The very first time I made cinnamon rolls was for a McCracken family gathering when I was a teenager. Uncle Don loved them, but all Dad could say was, “Well, they are pretty good, but they aren’t like mom’s.” Despite the fact that I had no idea that I was supposed to be making them like Grandma’s, that batch of cinnamon rolls led to the quest to recreate Grandma McCracken’s cinnamon rolls.
The Quest
I was at a disadvantage when it came to recreating Grandma’s cinnamon rolls. She was quite elderly and unable to advise me and I had never eaten or even seen her cinnamon rolls. Dad, on the other hand, had eaten them for many years as Grandma had been the primary bread and cinnamon roll baker in the family. Ester and the other girls had taken over a lot of the cooking, but not the bread. This may have been a matter of practicality since bread making takes hours and the girls had school and other obligations while she was home most of the time.
Dad loved both her bread and cinnamon rolls. Hot out of the oven either could be a whole meal as far as he was concerned. Thus, Dad started advising me on how to change the cinnamon rolls to be more like his mom’s. He taught me some of the keys to Grandma’s cinnamon rolls. They should not be like Betty Crocker cinnamon rolls with only a thin layer of cinnamon, sugar, and butter between layers of the dough and then covered in a glaze or icing. Grandma’s were quite different. No rolling the dough. No glaze or icing. And lots more sugar, cinnamon, and butter.
I experimented getting the feedback of more of this, not quite right, needs to be . . . Time went on and I moved away, got married, and had kids. I continued to make cinnamon rolls from time to time, but due to distance I couldn’t get Dad’s feedback very often.
Then, Dad retired and had more time on his hands. So, he began experimenting with cinnamon rolls himself. He made one significant change. He used his sister O’Ella’s refrigerator rolls/bread dough recipe; whereas, I had been using my maternal grandmother’s dough recipe that she used for rolls and her pecan sticky buns. The two doughs were made using a different process and had very different textures. Bingo! The cinnamon rolls went up another notch!
Perfection
It is unclear whether Dad’s experimenting led to the exact replication of Grandma’s cinnamon rolls or not. However, what is clear is that they were a magnificent hit with everybody that tasted one. He began making them for his kids and grandkids, taking them to family gatherings, and giving them to people who did something for the family. No one turned them down. Matter of fact, they would volunteer to keep any leftovers.
Dad showing off his “I Survived Rehab” shirt. He was very proud of how he recovered from surgery.
Rehab
After Dad had a septuple bypass, he celebrated his 85th birthday in inpatient rehab. When the staff learned that he was “famous” for making cinnamon rolls, they decided that making a batch would be a great exercise for occupational therapy. Well, as you can imagine, the smell of cinnamon rolls baking was quite a contrast to the sterile hospital smell. Staff came from all directions to investigate and within a few minutes, all the cinnamon rolls were gone. Dad later loved to recall the story, adding “And, I didn’t even get one!”
The Video
The summer before Dad’s surgery, my younger son had made a request for a video of him making cinnamon rolls. He was interested in learning to make “Gramps’’ Cinnamon Rolls, but he was also busy with college classes. Thus, he didn’t have time to come and learn in person. So, when visiting Dad, my husband and I got him to make a batch while the camera was rolling. I remember my husband asking Dad questions as he worked on the cinnamon rolls so that we got each and every detail of the process captured.
We gave our son the video to study so that he could learn Dad’s techniques. When a potluck event came up at his apartment complex, my son decided that he would make a batch of cinnamon rolls. He really wanted his roommates to be able to try them. However, one of his roommates could not eat any milk products, even lactose free items. Thus, no butter! My son researched and found a way to make them sans butter. And, they were delicious. Everyone loved them. I doubt anyone knew they contained no butter except the people he told.
Today’s Cinnamon Rolls
Today, I am the primary cinnamon roll baker as my son is busy with business ventures. Still, he makes them with me if he is in town. My recipe evolved over the years to use my Dad’s basic recipe with my own twists. My sugar and cinnamon mix uses both white and brown sugar; whereas, Dad used only white sugar. Not exactly Grandma’s cinnamon rolls, but good enough that he would willingly eat them without complaint.
