Esther Sumner Damon

Esther Sumner Damon
Born August 1, 1814 (1814-08)
Plymouth Township
Died November 11, 1906 (1906-11-12) (aged 92)
Plymouth Union, Vermont, USA
Occupation Retired- Last American revolutionary war widow

Esther Sumner Damon (August 1, 1814[1] - November 11, 1906) of Vermont was the last American Revolutionary War widow to receive a pension.

Esther was born in Bridgewater, VT.[2] The family had eight or nine children.[1] Esther's father was killed by a fallen tree when she was eight years old.[1][2] Esther attended school during the winter and worked during the summers to help support her family.[2] At the age of seventeen, Esther began teaching school in Plymouth, VT.[2]

Esther Sumner married Noah D. Damon on September 6, 1835, at Bridgewater, VT when she was 21 and he was 75.[2] The couple had met two weeks prior.[2]

Noah Damon enlisted in the Continental Army on April 19, 1775.[2] He was intermittently enlisted over the next five years.[1] Noah applied for a war pension November 13, 1848.[3]

Noah was penniless, though Esther may have thought he was a hardworking landowner.[1] Esther supported him for three years before financial necessity forced him to move in with his daughter in New Hampshire.[2]

Esther supported herself by sewing and nursing the sick.[2] She also leased a farm near Reading, VT.[1]

After Noah's death, Esther received his pension. The pension was increased to $24 a month by the United States Congress on February 28, 1905.[4]

Towards the end of her life, Esther received additional financial support from the Daughters of the American Revolution.[2]

Esther died on November 11, 1906. She is buried at Plymouth Notch Cemetery in Plymouth, VT.[5] The gravestone was paid for by the Daughters of the American Revolution.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bayles, J. C. (18 June 1905). "The Last of the Revolutionary Widows". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Granite State Magazine. Granite State Publishing Company. 1907-01-01.
  3. ↑ "Esther (Sumner) Damon Genealogy & Ancestry Articles | GenealogyBank Blog". 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
  4. ↑ States, United (1905-01-01). Statutes of the United States of America Passed at the ... Session of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  5. ↑ "Esther Sumner Damon (1814 - 1906) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
  6. ↑ Congressional Edition. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1909-01-01.


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