Volume 7, Issue 2 Fall 2012 N e w s l e t t e r o f t h e V e r m o n t S o c i e t y, S o n s o f t h e A m e r i c a n R e v o l u t i o n Vermont Society Attends 122nd National Congress at Phoenix, Arizona Many thanks to President Mabee, Secretary Brown, and Chaplain Hockensmith for their Dedicated Attendance. The July event was held at the Biltmore in Phoenix. The Vermont Society was honored with three notable annual awards for the year 2011. Awards Given at Congress The Texas Award, for highest percentage of new members, societies under a100 2nd Place, The Vermont Society. The Kentucky Cup, to the membership chairman; for highest percentage increase of new members, The Vermont Society. Officers Streamers Award, for Recognition of both the president and National trustee being in attendance at all national Leadership meetings and Congress, The Vermont Society.
Page 2 OFFICERS OF VTSSAR 2012-2013 President, Douglass Mather Mabee...Saratoga Springs, NY 1st Vice President, Capt. Zachariah Laverne Fike US Army......Burlington, VT Secretary, LtCol Herman Charles Brown, USMC (Ret.).....Grand Isle, VT Treasurer, John Royden Whitworth....Hollis, NH Chancellor, Richard Ira Burstein....Randolph, VT Historian/Archivist, Maj. William Ralph McKern US Army...Barre, VT Registrar, Prof. Robert Howard Rodgers.....New Haven, VT Chaplain, Rev. David Albert Hockensmith. Morgan, VT National Trustee, LtCol Herman Charles Brown, USMC (Ret.)..Grand Isle, VT Alternate National Trustee, Douglass Mather Mabee....Saratoga Springs, NY Duly Elected at VTSSAR Annual Meeting at Burlington, VT, April 28th, 2012. COMPATRIOT DAVID CLESSON ARMS IS HONORED On September 6, 2012, Compatriots Robert William Mays and Zachariah LaVerne Fike thoughtfully presented the Sons of the American Revolution Military Service Medal to Compatriot David Clesson Arms. Compatriot Arms served with the US Army, 1952-54, as an artilleryman with the famous 82nd Airborne division. Fort Bragg, NC. The joyous ceremony was held at The Lodge, Shelburne Bay, VT, with friends, family, and members of the Vermont Army National Guard in attendance. David s wife Ann is a recipient of the Martha Washington Medal. The Arms have been a faithful part of the Vermont Society for many years.
Volume 7, Issue 2 Page 3 Joseph Clarence Howell (right) is congratulated by Pres. Mabee (left) on the occasion of receiving his membership certificate at the BoM meeting in September. VTSSAR 1st Vice-President Zachariah LaVerne Fike, Vermont National Guard Captain, led his Company of Vermont National Guardsman at the Bennington Battle Day celebration in Bennington on August 19th. Longtime Compatriot William Ramon Creamer, who also serves as President of the well-known Taconic Pipe Band, was also a presence at the event. Compatriots James Roland Hogue, in revolutionary period outfit, and Herman Charles Brown were also in attendance. Thanks to all those who ventured to Bennington for the parade and ceremonies. Many Thanks to Compatriot Fike for his leadership!!
Page 4 (From Left to Right) President Douglass (Tim) Mabee inducts new Compatriots Eugene Perkins Childers of Brandon, VT; Joseph Clarence Howell of Ira, VT, and Rodney Emerson Croft of South Royalton, VT into membership in the Vermont Society. The induction was held on September 20th, 2012 at VTSSAR BoM meeting, Commodore s Inn, Stowe. Veterans Awards Reported War Service Medal Certificates: Compatriots Ronald Alan Albee (RVN), Rodney Emerson Croft (RVN), Scott Richard Day (IRQ), Joseph Clarence Howell (WWII), David Edwin Lewis (RVN), Robert William Mays (RVN), Eben Stuart Wolcott (RVN), and William Eben Wolcott (IRQ). Wounded Warrior Certificates and Coins: Compatriots Joseph Clarence Howell (WWII), Rodney Emerson Croft (RVN), and David Edwin Lewis (RVN). Military Service Medal Certificates: Compatriots Arms, Baker, Barnard, Barr, Barrette, Becker, Betts, Bicknell, Buttolph, Campbell, Clark, Doane, Eggleton, Mires, and Swarthout.
