Benjamin Ward served as a private in the 2nd Battalion, Northampton County Militia, Capt. Lewis Stacher’s Company, variously during 1780, 1781 and 1782. He also signed the Oath of Allegiance in Northampton Co. Pennsylvania, on May 18, 1878.
Pennsylvania State Archives records list Benjamin serving as a “private, fifth class” during May 6, 1780; April 10, 1781; July 1781; September 1, 1781; and April 18, 1782. Pennsylvania categorized all men declared able for militia duty into “classes,” which were used to randomly select them for militia duty. Like Benjamin, each man was assigned to a local company and county battalion, as well as assigned a “class” number. When a particular battalion was activated for duty, each numbered class would be called to duty for two months at a time. This system ensured that Pennsylvania’s militia could muster sufficient men, while spreading the responsibility more widely so it never fell too heavily on a few individuals (who would be able to attend to their responsibilities at home, decreasing incentives for leaving the ranks). Names of enlisted men were generally only recorded in the county Permanent Billet Rolls, but once called up for active duty, names of enlisted were often not recorded because these Rolls focused on identifying all potential able-bodied troops . Therefore, although called up, it is not known if Benjamin saw action. [1]
Benjamin was born in Minisink, NY and baptized there in 1743 by his parents, William and Maria (Decker) Ward. Benjamin’s family had been instrumental in settling New York and the Hudson Valley. His grandfather, John Ward, was a major in the British Army in 1644, when England took over the Dutch New Netherlands Colony and later renamed it New York. When British Governor Lovelace offered land to those troops willing to remain and assimilate with the local Dutch, John Ward took the offer and settled near what is now Kingston, New York. Maria (Decker) Ward’s family was among the earliest Dutch settlers, tracing their lineage to Jesse DeForest, whom the Dutch West India Company approved to establish the New Netherlands Colony. Benjamin Ward died in 1795 and probably is buried on his farm near Belfast, Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
[1] Pennsylvania Archives, 5th Series, Vol. VIII, pp. 122-123, 138-139, 148-149, 149-150, 175-176.