Sometimes troublemakers aren’t really bad guys. Instead, they are people that push the limits a bit or just like to have some fun even if it makes others a bit uncomfortable at times. Uncle Doc was one of those people. He made a bit of trouble, didn’t really do any harm, and had a good time doing it.
His Name
Born Dewey Cortis McCracken, he became known as “Doc” while going to grammar school. Why you ask? Simply, he had a difficult time pronouncing the word “physician.” From the stories I heard, he pronounced it something like “fiz-i-can.” The kids teased him about mispronouncing it and somehow he obtained the name “Doc” from the situation. And, it stuck all his life.
Playing Cards
Grandma Nellie (Peelle) McCracken was not big on people playing cards. She was a bit old-school and religious. Thus, she thought that playing cards just might be the work of the Devil. And, she sure didn’t like hearing the kids fuss over any game. She was sure that no matter what, card playing would not bring good things.
Well, Uncle Doc, Grandpa Joe’s brother, thought nothing of playing cards. To him, it was just fun and he wanted to teach the youngest McCracken kids to play. Grandma tried to convince Grandpa to put a stop to it, but Grandpa said, “Oh, Nell, let them have fun!”
Grandpa succeeded in letting the activity continue. Thus, Uncle Doc taught the younger kids, even Dimple Darling (his name for Kay), to play cards. Worse yet, he taught them to play the game “Oh, Hell.” Mercy me! And, as if to punctuate the situation, he also taught them how to cheat!
The kids played cards so much that Dad never wanted to play when he was older. He said that he had his fill of card playing and that it wasn’t ever fun. Even though they learned to play, Grandma still expected them to be peaceful about it, which meant that he always had to let Kay and Don win. If he didn’t, they would go crying to their mom and he would get in trouble.
I don’t know how good any of the younger kids got at the game. After all, it is hard to perfect your game if you are always throwing the game or being the recipient of an easy win. However, Uncle Dewey, Uncle Doc’s namesake and one of Joe and Nellie’s oldest kids, became an excellent “Oh, Hell” player. He knew all the cards that remained in the deck and could win against the best. He was really good at playing cards in general and likely learned his card playing skills from Uncle Doc.
Likewise, Howard, another of the older kids, played cards. In a letter home to the family while he was serving in Italy in WWII, he mentioned playing cards. However, assured his mother that he was not gambling. So, it seems likely that Uncle Doc’s card playing was passed down to all of Joe and Nellie’s children.
His Reputation
While Aunt Ruthe was working at the Western Insurance Company in Ft. Scott, Uncle Doc and her arranged to meet for lunch one day. When some of her female co-workers learned the name of her lunch date, one of her co-workers quietly cautioned her about going to lunch with him.. The co-worker whispered, “You do know that he is a womanizer, don’t you?” Ruthe replied, “And, he is also my uncle!”
Letters Home
In a letter to Grandpa while Uncle Doc was serving at Camp Roberts in California during WWII, he added a note to Uncle Dewey to not allow his dad (Grandpa Joe) to censor his letters because he was left-handed and he didn’t understand right-handed English.” Not sure exactly what the difference is between right-handed and left-handed English. And, what was Dewey going to write that his dad was going to censor?
In another letter, Uncle Doc told “Old Maid” O’Ella that he was sorry that he couldn’t make it to a recent pie supper, as he couldn’t get a pass that night. However, he said that he could now get a pass so they should have the pie supper again so he could attend. Not exactly practical as I am not sure how he would have gone to Kansas from California just for the evening.
The Cliff Hanger
So goes the adventures of Uncle Doc . . . The question that remains is: Was he responsible for the “unexpected cousins” that showed up as DNA matches? He was in the right area at the right time, but he isn’t the only one on the suspect list. It is a question whose answer we may never know.
When I think of homebodies, I could write about many people, but what mostly comes to mind are all the women who were homemakers and focused on the roles of wife, mother, and homemaker. I chose to write mini-bios about my mother, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers – the seven women in my ancestral lines most closely tied to my DNA.
