The Mapes family had been well-established for several generations on New York’s Long Island when three brothers saw opportunity and relocated west to an undeveloped region of Orange County. Smith Mapes’ father, Samuel, settled in Blooming Grove. It was there that Smith was born on the last day of December 1756 and grew to adulthood.
Orange County and neighboring Ulster County, as the name suggests, were largely populated by people of Scots-Irish decent who were, by and large, not fans of the British Crown.
In April of 1775, when matters came to a head between Great Britain and the American colonies at Lexington and Concord, there was already a widely-held sentiment in that community to take a stand.
By the end of April, a Statement of Association had been drafted and meetings were held to gather signatures. It read in part,
“…WE the Freemen, Freeholders, and Inhabitants of the County of Orange being greatly alarmed at the avowed design of the Ministry, to raise a revenue in America, and shocked by the bloody scene now acting in the Massachusetts Bay, DO in the most solemn manner resolve never to become slaves, and do associate under all the ties of Religion, Honour and Love to our Country, to adopt and endeavour to carry into execution whatever measures may be recommended by the Continental Congress…””…WE the Freemen, Freeholders, and Inhabitants of the County of Orange being greatly alarmed at the avowed design of the Ministry, to raise a revenue in America, and shocked by the bloody scene now acting in the Massachusetts Bay, DO in the most solemn manner resolve never to become slaves, and do associate under all the ties of Religion, Honour and Love to our Country, to adopt and endeavour to carry into execution whatever measures may be recommended by the Continental Congress…”
Even though the Mapes family had immigrated from England over a century before, they shared the prevailing sentiment. Smith Mapes was eighteen years old. He signed the statement along with his father, Samuel, as did most of the men of the community.
In addition, Smith trained with Colonel James McClaughry’s 2nd Ulster Militia. He attained the rank of corporal and marched in September 1778 to answer an alarm at the frontier settlement of Peenpack, present day Huguenot, New York, about 30 miles distant. Indian allies of the British and Tories made frequent raids on outlying areas keeping local militia units busy.
On 10 February 1779, Smith married Rachel Knight and Samuel, the first of their nine children, was born a year and a half later.
Following the war, Smith’s father once again saw the need to move further west. He purchased 640 acres of wilderness land in Howells, New York. By then he had eight sons, and he wanted to have enough land so that they all could live nearby.
Smith relocated his family and was there for the 1790 census. Old School Baptist Church records show that several of his children were baptized at Howells in 1792.
Before long, Smith, too, sensed the opportunities of moving west. Counties in western New York were being settled and undeveloped land was cheap. Smith and two younger brothers, Seth and Silas, bought property in the vast Phelps and Gorham Purchase that stretched from Seneca Lake to the Genesee River. It is not certain when Smith moved his family, but a 1799 land sale shows him living in Hopeton, the present-day Village of Dresden, in Yates County. By the 1810 census, he was living in Boyle, today the town of Pittsford, a suburb of Rochester.
Smith Mapes died in Rochester on 10 May 10 1830. His wife, Rachel, died there three years later. Many of his children, however, also followed the tradition of heading west for new opportunities. Samuel, Jesse, and Ira moved to Michigan, William settled in Illinois, and Thomas in Ohio.
References and Notes
The Family Record, published by C.H. Weygant, Newburgh, NY, Vol 4 April 1897 p. 46-47.
Public Papers of George Clinton, Pub. by the State of New York, Albany, NY, 1900, Vol 3, pp. 470-471, 528-529.
Calendar of Historical Manuscripts Relating to War of the Revolution 1808, NY Sec of State, Albany, New York, Vol 1, pp 5-13.
Fold3 Military Records for Smith Mapes, Revolutionary War, New York Militia, McClaughry’s Regiment, https://www.fold3.com/image/ 20305l50.
National Archives Publication M881, Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783 Roll #93.
History of Ulster County New York, Alphonso T. Clearwater, LL.D Editor, Pub. W.J. VanDeusin, Kingston, NY 1907 pp 157-164.
Foley, Janet Wethy, Early Settlers of New York State Vol III No 1 (Akron, NY, Thomas J. Foley, July 1936), p346.
“United States, New York Land Records, 1630-1975,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WN-ND13?i=157&cc=2078654&cat=228044), Steuben > Deeds (Ontario and Yates counties) 1790-1855 vol 1 > image 158 of 321; multiple county courthouses, New York.