory of the estate, dated April 22, 1774, included several bonds and notes of individuals; a house and lot in Hackettstown valued at �200.; a log house and a tract of land in Roxbury Township valued at �100.; farm animals; "one Pleasure Slay"; two Bibles and other books; a set of shoemaker's tools ; four feather beds, and the usual assortment of household goods, farm implements, tools, etc. (N. J. Wills, Trenton, 1968). The names of all of the children have not been found and it is not certain whether Ruhamah was the mother of them all. On Feb. 12, 1777, Ruhamah Landon, of Hardwick, sold to Robert Wilson the homestead in Hackettstown, Hardwick Township, for �250., and thereafter her name does not appear. (N. J. Deeds, Trenton, Lib. A-K, p. 417).

Children of Daniel Landon:

+8.    i.    Benjamin, b. about 1742. Died Dec. 19, 1820.

9.    ii. Dolly (Dorothy ?) b. about 1743. Md. Richard Stephens in 1762 and died in Morris County Oct. 1, 1839. Buried at Mount Olive. (Anniversary Sermon of Mount Olive Pres. Church 1884, and inscription on tombstone).

+10. iii. Daniel, b. about 174__,

11.    iv.Deborah, b. about 175__. Perhaps unmarried.

+12.     v. (perhaps) John, b. about 1760. Md. Catherine and died Oct. 5, 1805.

+13.    vi. (probably) Edward, b. April 30, 1762. Md. Tryphena Hewitt and died Aug. 24, 1834.

14.    vii (perhaps) Ahimah, or Ahimas, b. about 176__. In Feb. 1789 he subscribed 7sh.6d. towards the cost of repairs to Hackettstown Church. (Church Records). In the Pennsylvania Insurrection of 1794 he served as private in Capt. Charles Beardsley's Sussex County Company, from Sept. to Dec. 1794. (Off. & Men of N. J. in Wars 1791-1815, p. 44).

15.    viii. (perhaps) Edna. Md. Mar. 26, 1798 to Robert Jackson. (Sussex Co. Mar. Rec. A:16).

16.     ix. (perhaps) Obadiah, b. about 176__. In the Pennsylvania Insurrection of 1794 he served in Capt. Charles Beardsley's Sussex County Company as Corporal.  Sep. 13, 1794 to Dec. 23, 1794. (Off. & Men of N. J. in Wars 1791-1815, p. 44).

 

  4. Capt. Samuel Landon, son of Daniel (No. 1) and Dorothy (Holdredge) Landon, was born at Colchester, Conn., Feb. 19, 1723. He moved to New Jersey with or about the same time as his brothers, and his first appearance on the Court Records was at the November Term 1758, when he was on the Grand Jury. Six months later he was listed as a Surveyor of Highways for Hardwick Township, and in February 1760 was again on the Grand Jury. (Sussex County Court Records, Vol. I). On March 8, 1764, he and his brother Daniel were two of eight Trustees to whom Obadiah Ayers granted title, on behalf of the Musconetcong (Hackettstown) Church, to the lot on which the Church building had already been erected. (Snell's History of Sussex and Warren Counties, p. 584). In August, 1770, Samuel Landon, Sr., was one of the jury chosen to try the case of John Crowell vs. Japheth Byram. (Court Records, Vol. 3). On May 22, 1773, Sam'1 Landon, Sen'r, witnessed deeds to and from Daniel Landon. (N. J. Deeds, A-E : 482 ; A-K :407). On Sept. 28, 1773, he was named as an executor in his brother Daniel's will. The Hardwick Township records that have been preserved date from March 8, 1774, when Samuel Landon was chosen an Overseer of the Poor. In 1780 he was one of the Town Committee, one of the duties of which was to supervise the operations of the Overseers of the Poor. (Snell, pp. 619, 620). The will of Obadiah Ayers of Hardwick, dated May 7, 1779, names wife Deborah and appoints as executors Samuel Landon and Samuel Chidester. (N. J. Archives, 34 :25).

    Early in the Revolutionary struggle, in May, 1776, Samuel Landon was elected Captain of a Company in the first Regiment of Sussex County Militia. In August, October and November, 1776, he was Captain in Col. Jacob Ford, Jr.' s Regiment of New Jersey State Troops; in December, 1776, he was a Captain in Col. Mark Thompson's First Regiment of Sussex County Militia, serving for one month. He was at the battle of Springfield, Dec. 17, 1776; in service in January and April, 1777 ; Captain in Col. Jacob West's First Regiment, Sussex County Militia ; in service June and August, 1777, February, April and September, 1778, and August, 1779; was at the battles of Connecticut Farms, June 7, 1780, and Springfield, June 23, 1780. Edward Landon (No. 13) in his application for pension, stated that he volunteered for duty under Capt. Samuel Landon and Col. Dayton, and was with them about one month at the battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield, (Records of Adjutant-General of New Jersey.)

    On Sept. 2, 1785, the congregation of the Hackettstown Presbyterian Church appointed a committee of twelve, including Samuel Landon, to devise ways and means for acquiring a parsonage, and the following August he and six others were appointed Trustees to acquire property adjoining the Church from Obadiah Ayers, grandson of the man of the same name from whom the Church property had originally been purchased. (Snell, p. 585). Just where Samuel had been living up to this time has not been learned but it was doubtless in or near the village of Hackettstown. On May 2, 1796, he bought from Job Slaght 220 acres of land in that part of Newton Township which was set off as Byram Township two years later. He developed this property and in 1802 sold to his son Zebulon 16 34/100 acres at the northwestern corner, on the Lubbers Run, for $100. (Sussex County Deeds, B :356; F :434). On the second Monday in April, 1798, the inhabitants of Byram Township held their first meeting, at the inn of Adam Turner. They elected Samuel Landon Town Clerk and a Judge of Appeals. At a special meeting held at his house on Sept. 15, 1798 it was ordered that $170. be raised to pay the balance due to the township of Newton, from which Byram had been taken. In 1802 he was Judge of Election. The name of Samuel Landon, Esq., appears on a list of those voting at an election in October, 1803. (Snell, pp. 462-3). On Feb. 16, 1804, Samuel Landon mortgaged two tracts in Byram Township, aggregating 220 acres (Sussex County Mortgages, C: 395), and he died within the next six months. He was elected a trustee of the Presbyterian Church in September, 1785, and served until May, 1790, when all of the trustees resigned and he was not reelected. A diagram of the seating in the Church shows that Samuel Landon had a pew in June, 1790, and two years later he had seat No. 9. In 1796 that seat was called Samuel Landon, Jun'rs, and in that year it was given up and none of the family appear thereafter on the records. (Hackettstown Presby. Church Records).