Elma (Pellett) McCracken
Elma (Pellett) McCracken & Me
Years a Homemaker: 45
Children: 2
Extra children: Several of Dad’s nieces and nephews stayed with us, especially in the summer.
Cooking: Cherry pie, mashed strawberry shortcake, mac & cheese, round steak, glazed ham. And, she never could cook enough when the male teenage cousins were staying with the family.
Sewing: A button maybe. Anything more, not unless her life depended on it.
Special skill: She was amazing at collecting family history and history of people & places we knew. She would record a person’s entire family history back multiple generations on the back of photos. (This comes in really handy!)
Special Memory: She loved pretty things and cute things. And, each one was a treasure to her. Additionally, she could find a place for them no matter how crowded the cabinet was. After she passed, I kept seeing things and thinking I should tell her about the items because she would like them.
Famous phrase: “You aren’t getting into my bed with those dirty feet!”
Survived: Not having an indoor bathroom until her oldest was 6.
Grandma
Nellie (peelle) McCracken
Joe & Nellie (Peelle) McCracken Family; Photo by Rennett’s Studio; Copyright owned by L. Thomson
Years a Homemaker: 66
Children: 11 (10 lived to adulthood)
Extra children: The Bailey kids when they traded places in the night with the McCracken kids. She put them to work. Dad said that they had extra people more often than not, but not necessarily kids.
Cooking: My favorite memory was the smell of her house when she made pork roast wrapped in bacon with potatoes and carrots. Dad always worked hard to replicate her cinnamon rolls.
Sewing: Preferred to sew over cook. When old enough, her daughter Ester did much of the cooking.
Special Memory: Playing her little electric organ – even back when she lived on Pine. (I got it when she was getting rid of things & I still have it).
Doctoring: While chopping wood on Easter 1945, she almost chopped her thumb completely off. She just stuck it back in place and grandpa took her to the doctor. The doc said that she did a good job and he wasn’t going to mess with it.
Famous phrase: “My head is made up!”
Survived: Losing a baby at one month of age and having a son MIA in WWII.
Grandma
Dessie May (Thomas) Pellett
Dessie (Thomas) Pellett and her daughter Ruby
Years a Homemaker: 66 + 4.5 (Caring for siblings and the house after her mom died)
Children: 5 (4 lived to adulthood)
Cooking: I remember most her pecan cinnamon roll sticky buns, hot rolls, doughnuts, and divinity. I watched and at times helped her cook. Her key role in the kitchen for Sunday dinner was deciding who got to cook each item.
Sewing: She made dresses and quilts, including dresses for my sister and me. Taught me to sew on a 1920 Singer treadle sewing machine. (I still have it.)
Special Memory: Taking care of her after she had cataract surgery. In those days, you had to have your eyes covered for two weeks after surgery and she couldn’t see anything. So, I was her eyes while my aunts worked. I was only 8.
Strange Rule: You could only eat in the living room if the Lawrence Welk Show was on.
Famous phrase: “What if the preacher comes?”
Survived: Losing her mother as a teenager, taking over running her parent’s household, her first child being stillborn, and raising her children mostly on her own as her husband spent much of his adult life in a VA hospital.
Great-Grandma
Rosa Isabella (ellis)
McCracken Apt
Rosa (Ellis) McCracken Apt
Years a Homemaker: 52
Children: 9
Grandchildren: 37 (34 grew to adulthood)
Cooking: I don’t know what she cooked, but Dad told me about red and white dishes (china) that she had. Cousin Ava told me a about a soup tureen that she said that her mom said had been “Grandma’s.” Ava thought it was her grandma’s (I.E. Nellie (Peelle) McCracken’s). Turns out it had belonged to Rosa and was part of the set Dad mentioned.
Daring Adventure: Rose went to Indian Territory by herself in a buggy to see family (likely her brother Sam who lived in Oklahoma). She never made it to her destination as she was forced to turn back by people in the area. I am not sure if they were Native Americans or people who were claiming land there.
