Pierre (Peter) LaBree, Revolutionary War Seaman

Dale and Harv have gathered bits and pieces about Pierre LaBree 1755-1851 - he being Nancy (LaBree) Dutton's great-grandfather. Pierre has an interesting story, and the more we discover the more interesting he becomes. The most recent finding is his application (submitted in 1845, at age 90) for pension for Revolutionary War service as both a privateer seaman and with the Massachusetts Continental Navy. During his service at sea he was a privateer on the Tyranicide, which was present, and provided a vital role, at Bagaduce  (Castine, ME) during the Penobscot Expedition. Our transcription of his application is below and a likeness of the original (two pages) is included in the "Maine Connections" slideshow in right column, along with other pictures of interest.

TRANSCRIPTION:

Page 1 (dictated to his son Lawrence):
I Peter Labree of Brentwood in the County of Rockingham and state of New Hampshire testify and declare that I was born in George Town State of Maine and there lived until I was twelve years of age and then moved to Mount Desert so called and lived there until the Revolutionary War began. When the War began I went in a smawl (?) schooner commanded by Agren Crabtree and took an old sloop bound from Annapolis to Halifax worth about three hundred dollars. From there I went to Salem and entered a Continental vessel commanded by Daniel Waters of eight guns four pounders. I was in said vessel for a term of eleven months, front of line off Cape Ann we took a wood cutter bound for Boston which was then occupied by British. Also took a schooner of 60 tons bound to the West Indies from Annapolis Isle and the remainder we were on a cruiser for the Gamueah (??) Fleet.
I was on the Brig called the Trianacides (Tyrannicide) commanded by Jonathan Haradin (??) of Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1781 until peace was declared and in company with another Brig. commanded by Capt. Fisk. We bring two Brigs of 15 guns 6 pounders and on a cruise off the Grand Banks we took a copper bottom Brig and put a firemuster (??) a board and order her to Salem but she was retaken and we then sailed towards the British Channell and on our cruise we took after a running action of three hours and a half with vessel of superior metal (??) to ours and they had two of their officers killed we had no one killed. From there we cruised in the English Channel off Cape Clear on the north side of Ireland Isle and there we took a vessel we called a Snow which the invoice of her cargo was twenty five thousand pounds sterling. Also we took a Brig with sixty Hessians and three women on board bound to Quebeck. Also we took a Brig loaded with provisions and salt bound to Newfoundland. Also we took off the Channel three other vessels making seven which arrived home safe. A seventy-four gunship gave us chase and drove us into France. I was out in this vessel for fifteen months. You will find my name on the ship’s records. Prior to this cruise I was out a privateering and taken prisoner into New York and there kept a little better than a year when I returned home. I have lived in Brentwood not far from sixty-five years but have been occasionally been to sea. My sea service including the Revolutionary War service has been not far from forty years. I have been a sea captain about twenty years. I am ninety years old.
Page 2 (dictated to his son Lawrence):
At the breaking out of the Revolutionary War I entered the service as a volunteer but after a service of eleven months I thought I should get more by entering a privateer which I did until I was taken prisoner and suffered so much at New York. I then thought if I was in the State service I should be exchanged sooner and it would be better for me and accordingly entered the State of Massachusetts service in 1781 and served for fifteen months and I was honorably discharged which discharge is lost but you will find my name on the payrolls of the Trianacides (Tyrannicide) during all of which time I served in the capacity of an able bodied seaman and he therefore prays that the Court to take order hereon to instill him to a pension agreeably to an act of Congress passed June 7, 1832. He being entitled to the provisions therein proclaimed to a pension for two years service.
March 19, 1845
Dictated to his son Lawrence LaBree
Pierre LaBree X (his mark)
Witnesses
Daniel W. Ladd
Nathan (?) Batchelder (?)