    Samuel Landon made his will April 13, 1792, in Independence Township (which had been taken from Hardwick Township and included the present town of Hackettstown), and it was probated Sept. 3, 1804. The date of his death is not known. He left his entire estate to be used for the support of his widow Elizabeth until her death or remarriage, and directed that it then be divided between his sons Samuel and Zebulon. His son Amacy (Amasa) was to carry on the farm for her for at least three years, and was to inherit the testator's carpenter and smith tools. The moveable estate was to be equally divided among his three daughters. As executors he named his son Samuel and friend Arthur Hazen. (Sussex County Wills, A: 32). When the will was offered for probate, one of the executors, Arthur Hazen, was dead, and the other, Samuel Landon, refused to serve (he died soon after), and on Oct. 20, 1804, administration was granted to Michael Dixon, and on Nov. 12, 1805, after Dixon's death, to Elijah Everett. (Sussex County Administrations, A: 24,48). In 1810 efforts were made to force the administrators to file an accounting and distribute the balance, the widow presumably having died. Finally, in August 1811, the Court ordered the balance distributed among the eight children, or their heirs. No mention is made of Samuel, Jr., who had evidently died childless. (Sussex County Orphans' Court Minutes, A :235).

Children of Capt. Samuel and Elizabeth Landon:

+17.    i. Samuel, b. about 174__. Md. Jemima Eddy, widow, and d. in Oct. or Nov. 1804.

18.    ii. Anna. Md. (Arthur ?) Hazen and was living in 1811.

+19.    iii. Zebulon, 1816 b. about 175__. Md. Charity ____, and d. in 1816

20.     iv. Elizabeth. Md. Henry Leish (Lush ?) by license of Dec. 31, 1771. (N. J. Marriage Bonds, Trenton, L: 255), and d. before 1811.

21.    v. Tabitha. Md. Gilbert Wright, and was living in 1811.

22.    vi. Asenath. Md. Stephen Burnett, and was living in 1811.

+23.    vii. Amasa, b. about 176__. Md. Margaret _____, and d. 1826-7

24.    viii. Temperance. Md. Daniel Turner and was living in 1811.

25.    ix. Mary. Md. Darius (Daniel ?) Coe, Sep. 24, 1797. (Geneal. Mag. of NJ., IV: 84) and d. by 1811.

 

    6. William Landon, son of Daniel (No. 1) and Dorothy (Holdredge) Landon, was born at Colchester, Conn., April 15 or 25, 1727. The Town records give the date as April 25, while the family record, as given in the sheets from the family Bible of his son Thomas, filed with the latter's pension application, states it as April 15. He was married about 1747 to Mercy _____, who was born May 29, 1729, and died Jan. 15, 1786, or April 3, 1806. There is no way of distinguishing the death date of Mrs. Mercy Landon from that of her daughter Mercy. William died Jan. 24, 1779. The family record shows the births of twelve children and the deaths of four of them. The first reference to William Landon in Sussex County is perhaps that in the Court Records in May 1755, when "William Landing" was a Grand Juror. In Nov. 1756 Obadiah Ayers and William Landon were sureties for Isaac Bell who was granted a Public House license. In May 1757 the officers of Hardwick Township included William Landor, Constable. This was probably intended for Landon, although there was a William Lander in the neighboring town of Phillipsburgh. He was again on the Grand Jury in August 1760, February 1765 and May 1766. (Sussex County Court Records, Vols. 1, 2). In May 1761 John Stevens and Walter Rutherfurd contracted to lease to various persons a number. of tracts of land in Sussex County, aggregating about 5000 acres, lying on both sides of the Musconetcong River, immediately north of Obadiah Ayers' 1200 acre tract, originally laid out to James Alexander. On May 26 they empowered William Landon of Hardwick to prosecute any trespassers on those lands, and in case any of, the settlers should give up their leases he was authorized to assign them to other persons on the same terms. (Alexander Mss., N. J. Hist. Soc., "Deeds Beginning 1750", p. 365-6).

    The original home of William Landon in Sussex County was presumably on the Obadiah Ayers tract of 1200 acres in Hardwick Township, south of his brother Daniel's 200 acres. No record of a deed to William has been found, but when Daniel Landon sold his 200 acres in 1773 the adjoining land was described as "late William Landon's." (N. J. Deeds, Trenton, A-E: 479,482). It is probable that this property, located in Hackettstown, was the farm where most of William's children were born. He may have sold it when he purchased from George Rea, on April 2, 1768, a tract of 76 17/100 acres situated in "Newtown", Sussex County," at the head of Schermerhorn's or Little Pond on the head of a branch of Paulins Kiln on the northwest side of the Kiln." He gave a purchase money mortgage to Rea the same day, and it was recorded April 12, 1769, but there is no record of the lien being satisfied. (Sussex County Mortgages, A :64). The name of Schermerhorn's pond does not appear on early Sussex County maps, but it is perhaps that now known as Little Swartswood Lake, in Hampton Township (formerly a part of Newton Township). In November 1773, Jonathan Hampton, Esq., sued William Landon for �100. and the case was called in May, August and November Terms, 1774. The details of the suit do not appear on the Court Minutes except to indicate that the funds were claimed to be due under a covenant. It seems not unlikely that Hampton was an assignee of George Rea, the mortgagee, and that this was a mortgage foreclosure, but no record of the outcome is found on the Court Record Minute Books. (Sussex County Court Records, Book 4). In 1800 a one-third interest in this property and an adjoining tract was sold by Deborah Ayers of Morristown to Jacob Hendershot, and the following year Dr. Stephen Ayers of Somerset County deeded to Hendershot the other two-thirds interest. In neither deed is there any indication as to how the Ayers family acquired title. (Sussex County Deeds, A: 324; G: l77). On Jan. 22, 1770, William Landon was bondsman for Hezekiah Dunn and Ephraim Darby as administrators of the estate of Hezekiah Dunn of Newton, deceased, His signature appears on the bond. (NJ. Wills, Trenton, 144S). In May 1772 he was a witness in the suit of Thomas Poor vs Nich's Emmins. (Sussex County Court Records, Lib. 3). The last record of William Landon found in New Jersey records is in November, 1774, as mentioned above. The name of a William Landon appears on tax lists for Plymouth District in "Westmoreland" (Luzerne County), Pa., in 1777 and 1778. (W. T. Blair's "The Michael Shoemaker Book", p. 642). It is possible that this was William, 1727-1779, and that he had moved from Sussex County into Pennsylvania after losing his home through mortgage foreclosure. It seems unlikely, however, that the father would leave his family, some of them still children, and move into another State, and it is considered more probable that it was the oldest son William, born 1748, who settled in Pennsylvania by 1777, and that the latter's brother Joshua was visiting him at the time of the Wyoming Massacre, in which. he lost his life. Of the other brothers, James and Thomas also lived for varying periods in what is now Luzerne County.

Children of William and Mercy Landon:

26.    i. William, b. Feb. 7, 1748. May have been the William Landon of Plymouth, Pa. 1777-8, and Loyalsock, Pa.1785-90.