Volume 7, Issue 2 Page 5 VTSSAR President Douglass (Tim) Mather Mabee, Treasurer John Whitworth, and Compatriot Michael Companion attend the grand memorial for Patriot John Halbert, who is 4th Generation great grandfather of President Mabee. The memorial ceremonies, with many lineage societies participating, were held at the Halbert Gravesite, Ireland Street Cemetery, Chesterfield, Massachusetts on July 1st, 2012. For a biography of the veteran, please see page 6. Five DAR Chapters were represented at the Halbert Memorial: Saratoga Chapter, Saratoga Springs, NY; Mary Mattoon Chapter, Amherst, MA; Battle of Shallow ford Chapter, Winston-Salem, NC; Betty Allen Chapter, Northampton, MA; and the First Resistance Chapter, Pittsfield, MA. Also represented were: the Saratoga Battlefield Chapter, SAR; VTSSAR; Society of Colonial Wars; Henry Knox Regimental Color Guard of the Massachusetts SAR; and the 2nd Continental Artillery, Fort Edward, NY. Great event!!
Page 6 JOHN HALBERT, PATRIOT Evidence as to the exact location and day of the birth of John Halbert is not known, although it is believed to be about 1740, based on ages given on muster rolls later. His father, Thomas, a cooper, is thought to have been born in Northern Ireland about 1702. During his lifetime Thomas lived in communities that were known to be predominately Scott-Irish. Thomas married Margaret Durum, a fellow country woman, thought to have emigrated with Thomas. The marriage is recorded in Topsfield, Mass., October 18 1731. An older brother, James is recorded as being born and baptized in Salem, Mass three years later. His younger brother, Thomas, was born in Pelham, Mass in 1746. In between, Thomas and Margaret had two known daughters that there are no definite dates for birth and/ or location. As early as 1759, when John Halbert was just 18 years old, he is listed with his brother, James as having been in the regiment of Col. Isreal Williams under the immediate command of Jeffry Amherst for the Louisbourg expedition and invasion of Canada. When John was 24 years old, on the 27 th of December, 1764, he married Eleanor McCollister (McAllister) in Pelham, Mass. Eleanor herself is recorded as being of the same spirit many of her Scot-Irish neighbors. She is listed as a defendant in a suit brought by the Crown. Eventually all defendants were dismissed as not guilty in an incident where the new Sheriff of the County was accosted by axes, clubs, stick, hot water and hot soap. After their marriage, John and Eleanor along with many of their self-reliant and plucky neighbors moved further west to farm the land on the outskirts of Chesterfield, Mass. They had 8 children, all born in Chesterfield, Mass. During the American Revolution, John Halbert is listed in the Massachusetts archives as having been a Sergeant in Capt. Robert Webster s Company of Minutemen of General Pomroy s regiment that marched April 21, 1775, in response to the alarm of April 19, 1775. He is recorded as having six days service at that time. John is also listed in a muster roll dated: August 1, 1775. It is reported that he enlisted in the Army, April 27, 1775 and that he had service of 3 months and 12 days. There also is record of an order for a bounty coat or its equivalent in money dated: Camp at Dorchester, November 29, 1775. John Halbert is also listed as having marched to Bennington to reinforce the army nearby on August 17, 1777. At that time he served 8 days in Capt Benjamin Bonney s company in Colonel John Dickinson s regiment. John and Eleanor Halbert were ordinary, hard working citizens that stepped up when their country was in need. They helped forge the nation of rights and freedoms that we enjoy today. In about 1803, sons Thomas and Asahel left Chesterfield, Mass and walked to Butternuts, NY where they purchased 200 acres of timbered land and lived under a bark roofed structure until the fall. They returned to Massachusetts for the winter and returned in the Spring, on horseback, bringing with them, their 16 year old sister Polly (Mary). The men married and became prominent farmers in the area. Polly married James Darrence Whitford and settled nearby in Gilbertsville, NY. Polly is the connecting ancestor to the Mather and Mabee family.
Dues Reminder : If you haven t already, please send dues to John Whitworth, Treasurer. He has asked that dues be received by November 25th. Thank You!! Published twice per year Spring & Fall Arnold E. Fallon, Jr., Editor arniefallon@yahoo.com Contributors to this edition: Herman Charles Brown, Douglass Mather Mabee, Arnold Eugene Fallon, Jr., and Zachariah Laverne Fike V T S S A R, O f f i c e o f t h e S e c r e t a r y 2 5 0 W e s t S h o r e R o a d G r a n d I s l e, V e r m o n t 0 5 4 5 8-2 1 0 4 Newsletter of the Vermont Society, Sons of the American Revolution