HomeMy WebLinkAboutBiographies of Revolutionary War Veterans of Tompkins Co Abrahm Updike
Name: Abraham Updike
Date of birth: Jan. 1. 1752
Birthplace:Cherry Valley, Somerset Co., NJ
Parents: John Updike and Mary Bragaw
Spouse:JannetjeVandervoort b.April, 14, 1751, New Brunswick, NJ d.1832 Enfield, Tompkins, NY
Marriage date: c. 1776
Place of marriage: Somerset, Somerset, NJ
Date of death: Mar. 12, 1827
Place of death: Enfield, Tompkins, NY
Place of burial: Old Log House Meeting Cemetery (aka Updike Settlement Cemetery)
Children:
1)Abraham Updike, Jr. b. 1782 NJ d.1846 Ulysses, Tompkins, NY m. Anna Wortman
2)Jacob Updikeb. 1777 d. 1848 m. Theodosia Grover (1780-1851)
3)Isaac Updike b. 1780 NJ d. Jan. 31, 1863 Leoni, Jackson, MI m. Feb. 25, 1826 Sarah Williamson
Ulysses, Tompkins, NY
Pension Application File #:None listed
Place of enlistment: Somerset County, NJ
Service record:
Abraham Updike is found in the National Archive Microfilm Publication M246--Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783, Roll 63, New Jersey, Jacket Nos. 51-56. This is the "U.S.Revolutionary
War Rolls 1775-1783, New Jersey 4th Regiment (folder 51-53; New Jersey Battalion or Regiment 1776-77 (folder 54)" on image 718 of 764 (Ancestry). It shows him to be in Col. A. Quick's
Regiment, 2nd Battalion, NJ Somerset Co.
DAR Record:
Ancestor # A118000
NEW JERSEY:Sergeant,ALSO CPL, GUARD IN SOMERSET CO MILITIA, 2ND BATT
UNDER CAPT JAMES MOORE, COL VANDIKE
Notes:
DAR Genealogical Research System (GRS) online at www.dar.org
The descendants of the four brothers, Burgoon, Roliph, Abraham and Jacob, who moved together to Tompkins County, N. Y., all remember Abraham as a twin brother of Jacob, and a brother
of Burgoon and Roliph; and he is remembered as a brother of William and Peter by the oldest living descendants in New Jersey. The Family Record of a grandson of Jacob Updike shows
"Abraham Updike died March 12, 1827, aged about 75 years.
"Jane, wife of Abraham Updike, died Feb. 11, 1832, aged about 80."
Jacob also is said to have died in 1827, thus fulfilling the popular belief that twins die in the same year.
The records of the old Dutch Church at Harlingen, Somerset Co., N. J., contain an entry of the baptism of a child named Maria in 1775 by " Abraham Opdyke and his wife Jane; " the only
entry of the family name on the books of that church. In 1777 Abraham Updike saw the horse of his brother Burgoon in the possession of a Continental officer, and testified to that effect
in 1782 when Burgoon made his claim upon the Government for its value. In 1795 Abraham and John Jr. were witnesses for Jacob Updike of Montgomery township, Somerset, in buying a farm
in Hunterdon County. These, and that in his father's will, are all the mentions which have been found of Abraham on the New Jersey records.
The date of the removal of Abraham and his brothers to the Lake Country is variously stated. A memorial notice of Abraham G. Updike, published in the Trumansburg Sentinel in 1881, says
that Abraham G. was not a year old when his grandfather brought him from New Jersey; this would make the year 1800. A grandson of Jacob writes that Jacob and his twin brother Abraham
moved together to Tompkins County in 1802. But the slight difference in date is unimportant.
Mr. Rensselaer Updike, of Schuyler County, N. Y., a great-grandson of Abraham, writes thus:
"My great-grandfather Abraham, with his three sons Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, named after the old patriarchs, came from New Brunswick or, Trenton, N. J., in company with other Updikes,
and all settled near each other in Tompkins County. The place was called the Updike Settlement. My great-grandfather died m 1827, the year in which I was born. When the Updikes came
in to this country, it was all a howling wilderness. They must have been of a religious cast, as the records show that they were among the first to build a church, which was of logs
like their dwellings; the seats were made of slabs with holes bored for the legs. I remember going there in the days of my childhood, to meeting. In regard to the characteristic traits
of the old Updikes of this State, they ranked among the best of farmers, but were not aspiring for rank or position. In stature they were above the medium height, many of them over six
feet; square and strongly built, with regular features; of a gleeful, mirthful, yet go-ahead disposition as a rule, moral and religious."
Mr. Samuel Updike of Grass Lake, Michigan, a grandson of Abrabam, writes:
"My grandfather Abraham and his two brothers, Jacob and Burgoon, fought in the Revolutionary War. I have heard my grandfather relate an experience of his during the war. While engaged
in driving a baggage wagon he was surprised and pursued by the enemy; lying down in the wagon and giving the reins to his horses, he made his escape. On arriving at his destination he
found the wagon pierced with, the traditional number of bullets. My grandfather was stout, thick-set and of medium height. He and Jacob were twins, and had brothers Burgoon and Roliph."
Sources:
Hammon/Laughlin Family Tree
Kith & Kin of James Thomas Green
Croft-Osborn History
Knapp Tollas Family Tree
Opdyke5gen@heritagepursuit.com
Helen Finch Smith Genealogical Papers 1788-1974, Carl A. Kroch Library, Rare and Manuscript Collection, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
DAR Genealogical Research System (GRS) online at www.dar.org