+27.    ii  James, b. May 24, 1750. Md. _____ _____, and d. Sept.13, 1838.

+28.    iii.  Thomas, b. Sept. 19, 1752. Md. Nancy Hopkins, and d. Oct. 9 1847.

+29.    iv.   Joshua, b. Sept. 27, 1754 ; d. July 3, 1778.

+30.    iv. Nathaniel, b. Jan 9, 1757. Md. Hannah Greene, and d. 1850 or 1851.

+31.    vi. Laban, b. Jan. 13, 1759. Md. Elizabeth Gilless, and d. June 28, 1828.

32.     vii  Mercy, b. Oct. 2, 1760.  D. April 3, 1806 or Jan. 15, 1786, unmarried.

33.    viii. Diadema, b. Apr. 24, 1762; d. Nov. 17, 17___..

34.    ix.  Susannah, b. June 29, 1764.

35.    x Reumah (Ruhamah ?), b. March 11, 1767.

36.    xi. Edna. b. Apr. 17, 1769. Probably "Edna Landing" who was m. Oct. 5, 1789, at Frankford, Sussex Go., to "Jacob Landing". (Sheet from Docket of Francis Price, J. P., in N. J. Hist. Soc. Library).

37.    xii. Mary, b. Jan. 2, 1775. Probably d. before 1779.

 

    8. Benjamin Landon, son of Daniel (No. 2) and (Ruhamah?) Landon, was born about 1742, but where is not known. By his father's will of 1773 he inherited the house in Morris County that Thomas Wells was living in, and half of the testator's land there. In the May 1771 Term of Court he and his father were witnesses for the plaintiff in Catherine Simpson's suit against the Executors of Nicholas Misner. At the May Term, 1773, Edward Dunlop started suit against Benjamin Landon and John Bulkley, but it was dropped. (Sussex County Court Records, Vol. 3). He enlisted as a private in the Fall of 1775 in Capt. Henry Luse's Company, 2nd Regiment, N. J. Continental Line; was at the siege of Quebec in May and June 1776 ; at the battle of Trenton, N. J., Dec. 26, 1776; made Corporal Feb. 1, 1778 ; was at the battle of Monmouth, N. J., June 28, 1778; transferred as a Private to Capt. William Helm's Company, in Col. Israel Shreve's 2nd Regiment, N. J. Continental Line, Feb. 1779; was taken prisoner April 3, 1779 ; mustered Jan. 1780 ; received a gratuity paid to the 2nd Regiment in 1780, 1781 and 1782; wounded in the leg by a shell at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Va., Oct. 19, 1781; Private in "Col." William Helm's Company, in Col. Matthias Ogden's Regiment, N. J. Continental Line, March 1 to May 20, 1783, with remark "Present" ; discharged at the close of the Revolutionary War. On June 11, 1792, Benjamin Landon, late a soldier in the New Jersey Brigade of Continental Troops, then of Ulster County, N. Y., appointed Benjamin Thorp of Middlesex County, his attorney, to receive from James Mott, Treasurer of New Jersey, all certificates belonging to him. Edward Landon witnessed the document. On June 26, 1792 Benjamin Thorp receipted to Mr. Mott for a note dated March 1, 1784, payable to Benjamin Landon, for $22., the interest to commence Nov. 4, 1783. (Records of Adjutant-General, Trenton, N. J.). In 1818 he applied for a pension, his residence then being Sussex County. The application shows that he enlisted in Hackettstown, N. J., some time in 1775 and recites his service somewhat more briefly than given above. He died at Newton, Dec. 19, 1820. (Records of Pension Bureau, Washington, Case S33365). No record of a family has been found.

 

    10. Daniel Landon, son of Daniel (No. 2) and (Ruhamah?) Landon, was born between 1740 and 1753. By the terms of his father's will, of which he was an executor, he shared with his brother Benjamin land in Morris County, doubtless that tract of 36 acres in Roxbury Township called the Vineyard, which the father had bought in 1773. He enlisted Nov. 8, 1775, as a Private in Capt. Archibald Shaw's Company, Col. William Maxwell's 2nd Regiment, 1st Establishment, N. J. Continental Line; was on the rolls to Jan. 17, 1776, with the remark "Mustered Barracks Burlington, by Gunning Bedford, Deputy Mustermaster General." He also served in the Sussex County Militia, as he received certificate No. 882, amounting to �0.13.4 for the depreciation of his pay in that service. (Records of AdjutantGeneral, Trenton, N. J.)

    In August 1774 Sarah Bulkley sued Daniel Landon for �300. in the Sussex County Court. The matter at issue was submitted, with the consent of the parties, to Edward Dunlop, Mark Thomson and Ezekiel Ayers, as arbitrators. At the February Term, 1775, Mark Thomson and Ezekiel Ayers, two of the referees, report that they find the Defendant indebted to the Plaintiff in the amount of �78. and costs. The following Term the Sheriff reported that he had levied on a cow, a bed and bedding, 1 sheet, 1 chest of drawers, 1 teakettle, 1 Iron Pott, 1 Frying Pan, 6 pewter plates, 1 churn, 1 tubb, 2 earthen Potts, 1 pair of tongs and 2 chaines, to the value of 6d. and subject to prior executions. An order was issued authorizing these goods to be sold.

    On Feb. 20, 1789, he subscribed �3. toward a fund to repair the Hakettstown Church, and on Nov. 12, 1792, agreed to pay �15. toward clearing up a deficiency of �70. in the cost of a parsonage. Up to Dec. 28, 1793, this amount remained unpaid, and his name does not appear again on the Church books. (Hackettstown Presby. Church Records-" Exhibit D".). No clue has been found to his movements after 1793, unless he was the Daniel Landon who was living in Loyalsock Township, Lycoming County, Pa., in 1814, when he gave a deed for property there. (Lycoming Co. Deeds, II :221). 

 

12. John Landon, thought to have been a son of Daniel (No. 2) and Ruhamah Landon, was born about 1760-61, presumably in Hardwick Township. There is no record of his service in the Revolutionary War, but he served as Private in Capt. Charles Beardsley's Sussex County Company in the Pennsylvania Insurrection from Sept. 13, 1794 to Dec. 23, 1794. (Off. & Men of N. J. in Wars 1791-1815, p. 44). He was married to Catharine ________, and died Oct. 12, 1805, in his 45th year, as shown by his tombstone in Frankford Plains Cemetery. On Oct. 12, 1805, administration on his estate was granted to Catharine Landon. (Sussex County Administrations, A :46). On Jan. 24, 1806, Jno. Beemer, about to marry Catharine, widow of John Landon, filed a bond to permit her to retain and dispose of, at her own wish, $500. out of her own estate. (Sussex County Marriage Records, A :77). Between 1807 and 1818 three deeds were given by heirs of John Landon of Wantage, deceased, to John Beemer of the same place, for rights apparently aggregating 10/11 of the 79 acres in Wantage, where Beemer was living, and which belonged to the heirs of said Landon. (Sussex County Deeds, R :324; L2 :308 ; B3 :292).