1929 Thanksgiving Diary Entry: “Thanksgiven so many things to Thank our God for. we did not all get to Chester. Cynthia & her family and Ernest & Dewey was not thare. but thare was 31 thare. had a good time and a nice dinner. Will Ray & I went to the show to night at Grard.” (As written – Chester was her daughter Oella’s husband. Ernest, Dewey, and Ray were sons. Will was her second husband).
WWII: Had 2 sons and grandsons serving in the military.
Survived: Losing her husband when she was 49.
Great-Grandma
Matilda (Jury) Peelle
Matilda (Jury) Peelle
Years a Homemaker: 55
Children: 3
Grandchildren: 10
Moving Around: She was born in Ontario, Canada. Moved when she was very young to Kansas. Then to Missouri. Back to Kansas. To Michigan, and finally back to Kansas. After her return to Kansas, she lived in at least 6 homes around Hiattville, a house in Farlington, and another in Wichita. Thus, she set up house keeping quite a few times.
Cooking & Sewing: She likely began learning cooking and sewing with her paternal grandmother who lived with them and likely refined those skills by learning from her father’s sister Eleanor “Ellen” (Jury) Hartnett, whom she lived with after her grandmother died.
Religion: Very religious late in life. Became a member of the Seventh Day Adventists.
Survived: Growing up without her mother as she was only 2 1/2 when her mother died. Losing her husband when she was 46. He died only two days after her father died. She later lost a grandson in a very tragic car-bicycle accident.
Great-Grandma
Della (Conner) Pellett
Henry & Della (Conner) Pellett
Years a Homemaker: 15
Children: 4
Grandchildren: 13 (12 lived to adulthood)
Survived: Death of her daughter Nina, who died at age 6 of scarlet fever. Nina had recovered enough to return to school when she had a sudden relapse and died within a few days.
On her deathbed: She said that she had made preparations for death and that all was well with her soul.
Died: Died the same night as her sister-in-law (her husband’s brother’s wife). They died at their respective homes. She after a short illness and her sister-in-law after a long-term illness. The family held a double funeral. She was only 33 and her sister-in-law was 27.
Great-Grandma
Sarah Ellen “Sadie Ella”
(Ashby) Thomas
Sadie Ella (Ashby) Thomas
Years a Homemaker: 16
Children: 9 (6 lived to adulthood)
Grandchildren: 16 (14 lived to adulthood)
Cooking & Sewing: She died when Grandma Dessie Pellett was 15. It is assumed that Dessie learned to cook and sew from her mother as she could do both quite well.
Survived: The loss of two children at birth.
Died: She did not survive the loss of her 3rd child. The baby died at Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott She died two days later from complications of childbirth.
Natives of Scotland, William Bunten (W.B.) Ronald and his brother Robert, began life in Nebraska working mostly as laborers and farmers. William came to America in 1850 with Robert, who was much younger, coming with their parents in 1856. In 1870, William, 48, and Robert, 26, were both single men in the process of gaining citizenship and homesteading land in Nebraska. But, soon their focus would change to business.
Palmyra In Its Infancy
In the early 1870s, Palmyra, Nebraska, 34 miles west of Nebraska City was in its infancy. Only being platted and surveyed recently, Palmyra was ready to grow and to have business boom. Being situated along the railroad, Palmyra was perfect as a point of import and export.
In the fall of 1870, William Ronald purchased his first property in Palmyra. He bought a hardware business from Sylvanus Brown. William’s brother Robert would soon be a Palmyra businessman, too.
A Growing Village
Mid-1870s
By the mid-1870s, the town was estimated to be between 200 and 300 people. Two hotels existed in town – the Centennial House and the Keystone House. Robert Ronald was the proprietor of the latter. The Masons and other groups had been organized, along with Methodist, Presbyterian, and Catholic Churches.
The village had a flour mill, dealers in agriculture implements, lumber, dry goods & groceries, and general merchandise. William (W. B.) Ronald owned the hardware and furniture store in town. In the back of the store were additional rooms that the family lived in. Additionally, you could buy hats, sell grain, engage a blacksmith, or see Dr. White, who was the town’s physician and druggist.
In 1876, the rail station, which included a telegraph office, was kept busy. 244 rail cars of goods were exported with largest exports being corn, wheat, and hogs. Meanwhile, the biggest imports were lumber and coal.
