Family:Fellows, Isaac (1733-1776)

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Isaac Fellows, Jr. (Abigail Hutchins, Abigail3 Whitney, Joshua2, John1), son of Isaac and Abigail (Hutchins) Fellows. was born 8 Jan 1732/3, Plainfield, CT,[1] and died 27 Aug 1776, at the Battle of Long Island while a prisoner of the British.[2]

He married firstly, 10 Aug 1762, Woodstock, CT, or 30 Aug 1762, Littleton, MA, Lucy Tuttle, daughter of Samuel and Martha (Shattuck) Tuttle. She was born 10 Dec 1742, Littleton, MA, and died 5 Aug 1766, Woodstock, CT, in her 24th year. The epitaph on Lucy's grave stone reads: "This stone is erected in memory of Mrs. Lucy Fellows, the very amiable consort of Mr. Isaac Fellows who departed this life Augst ye 5th 1766 being in ye 24th year of her age."

He married secondly, 18 Nov 1767, Woodstock, CT, Leah Paine, daughter of Daniel and Leah (-----) Paine. She was born 24 Sep 1733, Woodstock, CT, and died 16 Oct 1801, Woodstock, CT, aged 68 years.

Leah continued to live in the family home in Woodstock with her brother, Captain Amos Paine. There is a story that Leah, when she was very ill and thought she was going to die, sent for her neighbor, Captain Matthew Bowen's wife, Mary Dana, who grew tired of going to visit Leah so often and at last said, "You will surely die. It is an awful thing to stand in the presence of your Judge and Maker." Leah Fellows, angered by her neightor's comment, became determined that she would not die and recovered, never sending for Lady Bowen again. Leah died years later and was buried on Woodstock Hill in Woodstock, Connecticut. The epitaph on her grave stone reads: "In memory of Mrs. Leah Fellows consort of Mr. Isaac Fellows who died October 16, 1801 AETATIS 68." source: Mark.

Isaac, Jr. would find himself swept up by the struggle for independence spreading through the American colonies in the 1700's. He would answer the call to arms, fighting with his brothers and neighbors in an attempt to break free from the colonial control of the British Crown and establish a young, new nation. He would pay a high price. As a young boy, he moved to Tolland, Connecticut, with his parents around the year 1745. He later moved to Woodstock, Connecticut, where he bought 30 acres below the Little Mill Pond. He met and married Lucy of Littleton there. After Lucy's death, he married Leah Paine of Woodstock. Isaac had two slaves named Cuff and Dinah. They later assumed his last name as their own. Records indicate that Isaac remained in Woodstock, having purchased land there in 1771. Isaac marched on the Alarm of April 19, 1775, fighting in the Battle of Lexington. The battle was against a British column of troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Frances Smith, enroute from Boston to Concord to seize the gun powder of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. This incident, known as "the shot heard around the world", would sebsequently touch off the start of the American Revolutionary War. By the time the British troops finally reached Concord, they found little of the powder because news of their mission had been carried across the country by Paul Revere and his associates. Isaac's service was listed as three days. He later served as a soldier in the Continental Army as a member of Captain Williss' Company, attached to Col. Samuel Wyley's 2nd Continental Regiment in 1775. Isaac fought in the Battle of Long Island under the command of General George Washington. It was the first major battle of the Revolutionary War and was fought against British troops led by General William Howe. The British forces outflanked the American forces and routed them. The revolutionary forces lost over 1000 men that day. Isaac was taken prisoner by the British during the battle and subsequently killed on August 27, 1776. He was mention in personal correspondence in letters between George Washington and Jonathan Trumbull, Governor of Connecticut. In the novel "Ethan Allen", written by Charles Walter Brown, events that led to the death of Isaac are detailed. The text states: "The reader is next invited to a retrospective view of the doleful scene of inhumanity exercised towards the prisoners taken at Long Island on the 27th day of August, 1776. Many of these men were inhumanely and barbarously murdered after they had surrendered their arms, particularly a General Odel of Woodhul, belonging to the militia, who was hacked to piees with cutlasses while yet alive, by light horsemen and also a Captain Fellows of the Continental Army who was thrust thru with a bayonet of which wound he died instantly."

Children of Isaac and Lucy (Tuttle) Fellows Jr.:

i. Gustavus Fellows, b. 17 Jun 1763, Woodstock, CT.
ii. Lucy Fellows, b. 27 Nov 1764, Woodstock, CT; m. circa 1790, Thetford, VT, Leonard Fletcher.
iii. Adolphus Fellows, b. 28 Jul 1766, Woodstock, CT; m. 2 Feb 1792, Woodstock, CT, Lucy Tucker.
iv. Jason Fellows, b. say 1776.
v. John Fellows, b. say 1774.

Children of Isaac, Jr., and Leah (Paine) Fellows, both born Woodstock, CT:

i. Sarah Paine Fellows, b. 8 Aug 1768.
ii. Esther Charlotte Fellows, b. 10 Sep 1772; m. 17 May 1791, Woodstock, CT, John Tucker.

References

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