Children of John and Catharine Landon:

38.    i. Benjamin, b. 178__. Resided in Bergen County, N. J., in 1807.

39.     ii. Deborah, b. 178__. Md. _______ Russell.

40.    iii. Sarah, b. 178__. Md., at Chester, N. J., Jan. 1, 1806, to Stephen Salmon. (Geneal. Mag. of N. J., V :22).

41.     iv. Russel,. b. about 178__. Md. Oct. 27, 1810, to July Brittin. (Sussex County Marriages, A :100), and probably was the father of two 'bound children", Russel and Sally Landon, mentioned in the will of John Beemer of Wantage, in 1825. (Sussex County Wills, B: 344).

42.     v. John, b. 178__,

43.     vi. Joshua, b. 179__.

 

    13. Edward Landon, probably son of Daniel (No. 2) and Ruhamah Landon, was born in Hackettstown, N. J., Apr. 30, 1762. He enlisted at Flanders, Morris County, as Private in Western Battalion, Morris County Militia, Apr. 20, 1777, for nine months ; Private, 2nd Regiment, N. J. Continental Line, 1780, and served about one month; was at battles of Connecticut Farms, June 7, 1780, and Springfield, June 23, 1780, where he was wounded; Private in 2nd Regiment, N. J. Continental Line, Oct. 1780; was at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, Yorktown, Va., Oct. 19, 1781; was discharged at the close of the Revolutionary War. (Records of Adjutant-General, Trenton, N. J.). In 1792 he was evidently in Ulster County, N. Y., as on June 11 of that year he witnessed a Power of Attorney given by Benjamin Landon, of Ulster County, and formerly of New Jersey, to Benjamin Thorp, to collect certificates for military services due from the State Treasurer, James Mott. (Adjutant-General's Office, Trenton, Ms. No. 6141). In his application for a pension as a Revolutionary soldier, dated at Berlin Township, Knox County, Ohio, Sept. 25, 1832, he gives the date and place of his birth, and after reciting his military services, including one tour under Captain Samuel Landon, states that after the Revolution he lived "in the State of New York for fifteen or twenty years. He has lived in different parts of the State of Ohio since the year 1816." In December, 1838, his widow Tryphena (Hewitt), aged 64, and living in Licking County, Ohio, states that they were married on Feb. 4, 1791 at the house of Esquire Morse in Kingsbury, Washington County, N. Y., by Rev. John Hitchcox, and had fourteen children. Her husband died Aug. 24, 1834. She knows of no existing record of her marriage or of the births of her children. She made another similar affidavit on June 26, 1850, when she was living in Blendon Township, Franklin County, Ohio, at the age of 76. Their son G. W. H. Landon, aged 34, made a deposition in Hebron, Licking County, Ohio, on June 26, 1839, in which he said that he was the sixth child of Edward and Tryphena, and that he believed that they were married before 1794. In 1839 he had one older sister and no older brother living. In 1850 he stated that only one (other) child of his father was living, and that such child was in Illinois. (Pension File). The census returns for 1850 show that Triphena Landon, aged 75, a native of Connecticut, was living early that year in Blendon Township in the family of Temour (?)  D. Groves and his wife Adelaide, the latter being 27 years of age and a native of Ohio.  Whether they were related to the widow Landon does not appear. The records of Licking County were destroyed by a Court House fire in 1884, and no adequate record of Edward's family has been found. There was a Daniel Landon, 1789-1872, who is buried in Blendon Township, and who had a daughter Tryphena. He could hardly have been a brother of George W. H., however, and he may possibly have been a nephew of Edward.

Children of Edward ad Tryphea (Hewitt) Landon:

44.    iii. Erepta, b. abt. 1800. Md. Benjamin Napier and d. Nov. 7,1886.

45.    vi. George W. H., b. abt. 1805.

46-57.     (Twelve other children).

 

17. Samuel Landon, Jr., son of Capt. Samuel (No. 4) and Elizabeh Landon, was born in old Hardwick Township, probably near Hackettstown, about 174__. By his father's will he was to inherit a share of the home farm after his mother's death, but she outlived him. During the Revolutionary War he enlisted Dec. 15, 1776 as Sergeant in Capt. Luse's Company, 2nd Regiment, N. J. Continental Line, in Sussex County; was later transferred to Capt. Helm's Company i n the same Regiment; in 1780 was appointed Brigade Foragemaster; claimed his discharge in 1781 on account of the expiration of his service. He also at some time served as Private in the Sussex County Militia and received certificate No. 841, amounting to �0.8 .9 for the depreciation of his pay therefor. In an account of "cash paid in Bills of Credit for one year's interest on Continental Certificates given by Benjamin Thompson, Esq'r, Com'r", he received certificate No. 2, voucher 247, dated May 7, 1185, amounting to �10.6.6. (Records of Adjutant-General, Trenton). In Oct. 1785 he subscribed �2.10.toward the cost of a parsonage for the Hackettstown Presbyterian Church, and the following year he had seat No. 9, formerly assigned to Samuel Landon, Sr., but he apparently gave it up the same year and it remained vacant until 1801. (Church Records). In October, 1804, he refused to act as executor of his father's will and died shortly afterwards, as administration on his estate was granted on Nov. 28 to Zebulon Landon. (Sussex County Administrations, A: 27). He was married some time after 1782 to Jemima Eddy, doubtless the widow of John Eddy of Newton, and when she died he was made administrator, on June 8, 1795, of her estate. She was referred to as "Jemima Landon, late Jemima Eddy." (N. J. Wills, etc., Trenton, 344S: 636S). As his name is not mentioned in the final distribution of his father's estate in 1811, he evidently left no descendants.

 

    19. Zebulon Landon, son of Samuel (No 4) and Elizabeth Landon, was born in Hardwick Township, probably near Hackettstown, about 175__. He enlisted, on Nov. 1, 1775, as 4th Sergeant in Capt. Archibald Shaw's 8th Company, 2nd Regiment, New Jersey Continental Line. He was on the rolls to Jan. 17, 1776, with the remark "Mustered at Burlington Barracks". (Records of Adjutant-General, Trenton). His father's will, dated in 1792, left to Zebulon one-half of his farm, subject to his mother's life interest. On March 8, 1802, the father deeded to Zebulon 16 34/100 acres on the Lubbers Run, in Byram Township, being the northwesterly corner of his farm. (Sussex County Deeds, F:434). Zebulon and his wife Charity sold this to John LePorte for $200. on Apr. 1, 1808. (Sussex County Deeds, T:5). In October 1803 Zebulon voted in Byram Township. (Snell's History, p. 462) and on Nov. 28, 1804, he was made administrator of the estate of his brother Samuel Landon, Jr. In 1810 and 1811 he was active in trying to force an accounting of his father's estate from the administrator. After an order for distribution had been made in August 1811 the matter was dropped until 1824 when it was again taken up by Thomas Landon, and postponed from time to time until 1827, when it was finally dropped. (Sussex County Orphans' Court Minutes, A:213,228). In May 1793 a seat in the Hackettstown Church was assigned., to Zebulon Landon. (Church Records). Some time after 1808 he moved to Roxbury Township, Morris County, where he died early in 1816. The inventory of his estate, dated Feb. 29, 1816, is made up chiefly of carpenter's tools and farm and household utensils and furnishings. It was made by Peter Salmon, Jr., and Abraham Vantuyl. (N. J. Wills, etc., Trenton, 1647N). It is supposed that Thomas Landon, his administrator, was a son, and that Levi Landon, buried near Thomas, was another, but no family record showing the names of his wife and children has been discovered. Widow Charity Landon joined the Roxbury (now Chester) Presbyterian Church March 13, 1822, and in a list of members of about 1832 it is noted that she died Sept, ___, 1832. (Session Book, Chester Pres. Ch., pp. 17, 289.)