Late-1870s
In 1878, Mr. Frost of Iowa moved to Palmyra to take charge of the Keystone House, which Robert owned. By the next spring, Robert had built a new 30 ft. x 50 ft. livery on Fourth Street just east of the Keystone House.
The livery was one of two in Palmyra. People of the village had choices. By 1879, Palmyra had two hotels, two grain elevators, two hardware stores, two general merchandising stores, and two physicians. But, the town had only one saloon. Palmrya had also added a fourth church, an additional physician, and a business that made cheese.
Source: Syracuse Journal , Syracuse, NE, May 27, 1881
Business, Business, Business
By the fall of 1880, William was expanding his business. He built a new store that was the largest store in town. Besides the main floor, the store had a 66 ft. x 32 ft. hall upstairs that could be used for lectures and other events. The hall was the largest in the county outside Nebraska City.
William, however, did not stay around long to enjoy the new larger store. In January 1881, William sold his hardware business to his brother Robert.
After Robert took over ownership of the hardware store, he called it “Palmyra’s Emporium.” It was said to have “first-class goods,” hardware, harnesses, agricultural machinery, furniture, and wall paper. In addition, the business included coffins and undertaking. Unrelated to hardware or home wares, the store also had Unadilla flour, which seemed to be popular in town despite the town having their own flour mill.
At the end of June, 1881, W. D. Page, who had been dealing in groceries and dry goods, expanded his business. He bought out Robert’s hardware store. And, he purchased the Keystone House and livery, too.
Life After Palmyra
William and Robert left Palmyra within less than a year. Both continued to own and work in businesses after they left Palmyra. However, they never had a business together or lived in the same area as each other again.
William B. Ronald
William B. Ronald and wife, believed to be Ellen
Two months later his wife Margaret Ann, whom he had married in 1870, filed for divorce on the grounds of abandonment. According to family, he went to Indian Springs, Missouri when he left his wife. However, I have not uncovered any evidence of his travel.
Cherokee, Kansas
On April 23, 1881, the Nebraska City News printed that William and Margaret had been granted a divorce. That same day William married Ellen Raymond in Cherokee, Crawford County, Kansas. Raymond may have been a married name as it is said that she was a young widow. However, information on Ellen is quite elusive.
According to the newspaper, about the time William married, he opened a stock of boots and shoes in Cherokee. The village had been founded 10 years earlier and was now thriving with over 500 inhabitants. It was to grow over 95% during the next decade.
The family also believed William owned a small grocery store during his time in Cherokee. I am not sure if this is the case or if there was confusion about a store he later owned. In any case, William’s business in Cherokee didn’t last long.
Indian Springs, Missouri
By the end of 1881, William sold his property in Cherokee. William and his wife moved to the new resort town of Indian Springs, Missouri by the beginning of February. Six weeks later, William claimed the healing water of the mineral springs had resulted in hair growing where he had once been bald and that it had cured his wife’s indigestion.
Soon, William and James Robinson of Neosho, Missouri began building a new two story hotel. The hotel was 55 ft. by 68 ft. and contained 29 rooms. It was named Planter’s House and was completed around July 4, 1882. It was close to the healing mineral springs that had drawn people to the area. The hotel was advertised as “A favorite resort for invalids.” It also had sample rooms for business men to use.
York, Nebraska
William’s wife became sick with tuberculosis and they moved back to Nebraska. After his wife died in December, 1883, William bought a small store on the east side of the square in York, Nebraska. He advertised that oysters, fruit, candies, and cheese were available in his store. The next year he advertised that birch beer, ginger ale, dried beef were available at his establishment.
In the 1885 census, he listed his occupation as confectioner.
Sherman Center
In October 1886, only a few months after marrying Angeline Cutshall, who was 35 years his junior, William dissolved two business partnerships in York, Nebraska. According to family, he then went to Sherman Center (originally called Shermanville and now a ghost town) in Kansas. There, he purchases a livery barn. His wife stayed in Nebraska with family until the following October. At that time, his wife and their 5 month old son joined him.