What about the Maine Dutton - LaBree Connection

Over the past year Harv and Dale have discovered new resting places for some Dutton-LaBree family members in Maine. As most of you know, Nancy LaBree Dutton followed two of her sons, John (Phillipsburg) and William (Avis) to Pennsylvania where she spent the rest of her days living with one or the other of them. Nothing more was ever known about the LaBree / Dutton family, that lived in Maine, until recently.
Through Dale's research it was discovered the original Dutton to come to Maine was John Dutton, who migrated from Billerica, MA to Starks, ME and he died there in 1818. Members of the Dutton family lived in other towns in that immediate area - Abbot, Parkman, Industry and Kingfield to name some. Our line of the LaBree family also migrated to that same area of the state - Cambridge, Abbot, Parkman to name three towns.


Last summer, as Harv and Dale were driving through Abbot from Moosehead Lake they stopped at an old cemetery on the main road to explore - not looking for anyone in particular. By coincidence Harv stumbled right onto Thomas Jefferson Dutton 1806-1863 (Nancy LaBree's father-in-law) and Thomas's mother Louis (Young) Dutton 1769-1853.
Later that summer they went to Industry and found the grave of Josiah Dutton 1770-1862 (Thomas Jefferson Dutton's father / Louis's husband). Pictures of their graves are in the slide show, right column. Josiah's grave is in an old cemetery located on a back road that is situated on the Industry / Starks town line. So happened a friend of Dale's has a camp on that road and she had actually explored the cemetery years before without realizing the connection. Josiah's father John Dutton 1738-1818 was the first to migrate to (Starks) Maine from Massachusetts before 1790. Suspect he was a Revolutionary War veteran but that remains to be seen.


Nancy LaBree Dutton's husband - Thomas Franklin Dutton - had been a BIG mystery for a long time as no one in the family ever really heard or knew what became of him. Dale found that he had entered the Civil War at age 19, left Nancy at home in Maine with five children, and never returned. He ended up in Thompson, CT with another family and is buried there with his 2nd wife. That explains why Nancy had to depend on her sons for support and also why she never talked about her husband Thomas. We are still searching for more info about Thomas and Nancy (LaBree) Dutton to determine if they were ever really married or divorced. Hopefully time will help unweave their story!


Harv and Dale are still hoping to find the resting places for John Dutton (the first to migrate to Maine) who died in Starks in 1818; and also plan to track down Thomas Labree, died 1871 in Cambridge, ME.; his father James who died 1831 in Wales, ME; his father Pierre LaBree who died 1851 (age 96) in Rockingham County, NH. By the way - Pierre LaBree was born in Georgetown, Maine and moved to Mount Desert Island at age 12 (then called Acadia, New France). He was aboard Capt. Eleazer Crabtree's brigantine ship the Tyrannicide that fought against the British at the Penobscot Expedition, Bagaduce Peninsula (Castine) - but that is another story for another time!!

Indian Walking Purchase by Edward Marshall in 1737 ~ Retraced by Chuck Stone in 2013

Edward Marshall running the
Indian Walking Purchase
accompanied by his "road crew"

The Indian Walking Purchase was performed for the proprietaries of Pennsylvania in 1737 and resulted from a treaty negotiated by the sons of William Penn with the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware.  The treaty defined the process for establishing an amount of land and its borders to be conveyed to the English by the Lenape tribe.  The treaty called for the amount of land to be determined by the distance a man could walk in a day and a half.  Edward Marshall and two other men were commissioned by the Penn brothers to make the walk.  The two men, not being able to maintain the pace set by Edward, dropped out early in the walk.  Edward completed the two days at a brisk run, covering approximately 63 miles.  There were strong feelings among the Native Americans that they had been cheated out of their land by the Indian Walking Purchase and it is believed that it this was a significant reason for the deterioration in the relationship between the Indians and the English leading up to and following the French and Indian War.  By 1755, over 50 settlers had been killed in Indian attacks with the bounds of the Walking Purchase, including Edward Marshall’s wife, oldest daughter, and son. Generations later  his descendant Oscar Marshall had five daughters - Edith, Alice, Ruth, Bertha and Venna Jean. 