Children of Zebulon and Charity Landon:

+58    i. (doubtless) Thomas, b. April 4, 1788. Md. Margaret Salmon, and d. June 19, 1845.

59    ii. (probably) Levi, b. Aug. 9, 1795. Served as Private in Capt. William Swayze's Company, Sussex County, from Sept. 8 to Dec. 7, 1814, in the War of 1812 . (Off. & Men of N. J. in Wars 1791-1815 p. 86). Died Jan. 9, 1854 and is buried in Mount Olive Baptist Churchyard.

 

    23. Amasa Landon, son of Capt. Samuel (No. 4) and Elizabeth Landon, was born in or near Hackettstown, then in Hardwick Township, about 176__. Under his father's will he inherited the latter's smith and carpenter tools, and was to carry on the farm in Byram Township for his mother for at least three years. He was listed as a voter in Byram in 1803. (Snell, p. 462). In March, 1812, he purchased at public sale from the administrator of his father's estate the southerly part of the farm in Byram, and the same day he and his wife Margaret sold 63 acres of it to Henry McEowen. (Sussex County Deeds,. Z:147; D2:383). A tax list of 1819 shows him as owning 141 acres of land, assessed at $105.75, and he was the only member of the family listed as owning land. (Snell, p. 462). On Feb. 1, 1820, he and his wife Margaret mortgaged 118 acres. (Sussex County Mortgages, G:179). On Jan. 15, 1827, administration on his estate was granted to John LePort. The inventory of his estate was dated Jan. 15, 1827. (Sussex County Administrations, A: 190; Inventories, E :220). He evidently had only one son, as on Nov. 10, 1828, Samuel Landon and wife Amy, of Byram, as heirs of Amasa Landon, deceased, conveyed 118 acres to John Coleman of Illinois (the mortgagee). (Sussex County Deeds, R3 :436).

Children of Amasa and Margaret Landon:

60.    i. Samuel. Md. by 1826 to Amy Hibler, and was living in Byram in 1829. (Sussex County Deeds, C3: 351; H3: 343).

 

    27. James Landon, son of William (No. 6) and Mercy Landon, was born, probably in Old Hardwick Township, N. J., May 24, 1750, Old Style. During the Revolution he served as Private in Capt. Josiah Cole's Company, under Col. Aaron Hankinson, in the 2nd Regiment, Sussex County Militia, in 1778; in Capt. Henry Luse's Company, Col. Israel Shreve's Regiment, 2nd Establishment, N. J. Continental Line, for nine months from June I, 1778; was at Battle of Monmouth, N. J., June 28, 1778; and was discharged March 5, 1779, having had a total service of eleven months. (Records of Adjutant-General, Trenton). In later years he claimed a pension for his services, stating that when he enlisted he was 28 years of age, five feet, ten inches in height, and a resident of Wantage, Sussex County. (Pension Bureau, Washington, File Invalid No. 41738). At the time of the First Census of the United States, in 1790, he was living in Luzerne County, Pa., his family consisting of three males of 16 and upwards, three males under 16 and three females. (Pennsylvania in 1790 Census, p. 149). In 1792 and 1796 he was assessed in Kingston Township. (Blair's Michael Shoemaker Book, p. 642). On Oct. 8, 1794, then of Kingston Township, he bought Lot No. 21 in Bedford Township (now Lehman) from Moses Price. One of the witnesses was Nathaniel Landon (possibly James' brother, but more likely Capt. Nathaniel Landon, member of the Southold, L. I., Landon family, and prominent in the Kingston settlement in its early days). (Luzerne County Deeds, 4 :153). James Landon's name has not been found in the 1800 Census returns. By deed of June 27, 1810, he purchased from Jacob Bedford 26 acres in Kingston, in the locality known as New Troy or Shoemaker's Mills, (now Wyoming), on which stood a saw mill. For years the mill was known as "Landon's Mill", although he moved away a few years after purchasing it. (Brewster's History of Kingston Township, Pa., p. 363 ; Luzerne County Deeds 12: 165). Kingston tax lists show that from 1809 (1810?) to 1819 he was assessed on 26 acres of unimproved land, a horse, a sawmill and some of the time a house, the total amounts varying from $230. down to $56., the last figure, for 1818 and 1819, including the item "sawmill rotted down $20." On Dec. 27, 1819, a deed was given by William Swetland as Attorney in fact for James Landon, conveying 26 acres to John Sherman for $318. The property for some reason came back into Landon's hands, as the tax list of 1824 shows the house, etc., transferred from John Sherman assessed against James Landon. On Aug. 29, 1825, he executed an assignment of undescribed property to Uriah Swetland for $220. Later deeds by Swetland show that this referred to the saw mill property. (Luzeme County Deeds, 20 :106; 23 :472 ; Assessment Records.)

    The original and supplemental applications of James Landon for a pension as a veteran of the Revolution show that he was a resident of Radnor, Delaware County, Ohio, in 1818. Two years later he stated that he was seventy years of age, had no family living with him, and was unable to labor. A statement of his property shows 26 acres of land in Pennsylvania. In March, 1821, he was still living at Radnor. On Sept. g, 1830, he executed an affidavit in Luzerne County, Pa., stating that he had moved there to be with a son (unnamed) who lived there. (The census of 1830 shows only one Landon resident in Luzerne County: Samuel Landon, whose family consisted of one male between 40 and 50 and a male and a female aged between 20 and 30. This family lived in Pittston Township.) On Aug. 2, 1831, another affidavit announces his return to Delaware County, Ohio, as his son was in a low state of health and unable to care for him. (Pension Pile). According to a descendant he died in Delaware County, Ohio, Sept. 13, 1838, and was buried in Shoup's Graveyard, south of Prospect, Ohio. His wife is stated to have been a Virginian, but her name is not known. The will of James Landon of Delaware County, Ohio, was dated June 26, 1829, and probated March 6, 1839. It names only his youngest son Jarms. (M. Shoemaker Book, p. 643). No complete list of his children has been obtained. The following record is based on the assumption that all of those in his family in 1790, aside from himself and wife, were his children.