The town had just been started a few months earlier and officially established in September. However, Goodland was founded a few miles to the south. Goodland won the election for county seat, something several towns including Sherman Center were vying to get. Additionally, the future railroad planned to go through Goodland. Sherman Center quickly lost business. Thus, William and his family returned to Nebraska where he died in July, 1888.
Robert Ronald
Siblings: Mary (Ronald) Thorne, Robert Ronald, Margaret (Ronald) Thomson. Taken 1901 Marshland, Oregon
Robert’s sale preceded his exit from Palmyra and the state of Nebraska. Robert, his wife Clara whom he had married in 1872, and their children headed to the west coast. Their reasons for moving are unclear. Perhaps they just got the urge for adventure or as the newspaper indicated maybe they wanted to try a new climate.
Of course, it could also have been that Palmyra just didn’t have enough traffic to support his businesses. One writer of an article about the time William left Palmyra indicated that the town just wasn’t drawing enough business visitors and that it was falling behind other towns in terms of growth. The author suggested that the businessmen of the village needed to step up and help the town grow.
San Francisco
Although Robert left the hardware business, he wasn’t done selling goods, but like William the goods he sold and the location of his business changed.
Robert purchased a 40 acre farm in Santa Rosa, California. By November, he was selling fruits and vegetables in San Francisco.
Then in 1882, he sold the farm and purchased a meat market. After that he worked in various jobs until 1898 when he moved to Oregon. It was at that time that Clara was granted a divorce for desertion.
Robert died in Oregon City, Oregon of pneumonia in 1903. Based on Robert’s possessions at the time of his death, he appeared to have returned to farming during his time in Oregon.
To add a bit of confusion, his obituary mentions Clara as his beloved wife. Meanwhile, his death certificate lists him as a widower. Clara was definitely still living and as far as I have found they were divorced. She is not listed as an heir in his probate records.
There is more to each of their stories: their trips to America, life in New York and Wisconsin, and details of their family lives. Far too much for one article. But, great stories for another day.
Usually, papers being lost means a loss of information. However, in the case of William Bassett, my 4th great-grandfather, the loss of his papers stating that he had served in the Revolutionary War led to great insight into his service in the Continental Army.
Pension
On June 7, 1832, the U.S. Congress passed legislation that provided a pension for all men who served at least two years in the Revolutionary War in the Continental Line (official army raised by the Second Continental Congress), state militias, and other formal military groups. The act provided for benefits retroactive to March 4, 1831.
It wasn’t until December 29, 1833 that William Bassett appeared before Judge Joseph Robinson of the Ripley County Circuit Court and made a “Declaration for a Pension.” At the time, William was 79 years of age and was physically ailing. The document claimed that due to his infirm condition that he was not able to make his statements in an open court. Additionally, William was not able to write a statement himself as he was illiterate.
William’s claim, in brief, was that he had served in the Continental Army for 2 years and 9 months and that his papers regarding his service had been burnt when the Indians burned Craig’s Station in Kentucky.
In his file, along with William’s sworn statement, were a sworn statement from his wife Peggy, answers to “The 7 Questions” (assumed to be questions required to be answered by the pension office), and various correspondence with pension authorities. William’s pension file, which is over 50 pages long, provides a glimpse into William’s life.
St Peter, Limpsfield, Surrey by John Salmon
Early Life
According to his military record, William Bassett was born April 18, 1755 in Limpsfield, Surrey, England. Neither the family Bible nor his military pension files list his parents. However, it is possible that William is the son of Michel Baset. Michel baptized a son William in at St. Peters Church (Church of England) in Limpsfield on May 18, 1755 – one month to the day after William was born.
Arrival In America
The date William arrived in America is not answered in his military records or in his family Bible. There is, however, a record of British Deportees to America that indicates that a William Bassett was sent to the colonies in 1766-1767. It is unclear if this is the same William or a different one. If it is the same person, he would have only been about 12 years of age when he was sent across the ocean as a punishment for some crime that he supposedly committed. According to the laws of that time, a person could be sent to America for a wide variety of offenses from minor to serious. More research is needed to determine if this is the same William.
