The tale of Greene County’s two Amos Finchs

Over the years many Finch family descendants have reached out to me regarding their ancestry in Greene County. The Finch family is quite large and actually quite complicated, with the same family names shared amongst many family members in the same generation.

I had been researching the Finch family for some time in Greene County, as my stepchildren’s 7 times grandfather, John Lennon’s daughter, Henrietta, had married Jonas Finch from Jewett, the son of Amos and Martha Finch.

As I continued my research into the Finch genealogy, I quickly realized that there were two Amos Finch men who were living in Greene County at the same time and both were married to women named Martha.

It did not take long for me to realize that the genealogies of these two Amos Finch families were terribly confused and that online and published information on the two Amos Finch men was often attributed to the wrong Amos Finch and wife and vice versa.

It took a fair amount of research, but eventually I believe I have able to figure out these two men and their families.

I discovered that one Amos Finch was buried in the Sandy Plains cemetery in the Town of Cairo. This Amos had died January 22, 1849, at the age of 94 years and 4 months. Buried beside him was his wife, Martha, who had died August 23, 1841, at the age of 77 years, 6 months and 4 days. A Revolutionary War plaque was placed beside Amos’ stone in 1985 by the On-ti-Ora Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Amos Finch was the son of Ebenezer Finch and his wife Hannah Newman and grandson of John Finch and Sarah Lockwood. He and his wife Martha had at least eight children: Amos, born on April 25, 1785 and died May 20, 1869, married Hannah Lockwood; Charles born in 1787 and died October 29, 1840, unmarried; an infant child who was born and died in 1789; Elizabeth, born in 1793 and died May 22, 1811, unmarried; Betsey J., born January 7, 1796  and died May 22, 1844, unmarried; Ira, born June 9, 1797 and died June 22, 1864, married Cornelia Bush; Martha Rowe, born in 1798 and died February 18, 1888, married Harvey H. Peck; and Samuel, born April 3, 1800 and died March 24, 1850, married Anna Bush.

I also discovered that an Amos Finch was buried in the East Kill (Beaches Corners) cemetery in Jewett. This Amos had a hand carved fieldstone for his marker, which stated he had died in 1845 at the age of 94 years. His wife, Martha’s marker, also hand carved, was nearby. She had died on the 21st of May, 1831.

This Amos was the son of Benjamin Finch and his wife Sarah Knapp and grandson of Isaac Finch and his wife Martha. He and his wife Martha had at least the following children, which I have been able to document: Ira, Samuel, Jonas, born June 20, 1782 (married Henrietta Lennon), Abram, born August 3, 1791 (married Laura Merwin), Amos, Abram’s twin, (married Polly Merwin, then Abigail and then Eliza M.), Mary, born in 1795, Lucy, born in 1800 (married Caleb Parker), Hannah, born in 1802, Benjamin, born abt. 1805 and Zada, born abt. 1805 (married Robert McMurray).

How confusing could this be? Two Amos Finch’s – born just four years apart and both married to a Martha. How to determine the maiden names of the two Marthas?

I had found an old bible record at the Durham Center Museum in the Rossi records. Mrs. Rossi was a descendant of the Finch family and had undertaken extensive genealogical correspondence with a number of Finch descendants in the mid-twentieth century. Her extensive collection of genealogical records of the Finch and many other families were deposited at the Durham Center Museum many years ago.

The challenge with Mrs. Rossi’s records (there are over 35 binders of her material) is that they are mostly handwritten, none of it is indexed, nor does Mrs. Rossi usually indicate the sources for her information. Nonetheless, using her records as a jump off point, I have discovered few errors in the material.

Mrs. Rossi had collected literally dozens of bible records and within these records I found a Finch Family Bible record for the family of Amos Finch Jr. and his wife Hannah Lockwood, the daughter of Nathaniel and Mary Lockwood from Cairo. Amos’ bible record clearly shows that his father, Amos was born September 22, 1755, and his mother Martha Rowe, February 19, 1767. This is consistent with the tombstones of Amos and Martha at the Sandy Plains Cemetery.

What was the maiden name of Martha, the wife of Amos Finch buried in the Beaches Corners Cemetery in Jewett? That took a little more digging. Mrs. Rossi’s records show that Amos from Jewett had married a Martha Parks. Jonas Park’s will, dated in 1801 stated that he had a daughter named Martha and Amos and Martha had named one of their sons Jonas.

Jonas Parks had been a Lieutenant in the 6th Dutchess County Militia during the Revolutionary War. In that same regiment was an Amos Finch. Was this Martha Park’s husband, or Martha Rowe’s?

Using Fold3.com I decided to look up Amos Finch in the Revolutionary War records that had been scanned into the site. There was only one Amos Finch listed who had applied for a pension and that was Amos from Cairo.

Amos’ application for a Revolutionary War pension provided few clues to his identity but was filled with a great deal of detail about his military service. The one important clue that helped determine that this was the pension file of Amos from Cairo, was the statement, given under oath, that Amos had been born in 1755 in Bedford, Westchester County, NY.

Amos had enlisted on or about January 1, 1776, at Nine Partners, Dutchess Co, NY. His company was commanded by Captain Stanton in the Regiment commanded by Colonel Warner. Soon after enlisting, his company marched to Albany, then on to Fort George, then to Fort Ticonderoga, and finally across the ice of Lake Champlain to St. John’s in Canada. This regiment had been founded by Ethan Allen and would be known as the Green Mountain Boys. By 1776, Col. Seth Warner was in command.

Amos’ company served in Canada until the arrival of General Burgoyne in 1776 and quickly retreated to the American side of the border and rowed their way the length of Lake Champlain to Fort Ticonderoga where he was discharged on August 1, 1776.

Amos had contracted smallpox during this enlistment and was sick for some time, but regained his health by November when he reenlisted for one month in a company commanded by Col. Graham.

Amos’ regiment was stationed at Peekskill and was discharged on January 1, 1777. Amos had become ill once again and returned home to recuperate.

In the spring of 1778, he volunteered for a third time and served in a company commanded by Captain James Talmadge in the Regiment commanded by Colonel Southerland. According to his sworn statement, his company was chiefly employed in arresting and confining Tories in a Log Goal that had been erected at the New York and Connecticut border. This enlistment lasted only six months.

In the fall of 1779, Amos was drafted to serve once again, but this term was relatively short. He was at Peekskill for only two months. His last enlistment in the fall of 1780 was again brief, another two months. Amos did not mention that he had fought in any specific battles during his many enlistments.

In total Amos had served seventeen months and his pension was approved on June 6, 1833, retroactive to March 4, 1831. He would receive $56.66 annually.

I searched for proof of Amos Finch from Jewett in the Revolutionary War files. As he did not file a Revolutionary War pension request and he lived until 1845, it seems probable to me that he had not served. Substantiating this fact is that Amos is not listed in the 1840 census as a Revolutionary War soldier, but Amos from Cairo is. This census specifically captured this type of information.

I believe there is certainly room for more investigation on the Jewett Amos’ possible Revolutionary War service. His grandchildren certainly believed he had served, as a number of them mention it in their biographies. Quite a few ladies, descendants of Amos from Jewett, belonged to the DAR using the service of Amos from Cairo as their proof.

I’d love to hear from more Finch researchers and to flesh out these families with more details. I may have information you are looking for.

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Sylvia is a Hudson Valley historian, genealogist and lecturer with more than 25 years’ experience. She is also the President of the Cairo Historical Society. Sylvia can be reached at Sylvia@northriverresearch.com

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