Children of James Landon:

61.    i. (son), b. about 1770-72.

62.    ii. (probably) Cyre (Cyrene ?), b. about 1772-74.

63.    iii. (daughter), b. about 177__.

64.    iv. (probably) David, b. 1776-81; md. Lucinda Allen, Dec. 27, 1801

65    v. (daughter), b. 1776-87.

66.    vi. Samuel, b. about 178__; md. (1) Elizabeth Gardner, and had Clarissa and Cyrene; md. (2) Elizabeth Blanchard, and had Martha B., who md. Thomas Hutchins. Samuel d. Delaware Co., Ohio.

67.    vii. Darius, b. Jan. 3, 1789; md Mary Pettebone.

  67a. viii. James, b. 1791-95.

 

    28. Thomas Landon, son of William (No. 6) and Mercy Landon, was born, according to his own statement, in old Hardwick Township, Sept. 19, 1752. He is stated by descendants to have been married in 1781 to Nancy Hopkins, who was born in 1756 and died in 1803. No authoritative basis for this statement has been found. It seems probable that he had a second wife, Margaret, born 1764 or 1765, who was living with her stepson Benjamin and his son Benjamin in Springwater, N. Y., at the time of the 1850 Census, aged 85, and a native of Pennsylvania. Thomas was a rover and lived in at least nine different places during his long life. In his first application for a pension as a Revolutionary soldier he stated that at the outbreak of the War he resided at Hamburg but moved to Wantage, N. J., during the struggle. His affidavit recites that he enlisted June 1, 1776, and served on monthly tours until September or October, 1778, or at least one year and six months as a Private with the New Jersey Troops, under Captains James Broderick, Countryman (Goutherman), John Seward, Obadiah Seward, Beckwith, Peter Shaver, Kirkendall, Abijah Hopkins and Middagh, in the regiments of Colonels Aaron Hankinson, John Seward, Anthony Broderick, Ephraim Martin and Maxfield. His claim for pension was not allowed, as he failed to furnish proof of service of six months as required by the pension laws. After his death his children continued the effort to obtain the pension due him, but without success. The difficulty was evidently in obtaining the necessary proof in the absence of discharge papers. Records in New Jersey show that he received Certificate No. 820, dated May 1, 1784, for 14s., 7d., to offset the depreciation in his Continental pay in the Sussex County Militia. (Records sof Pension Bureau, Washington ; and Adjutant-General's Office, Trenton).

    In one of his affidavits Thomas Landon states that after the close of the War he continued to reside in Wantage for five years, then moved to Lower Smithfield, (Northampton County) Pa., for seven years; thence to Putnam, (now Tunkhannock) Luzerne County, Pa., for six years, where he was taxed in 1779 on 80 acres ; thence to another town in Pennsylvania for four years; thence to Wantage, N. J., for fifteen years; thence to Luzerne County, Pa., for two years; thence to York, Livingston County, N. Y., where he had been living for eleven years at the time of his statement in 1835. (Pension File). This "itinerary" does not account for all of the years between the end of the Revolution, and is not strictly accurate, but probably few eighty-three- year-olders that have moved about as much as Thomas Landon could do as well. His oldest son Benjamin was born less than five years from the end of the War, and in 1850 he gave his birthplace as "Pennsylvania." His sons, Thomas born in 1789, and Daniel in 1797, were stated, one on his tombstone and the other in a newspaper obituary, to have been born "in Wilkes Barre, Pa." Whether this is strictly correct does not appear, but the Census of 1800 shows that he was then living in Kingston Township, Luzerne County, across the river from Wilkes Barre, the family consisting of two adults and seven children. A local census of York, N Y., taken in 1825, shows Thomas Landon whose family consisted of one male and two females. There were also in the town Benjamin, Manuel and Daniel Landon, easily recognizable as sons of Thomas, and "Dr. G.", John H. and William, one or more of whom may have belonged to Thomas also. Thomas, Jr., had left town that year. In the York Town Clerk's records of roads in 1827 there is a reference to "Landons Four Corners on the River Road", which is now the first section north of the F. Gilmore farm. Late in life Thomas Landon moved to Conneautville, Crawford County, Pa., where his son Thomas had settled in 1825. He died in 184'7, the marker over his grave, which is still standing, reading:

Thomas Landon

Soldier of 1776

Died Oct. 9, 1847

Aged 95 years.

    He left no will, but, as stated, a Margaret Landon, perhaps his widow, was living in 1850. No complete record of his children has been found ; the five named below are mentioned as still living in 1857 when a final fruitless attempt was made to obtain the pension money to which they considered their father entitled.

Children of Thomas and Nancy (Hopkins) Landon :

68.    i. Sarah, b. 1780-84. Living, unmarried, in 1857.

69.    ii. (daughter), b. 1785-90.

70.    iii. Benjamin, b. 1784-6. Md. ____ ____, and was living in Springwater, N. Y., in 1857.

71.    iv. Thomas b. March 1, 1789 Md. (1) Luama Jones; (2) widow Mary Cary, and d. Jan. 25, 1873.

72.    v. (son), b. 1791-5.

73.    vi. Manuel b. about 1793. Md. Rachel _____, and was living in 1873.

74.    vii. Daniel, b. abt. 1797 M d. 1) Nancy _____; (2)  Ctherine Wick, and d. May 1, 1878

 

    29. Joshua Landon, son of William and Mercy Landon, was born Sept. 27, 1754. On Nov. 1, 1775, he enlisted as Private in Capt. Archibald Shaw's 8th Company, Col. William Maxwell's 2nd Regiment, First Establishment, N. J. Continental Line; on rolls to Jan. 17, 1776, with remark "Mustered Barracks, Burlington"; Nov. 12, 1776, Private in Capt. Henry Luse's Company, Col. Israel Shreve's 2nd Regiment, 2nd Establishment; deserted April 30, 1777. (Records of Adjutant-General, Trenton). The record of his father's family gives the date of Joshua's death as July 3, 1779, but a separate list, evidently of deaths, reads "Diad lst, Mary 2nd, Joshua 3d, Willm 4th, Mercy 5th, Mercy 6th", and as William died Jan. 24, 1779, and Joshua preceded him, it seems evident that the year of the latter's death was 1778 and that he was the Joshua Landon, listed as a private soldier, who lost his life in the Wyoming Massacre July 3, 1778, and whose name appears on the Wyoming Monument at Wyoming, Kingston Township, Pa. There is no indication that he was married. It seems likely that he had gone to Plymouth, Pa., to be with his older brother William.