Chuck Stone (middle) with his road crew. Dale Marie
Potter-Clark, Matt and Keith Stone and Harvey Boatman.
Chuck ran 70 miles in a little less time (at 58years old) than
Edward Marshall ran 63 miles (at 27 years old). Humbly, as
always, Chuck said "but he didn't have fancy running shoes."

In 2013 Chuck Stone, a son of Ruth, ran the course of the "Indian Walking Purchase" done by his 6th g-grandfather Edward Marshall 226 years before. Chuck's road crew consisted of his sons Matt and Keith and his first cousin Harvey Boatman - son of Bertha. Photographer was Dale Marie Potter-Clark - Harvey's life partner and the family historian who uncovered this Marshall connection. Upon completion of Chuck's 70 mile run a time capsule was buried at the finish point. Bill Landauer - a reporter from the Allentown Morning Call - followed us on day #2 and wrote an article for that newspaper. To read the story and to see a video interview of Chuck follow this link. To access Dale's pictures of the run see the slideshow in the right column.

The direct line from Oscar Verus Marshall to Edward Marshall:

Oscar Verus Marshall 1898 - 1970

John Franklin Marshall 1869 - 1946

Charles C. Marshall 1842 – about 1920

John Marshall 1818 - 1896

John W. Marshall 1785 - 1871

Peter Marshall 1759 - 1806

Edward Marshall 1710 – 1789

 

 

2012 Reunion in Milford, Kansas

The Marshall-Dutton grandchildren (cousins) who were
present for Aunt Edith's memorial service

A GREAT BIG thank you to Joy and Jim Holmes for planning the reunion this time and for being great hosts. They organized lots of fun activities, plenty of time to visit and catch up and we all ate good (of course)! We were also blessed to share in the memorial service to our blessed Aunt Edith at "the camp". We are looking for someone(s) / a place to host the reunion in 2014. Ideas and volunteers are welcome!! See the pictures from this reunion (and others) by clicking on the appropriate slide show in the right column.

Marshall - Dutton Family Reunions

Marshall Sisters Edith and Venna Jean.

In July 2010 the Marshall-Dutton Family Reunion was held at Happy Acres in the Pine Creek Valley, Waterville, PA. The Marshall-Dutton family originated nearby in Jersey Shore, Larry's Creek and Cogan Station. Having reunion back on "home ground" was a choice we all made so we could enjoy hearing stories from "the Aunts". As it turned out Edith, the eldest and Venna Jean, the youngest were the two who were able to come so we heard different perspectives which were very interesting to all. All agreed that it was a great weekend of family gatherings and family history tours. The next reunion will be held in Kansas the summer of 2012 with the Bloom - Holmes family hosting. Be sure to check out the slideshows (right column) of this and other Marshall-Dutton Reunions! We are looking for pictures from the 1992 reunion in Montana if anyone has some to share email them to dmclark1@roadrunner.com Thanks!!

Nancy LaBree Dutton

Harvey Boatman indicating the location of Nancy LaBree Dutton's grave in Phillipsburg, PA.

In March 2009 we stopped by Phillipsburg, PA to search for Nancy LaBree Dutton's (his g-g-grandmother) grave. Nancy, originally from Maine and of Abenaki Indian descent, was Minnie Dutton Marshall's grandmother. Nancy spent time living with her two sons, John in Phillipsburg and William in Avis, PA. Family tradition has told us that Nancy was buried in Phillipsburg where she was living at the time of her death in 1916. Her grave marker is the only one on the Dutton family plot though it is large enough for several graves. Some cemetary workers told us there had been several gravestones on that plot but there was a sinkage problem and all but Nancy's gravestone sunk out of sight. Her gravestone looks much newer than 1916 and we wondered if someone in the family had bought and set a new one in later years. The picture with Harv shows the far right corner of the family plot. Each corner has a granite marker with a "D". Pictures of Nancy LaBree Dutton's grave and others are in the slideshow in the right column.