Revolutionary War in America
April 19, 1775 to September 3, 1783
William Colby was born May 6, 1759 in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
In November 1776 he enlisted for three years, he was just seventeen.
He served under Captain James Carr, Colonel Hale's regiment in
the New Hampshire Line, and continued to serve until the winter
of 1782. He was then attached to a company under Captain Senter,
and served until July 1783, when he was discharge at New Windsor,
New York. Carrying to his grave a British bullet which he received at
the battle of Monmouth. He was a pensioner of the Government
until the day of his death. He is listed on the National Park Service Valley Forge Muster Roll.
He had a farm of seventy-five acres and was the father of 14 children.
In his later years he was an earnest and devoted member of the
Methodist Church. His wife Eleanor Lord died in 1835.
He died on August 5, 1847 and is buried in Lewis Cemetery, Oswego County, New York.
SOURCES:
(1) "The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury Massachusetts" by David W. Hoyt;
(2). Early Vital Records of Essex County, Massachusetts to 1850 for Haverhill;
(3) "The Colby Family in Early America" by Frederick Lewis Weis, Caledonia,
The Colonial Press, pub 1970.