 

    30. Nathaniel Landon, son of William (No. 6) and Mercy Landon, was born Jan. 9, 1757, in old Hardwick Township. Prior to the outbreak of the Revolution he had moved across the State line into Warwick, N. Y., but on Nov. 14, 1775, he enlisted at Hackettstown for one year as a Private in Capt. Archibald Shaw's Company, under Col. William Maxwell, and about Feb. 1, following, went on an expedition to Canada. An interesting four-page account of this "Northern Expedition" is filed with his pension application." In April (sic) after news came to us of the declaration of independence our Captain (Shaw) left the army and afterwards joined the British." This was at Ticonderoga, N. Y., and the company disbanded. He came home but did not get his discharge "because our Captain was not there." In Feb. 1777 he volunteered at Warwick and served for one month under Col. Henry Wisner in the New York Troops. Some time in 1777 or 1778 he moved to what was then Northumberland County, Pa., and in the latter year enlisted at Muncy (now in Lycoming County) as an Indian spy for three years. During this period he went out on tours against the Indians, under Captains Boone and Robinson and Col. Hartley. He was in engagements at Fort Freeland, Tioga and Wyoming. In 1782 he enlisted at Muncy and served one month as a Private in Capt. Robinson's Company, under Col Elder. (Pension File). In 1787 his name appears on a tax list of Turbut Township, Northumberland County, but he owned no land. (Pennsylvania Archives, 19 :748). He subsequently moved to Oakland County, Michigan, and there, on Nov. 13, 1828, filed his first application for a pension. He, aged 71, and his wife, aged 70, were then living with their son Stephen and owned no property but their clothes and bedding. (Michigan Historical Collections, 39 :458). He was evidently not in close touch with his relatives, as in a second pension application dated Dec. 7, 1833, he states: "My brother Thomas Landon who testified for me on a former application, is now dead, and the papers are either lost or in the pension office at Washington. For all this service I have never received a farthing." His application was granted. In 1838 he was reported as having been absent for a year on a visit to Canada, where some of his children lived, and in 1843 he was in Erie County, N. Y. He died in 1851 in Canada. (Pension File). His granddaughter stated some years ago that his death occurred in 1850 in London, Ontario. (D. A. R. Lineage Book, Vol. 55, No. 54773). His wife is said by the family to have been Hannah Greene, and on uncertain authority it is stated that she was a Quakeress, spoke the plain language, and was related to Gen. Nathaniel Greene of Revolutionary War fame. The names of his children are supplied by descendants. Sons Ebenezer and Stephen are mentioned in the pension papers. 

Children of Nathaniel and Hannah (Greene) Landon:

75     i. Mercy. Md. John Evans, Jr., and d. 1842.

76.    ii. Ebenezer. In 1856 was living in Albion, Mich., and in 1858 in Eaton, Mich.

77.    iii. William.

78.    iv. Nathaniel. Md. Nancy G. _____, and d. in Oakland County, Mich., 1877, leaving seven children.

79.    v. Stephen Living in Oakland County, Mich., in 1828.

80.    vi. Rachel b . 1797 Md. Guerdon Chapel, 1793-1876, and d. May 2, 1863

 

    31. Laban Landon. son of William (No. 6) and Mercy Landon, was born at what is now Hackettstown in old Hardwick Township Jan. 13, 1'759. He enlisted for five months in 1776 as Private in the New Jersey State Troops. Later he enlisted at "Smith's Clove", near the line between New York and New Jersey, and served in Capt. James Hallet's Company. His pension application states that in the latter part of 1777 he enlisted in Capt. William Helm's Company, Second New Jersey Regiment, but other records indicate that he enlisted at Hardwick, April 29, 1777, for three years in Capt. Nathaniel Tomm's Company, from which he was transferred at Valley Forge, Pa., Feb. 1, 1778, to Capt. Henry Luse's Company in the Second New Jersey Regiment, and again at Valley Forge, March 19, 1718, to Commander-in-Chief Washington's Guard under Capt. Caleb Gibbs and later Capt. William Colfax. He served in the Guard until he was furloughed at Newburgh, N. Y., in June 1783, pending the ratification of the definite Treaty of Peace, and he was finally discharged Nov. 3, 1783, with two badges of merit. During his service he was in the battles of White Plains, N. Y., Oct. 1776; Brandywine, Del., Sept. 1777; Germantown, Pa., Oct. 1777; Monmouth, N. J., June 28, 1778; was sick at Quaker Hill Hospital Nov. 26, 1778, to Jan. 1, 1779; at battles of Connecticut Farms, N. J., June 7, 1780; King's Bridge, N. Y., July 3, 1781; and Yorktown, Va., Oct. 19, 1781, when Lord Cornwallis surrendered, and in which engagement he was wounded in both arms. His application for a pension, May 9, 1818, gives the complete record of his family, as shown below. It states that he was then living in Canton Township, Bradford County, Pa., in which county he had lived about eighteen years, having previously lived in Lycoming County. (However, the records of Tioga County, formerly part of Lycoming, show that Laban Landon bought 50 acres of land there from Joshua Grigby in 1807.) He died June 28, 1828, in Troy Township, Bradford County, where tombstones to him and his wife still stand in good condition. He was married March 15, 1784, to Elizabeth Gilless, doubtless of Newburgh, N. Y., who was born Aug. 20, 1765. She was allowed a pension on her application dated Oct. 22, 1838, at which time she was living in Troy Township, Pa. She was still living there in 1843 and died at LeRoy, Pa., June 23, 1848. (Records of Pension Bureau, Washington ; and Adjutant-General, Trenton ; Godfrey's "The Commander-in-Chief's Guard", p. 201). The will of Laban Landon, probated Sept. 8, 1828, names wife Elizabeth, eleven children and four sons-in-law. (Bradford County, Pa., Register's Docket, Vol. I, p. 58).

Children of Laban and Elizabeth (Gilless) Landon :

81.    i. Laban X., b. Sept. 2, 1785. D. unm. April 28, 1869.

82.    ii. Mahala, b. March 29, 1787. D. April 5, 1787.

83.    iii. Benjamin, b. Jan. 22, 1788. Md. Abigail Cole, and d. Aug. 20, 1855.

84.    iv. Ezra, b. July 5, 1790. Md. Nancy Newell, and d. Jan 3, 1869.

85.    v. Levi Decker, b. March 29, 1792. Md. Lorinda Andrus, and d. April 17, 1862.

86.    vi. Elizabeth, b. July 20, 1794. Md. (1) -Ingraham ; (2) Jacob Granteer.

87.    vii. Sarah, b. and d. Oct. 5, 1796.

88.    viii. Mercy, b. and d. Oct. 5, 1796.

89.    ix. Hannah, b. Aug. 9, 1797. Md. Arvine Rogers.

90.    x. Joshua G., b. Feb. 27, 1800, Md. (I) Diantha Rich ; (2) Rachel Ross, and d. May 9, 1870.

91.    xi. David Stephenson, b. March 2, 1802. Md. Fidelia Cass Putnam.