Revolutionary War Service
William was living in Botetourt County, Virginia in August 1776 when he enlisted as a private in the Virginia Military. He would serve in Captain John Stith’s Company. The company became a part of George Washington’s 3rd Continental Light Dragoon Regiment under the leadership of Colonel George Baylor.
William left with the unit for Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was at this location for approximately one year. Then he was on the move again going to Winchester, Virginia; Princeton, New Jersey; and Frederickstown, Maryland.
Smallpox Vaccine
George Washington, who had had smallpox and recovered, was desperately looking to contain the disease as it was running rampant through the American troops and impacting their ability to make progress against the British. He believed that vaccinating the soldiers for smallpox was a must given that the Army had not been able to keep it from spreading. Initially, he called new recruits to be inoculated, but found that wasn’t sufficient. Eventually, he decided that all the troops must be inoculated.
Thus, at Frederickstown, William, along with many other troops, were inoculated for smallpox. The process was risky, as a simple vaccine wasn’t yet available. Soldiers had to be inoculated using a process called variolation. With this process, live virus was introduced into cuts or scratches in hopes of inducing a mild form of smallpox. Then the soldiers had to spend time allowing the disease to run its course. The hope was that once the soldiers recovered that they would be immune to getting smallpox again.
The program, performed under extreme secrecy to keep the British from taking advantage of the recovering soldiers, was successful. It allowed William and the other soldiers to fight the British unhampered by smallpox.
On The Move
After healing from the inoculation, William and his unit headed to Redding, Pennsylvania. In pursuit of the British, the men ended up in Trenton, New Jersey. He wintered at the Wallace Edifice in Princeton, New Jersey. In the spring they had headed to Amboy and then to near New York City. When the British headed for Philadelphia, William and his unit moved to White Plains.
During the battle of White Plains, William was on the bank of the Delaware River. From there, his unit moved to Trenton, Brunswick, Springfield, Amboy, Elizabethtown, Morristown, and finally back to Trenton. After the battles of Trenton and Princeton, William’s unit hunkered down for the winter.
General Charles Lee. This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 70 years or fewer.
Monmouth Courthouse
William Bassett remained at Trenton until the following spring. It was then that he moved to near the Monmouth Courthouse. During the battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778, William and eleven other members of his company served with the guard of General (Charles) Lee.
That day General Lee, second in command in the Continental Army, led an initial assault on the British that did not go well. When Washington arrived, words were exchanged between the two, although the extent and severity seem to be up for debate. Soon additional troops arrived and the battle continued throughout the day. During the cover of darkness the following night, the British withdrew to New York City.
Baylor’s Massacre (Old Tappan)
The Set Up
William reported that after the Battle at Monmouth, he had went to Hackensack for a period of time before moving on to Old Tappan, where he was stationed in a stone barn. According to William, the “men were quartered at Tappan and the inhabitants of the place pretended to be very friendly to the cause of the Americans, and some of them made parties for the American soldiers and furnished large quantities of spirits of the choicest kind for the troops – and the American soldiers supposing themselves safe and in the homes of their friends became merry …. In the meantime the Torys sent off runners to New York to inform the British of the situation of the troops.”
By this time, William was asleep in a stone barn with many other men. Other troops were quartered in various houses and buildings in the area. However, at that moment, most of the men were not in a situation to defend themselves even if they knew that they were in danger “owing to the carousal a few hours previous.”
The Attack
William “was aroused from his sleep by the breaking of doors without and the cries of the soldiers for quarter – two men were sleeping close to him – the same corner and he attempted to awake them for he knew that the troops were surprised by the enemy – but he could not succeed in arousing any of the men, being insensible through drinking, and therefore proceeded to make his escape and run to the large door and slipped (out) a sliding door (which was contained in the large door) but notwithstanding the darkness he could see plainly the barn was surrounded by armed men, he therefore asked for quarter, They replied to him “goddamn your Rebbel soul we will give you quarter” and they demanded of him “how many men are in the barn” – he answered that he did not know how many. At this time the men within had become alarmed except those who were drunk, and were running out to the various places in the barn where they could make their escape, whereupon the British and Tory’s cried out “Skiner them – Skiner them” (which meant bayonet them).”
