Miles WASHBURN

1731 - 1834  (102 years)

• Name	Miles WASHBURN
  Birth	10 Jan 1730/31	New Milford, Litchfield County, Connecticut   [1, 2, 3]
  Gender	Male
  Death	1833 or 1834	Exeter, Otsego County, New York   [3]
  	æ 103+
  Notes	From G.T. Washburn (see pp. 63-65): "Miles, second son of Ebenezer and Patience Miles W., b Jan 10, 1730-1 in New Milford m. Dec. 12, 1752 in Kent Sarah Lyon, dr. of Hesekiah Lyon, a neighbour. He d. in 1833 or 34 at over 103 years of age in Exeter, N.Y. where he had been living with his son Miles jr. The date of his wife's death is unknown. Like his father, he was a blacksmith by trade. From his boyhood till 1769 he lived in Kent, Conn. In 1754 his name appears for the first time on the town tax-list, he being assessed for property valued at 25 pounds, and it continued on lists till 1769. In 1760 he bought a piece of land from Thos. Woodward, and he must have acquired other land, for in 1767 he sold his brother Stephen a lot for which he received 16 pounds 'New York Current Money', and in 1769 he sold Benj. Hawley land for 40 pounds. This same year he and his family of 8 emigrated to Murrayfield, Mass." (continues on pp. 64 and 65) From A Historyof the Town of Middlefield, Massachusett, by Edward Church Smith (1924): "Miles Washburn was the third of the 'squatters' on Precott's Grant. He had been a resident of Murrayfield, his name first appearing on the valuation list for 1769. In 1773 he was among the taxpayers of Norwich. He next appears to be located in the southwest portion of Prescott's Grant where he improved and laid claim to 227 acres. Just where his home stood we do not know but it is possible that it was located 300 yards southwest of the house of Mr. Drozd, where there is a cellar in the lot. Washburn was one of the signers of the petition for incorporation in 1781. He came into conflict with John Spencer First and Second Divisions in the West, in 1781. Spencer lost his case, Washburn being given judgment and power to collect costs. Spencer immediately appealed his case to the Supreme Court at Great Barrington. The record of this case has not been found but since we find no deed from Washburn conveying title to the land and since he disappears and Spencer remains we conclude that Spencer won his case or that the matter was settled out of court and that Washburn had to lose his land and improvements. He was probably the Miles Washburn who was enumerated in Saratoga Township, New York, in 1790 census." "He was a blackmith by trade. With a family of six he came to Murrayfield in 1769, when the town had a second boom, and there were twenty-one purchasers of lots besides himself. He was instrumental in founding the town of Norwich. He sold his property in 1778, but 'seems to have remained therabouts until 1783-4. There is a family tradition that he lost most of his property in selling out.' The history of Mid. discloses that between 1778 and 1783 Washburn was a squatter on the West Hill on a portion of Prescott's Grant between the Ferris and Taylor farms where he improved and laid claim to 227 acres. " The 1810 U.S. Census records for M. Washburn in Exeter show no males or females over age 45. [4, 5]
  Person ID	I286	Ellingboe
  Last Modified	30 May 2012

  
  

  Family ID

  F191

  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S176] Wood, Ralph V., Jr., Francis Cooke of the Mayflower, (Camden, Maine, General Society of Mayflower Dedscendants, 1996 Volume: Vol. 12), p. 261 (Reliability: 3). [S60] Barbour, Lucious Barnes, Barbour Collection, (Connecticut State Library, 1918-1928), New Milford, p. 166, REF/F93/C7. (Reliability: 3). [S58] Washburn, George T., Ebenezer Washburn, (Pasumalai, South India, American Mission Lenox Press, 1913), p. 63 (Reliability: 3). [S58] Washburn, George T., Ebenezer Washburn, (Pasumalai, South India, American Mission Lenox Press, 1913), pp. 63-64 (Reliability: 3). [S293] Edward Church Smith, History of Middlefield, Massachusetts, (Menasha, Wisconsin: Self Published, 1924.), pp. 356-357 and p. 640. (Reliability: 3).