92.    xii. Catherine, b. Dec. 28, 1803. Md. William Wilsey.

93.    xiii. Nancy, b. Nov. 26, 1805. Md. Alpheus Peters.

94.     xiv. Eldaah, b. April 15, 1808. Md. Lucy Loveridge, and d. Aug. 10, 1895.

 

    58. Major Thomas Landon, doubtless son of Zebulon (No. 19) and Charity Landon, was born at or near Hackettstown, April 4, 1788. In 1816 he was made administrator of the estate of Zebulon, who had died in Roxbury Township, Morris County. (N. J. Wills, etc., Trenton, 1647N). In August, 1824, he filed papers in Sussex County, demanding that Elijah Everett, Administrator of the Estate of Samuel Landon, dec'd, make an accounting. This was a repetition of the action taken by Zebulon Landon in 1810-11. (Sussex County Orphans' Court Minutes, Liber A : p. 213,215). He was married about 181__ to Margaret, daughter of Captain Peter and Margaret (Stark) Salmon. (First Church, Morristown, Combined Registers, p. 322). She was b. Sept. 30, 1784 and d. June 1, 1858. He d. June 19, 1845, at Flanders. (Tombstones in Mount Olive Baptist Churchyard). He was commissioned Major of the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd or Western Regiment of Morris County Militia, Feb. 27, 1830, and resigned Feb. 15, 1831. (Munsell's History of Morris County, p. '79).

Children of Major Thomas and Margaret (Salmon) Landon:

95.    i. Clarissa, b. Sept. 12, 1816. D. unm. May 28, 1870.

96.    ii. Charles D.. b. Sept. 12, 1816. Md. Mary Dickerson, 1818-1887, and d. s. p. 1891

97.    iii. Margaret, b. ____. Md. Oct. 10, 1850, William B. Stephens. and d. May 3, 1879.

98.    iv. William, b. 1822. Md. Elizabeth Mills, and d. 1877.

99.    v.  Charity, b. ____. Md. Sept. 11, 1851, William Tharp, and d. Aug. 13, 1895

 

    71. Thomas Landon, son of Thomas (No. 28) and Nancy (Hopkins) Landon, was born at or near Wilkes Barre, Pa., March 1, 1789. The family moved around considerably during his childhood, spending a number of years in Wantage, N. J. He was married on Oct. 11, 1811, to Luama Jones, said to have been born in Connecticut on Aug. 11, 1787, but the place of marriage is uncertain. In 1814 they were living in Caledonia, N. Y., in the part that was later set off as York in Genesee (now Livingston) County. He remained there until 1825, when he moved to Conneautville, Crawford County, Pa., purchasing land there by deed of Oct. 28, 1826. The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1829 with seven members, including Thomas Landon, his wife and daughter Esther. His wife Luama died Aug. 26, 1846, aged 59 years, and about 1854 he was married to widow Mary Cary, mother of his son Charles' wife, who died Jan. 15, 1884, aged 93. He died Jan. 25, 1873, his tombstone at Conneautville describing him as Thomas Landon, Jr., Soldier of 1812. The State of New York has no record of his service in the War of 1812 from that State unless he was the Thomas Landon who served from Sept. 7 to Nov. 14, 1814, in Lieut. George G. Getman's Company in Major Frederic Getman's Montgomery County Regiment of New York Militia. No soldier of this name is shown on the rolls of New Jersey or Pennsylvania. The Conneautville Courier of 1873 contains the following obituary notice:

"Landon.In Conneautville, January 25th, 1873, Mr. Thomas Landon, aged 83 years, 10 months and 25 days.

    AN OLD CITIZEN GONE.-Mr. Thomas Landon, the oldest man in our place, and among the first settlers of this section, died on Saturday, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. Father Landon, as he was familiarly called by all, came to Conneautville in 1825, but did not bring his family here until twoyears later, when he settled upon the farm upon which he died. He was twice married, his first wife dying some twenty-seven years ago, and the second to whom he was wedded eight years after, surviving him. He raised a family of eight, five of whom were present at the funeral, three being dead. Deceased was a soldier in the war of 1812, and afterwards was an officer in the militia, during the days of general training, though he always avoided as far as possible being placed in official positions. For sixty-one years he was a member of the M. E. Church, dying as he had lived, a consistent Christian. He was one of the seven persons comprising the first Methodist class organized in this place in 1829, and the last survivor. Two brothers, Manuel, aged 79, and Daniel, aged 75, were present at the funeral. Mr. Landon was an ardent Republican, and was very anxious to live to cast his vote for Grant at the last Presidential election, a privilege which was granted him, he being taken to the polls in a carriage."

    The following record of the family of Thomas Landon was supplied by Mrs. David E. Kerr of Conneaut, Ohio, and is based on notes in the album kept by her grand-mother, Harriet (Landon) MacDowell.

Children of Thomas and Luama (Jones) Landon:

100.    i. John, b. Aug. 23, 1813. D. unm. Jan. 9 1846.

101.    ii. Esther, b. Oct. 7, 1815. Md. David Bolard, and d. Sept. 18, 1866.

102.    iii. Nancy, b. April 6, 1818. Md. Thomas Thomas, and d. Feb. 13, 1897.

103.    iv. Charles, b. Dec. 7, 1820. Died in infancy.

+104.    v . Manuel, b. March 5, 1823. Md. Mary D. Fetterman, and d. Oct. 30. 1894.

105.    vi. Sarah, b. Dec. 30, 1826. Md. Jerry S. Sanbom, and d. July 7. 1880.

106.    vii Harriet, b. March 7, 1829. Md. Hiram H. MacDowell, and d. March 20, 1903.

107.    viii. Charles, b. May 18, 1831. Md. Lucinda Cary, and d. Dec. 22, 1911.

 

    104. Manuel Landon, son of Thomas (No. 71) and Luama (Jones) Landon, was born in York, N.Y., March 5, 1823. As a child he was taken to Conneautville, Pa., by his father and 'lived practically his entire life there. He was married on Oct. 9, 1851, to Mary D., daughter of James Fetterman. She was born Oct. 14, 1828, and taught school in Crawford County from the age of fifteen until her marriage. Mr. Landon taught school for two winters and then learned the carpenter's and joiner's trade. He built many structures at Conneautville, served as Burgess and filled nearly every office in the borough. He was an influential member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a strong advocate of temperance principles. He died Oct. 30, 1894, and his widow Oct. 16, 1919.

Children of Manuel and Mary D. (Fetterman) Landon :

108.    i. Mary A, Md. William E. McDowell of Arkansas City, Kansas.

109.    ii. John Manuel. Md. at Sandy Lake, Pa., May 12, 1886, to Anne, dau. of Rev. William H. Mossman, of West Middlesex, Pa., and had son, Hon. Alfred Mossman Landon, b. Sept. g, 1887, the Governor of Kansas.


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