Prisoner of War
The British took William prisoner. He was “ ordered to stand while an armed man stood by to guard him.” When the guard was some distance away, he “sprang over a fence to escape.” As he “was jumping over the fence, he was stabbed in the back by a plunge of his pursuer’s bayonet which entered near the backbone,” wounding him significantly. However, despite almost fainting from the pain, he managed to escape the grasp of the enemy.
According to William, all the men, who were stationed with him, were either killed, wounded or taken prisoners except Captain Stith and seven other men. He recalled the “cries and groans of the wounded and dying.” And, further stated that “[t]he horrors of that night will never be effaced from his memory.”
Discharge
After escaping, William moved to Trenton, New Jersey before continuing on to Philadelphia. He remained there until spring when he went to Baltimore. William received an honorable discharge at Baltimore in May 1779. It was upon his discharge that Captain John Stith gave him papers certifying his service. Those papers were later burnt when the Indians burnt Craig’s Station in Kentucky.
In his description of his service, William stated that during his service, he had been acquainted with (I assume that means “knew of”) generals Washington, Greene, Gates, Lee, Paulaski, Maxfield, Purnam, and Wayne. He also knew colonels Spencer and Washington, along with many others. However, he could not remember all the units and militia groups that he had encountered.
Life After The Revolution
The Frontier
William moved to Kentucky after his service in the revolution. It is believed that William ventured to Kentucky with Daniel Boone and a group of Baptists in about 1780. He is said to have been with Boone on numerous occasions. (William’s adventures with Daniel Boone are a story for another day.)
Inside Front Cover of the Bassett Bible. In the possession of Ronald “Smokey” Bassett
Marriage
It wasn’t until November 22, 1786 that Mary McQuiddy gave her consent for William to marry her daughter Margaret “Peggy,” who was about 17 or 18 years of age. On the same day, John McQuiddy (likely Peggy’s brother John) and William Bassett entered into a marriage bond in the amount of fifty pounds of current money. They were married in Mercer County, Kentucky on November 27, 1786 by Rev. Rice.
Their Offspring
William and Peggy raised 10 children. No question exists as to the parentage of 9 of the 10. However, the parents of their oldest daughter, Nancy, are unclear.
The family Bible records Nancy’s birth as 1787, the year after William and Peggy married. However, it is believed that her name was Nancy Roe, she was born at an earlier date, and that she was an orphan. However, it does not appear that anyone has been able to confirm her parents names or the specific circumstances of their death.
Indiana Bound
In June 1817, William purchased land in Ripley County, Indiana, which had just opened up for settlement. In November of the following year, William sold 300 acres of land in Franklin County, Kentucky. The family moved to near Cross Plains, Brown Township, Ripley County, Indiana.
Many families from Kentucky moved to this area about this same time, including the Ellis family, who would marry a descendant of William and Peggy.
In 1821, the Middle Fork of Indiana Kentucky Baptist Church was founded. William Bassett was one of the deacons. And, the land was donated for the church by James and Mary Benham (Roger Ellis’ daughter and her husband).
The Pension
In 1834, after providing a detailed statement about his service and answers to the required questions, William was allowed a pension of $100 per year with it paid semi-annually.
Then in 1838, William made his will. He gave each of his children, whom he did not state by name, the sum of $1 each. The remainder of his estate was to go to his wife. Upon her death or if she was not living, the remainder was to be divided amongst his children. He made no provision for the families of any children that might not be living.
William died February 6, 1840. Peggy was allowed a pension after his death. Four years later on September 26, 1844 Peggy died. William and Peggy are buried together on the family farm ½ mile west of Cross Plains in Ripley County, Indiana (denoted on find-a-grave as “Bassett Cemetery”).
Notes
We descend through William and Peggy’s daughter Sarah. The entry for her in the Bible is at the bottom of the right page.
The term “Indians” is used rather than the current term of “Native Americans” to allow the article to be more consistent with the accounts of William Bassett and the terminology of that era.
Letters Home
Indiana Bound