Category Archives: Revolutionary War

Two Benjamin Maddoxes on Revolutionary War muster rolls in Charles County, Maryland

30 Thursday Dec 2021

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A fresh look at Revolutionary War enrollment records in Charles County, Maryland, in 1776-1777 begs the question of whether there were two Benjamin Maddoxes of similar age in the same county at the time. Benjamin Maddoxes appear in two separate companies, highlighted below. If they’re distinguishable, it could open new genealogical pathways down the line – and maybe help us document the father of our ancestor Benjamin Maddox (1776-1855).

But it’s possible that the two Benjamins are the same man. If one of the units was part of the all-volunteer Continental Army, then the same Benjamin Maddox could have appeared on the volunteer unit’s roll as well as the roll for his obligatory militia service.

Captain Francis Mastin’s militia company, Charles County, Maryland, enlisted on 19 March 1776:

  • Noah Maddocks (enlisted on 27 July 1776)
  • Samuell Maddox (enlisted on 27 July 1776)
  • William Maddox
  • Ignatious Maddox [enrolled on 8 August 1776; died in January 1777 in illness according to his will, possibly after fighting in the January 1777 Battle of Princeton.]
  • In 1776 this company included Maddox relative Humphrey Posey (misspelled “Dossy” on later records) as a Corporal. By 1781 Posey was promoted to Ensign. Benjamin Maddox (I)’s daughter Mary was the wife of Humphrey Posey.  Benjamin Maddox (II), brother-in-law, was the executor of Humphrey Posey’s will in 1784.

Captain Francis Mastin’s militia company, 26th Battalion, Charles County, Maryland, enrolled in 1777 (originally a voluntary unit in 1776, this would now include compulsory enrollees):

  • Saml. Madox (enlisted on 27 July 1776)
  • Rhody Maddox
  • George Maddox
  • Benj. Maddox
  • James Maddox
  • Jno. Maddox
  • Leonard Maddox
  • Noah Maddox (enlisted on 27 July 1776)
  • In addition to these Maddoxes, numerous related families were enrolled in Mastin’s company, including Poseys, Lucketts, Woodwards, and Speakes. Humphrey Posey may be misspelled as “Nehmp: Posey” on later records. Samuel Luckett was a Lieutenant.

Captain Walter Hanson’s militia company, 12th Battalion, Charles County, Maryland, enrolled in 1777:

  • Benjamin Maddox
  • Cornelius Maddox
  • In addition to these Maddoxes, a few Luckitts were enrolled in Captain Hanson’s company.

Captain Robert Sinnett’s militia company, 26th Battalion, Charles County, Maryland, enrolled in 1777:

  • Thos. Maddox

Captain Jno. Hanson’s militia company, 12th Battalion, Charles County, Maryland, enrolled in 1777:

  • Henry Maddocke
  • Notley Maddocke (a later report of Musters of Maryland Troops, Vol. 3, indicates Notley Maddox died of wounds on 16 September 1778 while in the Third Regiment)

Captain John Thomas’s militia company, 12th Battalion, Charles County, Maryland, enrolled in 1777:

  • Nathan Maddox

Return of the drafts from Charles County who were drafted the 11th and 12th June, 1781:

  • Allison Maddox (son of Ignatius Maddox; buried in Maddox Cemetery in Woodbridge, Va.)

These lists are not perfect and are not all-inclusive. For example, we know based on separate records that our relative Walter Maddox served in the company of a Captain John Courts Jones, part of the Princess Ann Battalion mustered in Somerset County (according to the National Archives, John Courts Jones of Charles County, Md., was a planter who began the Revolution as a second lieutenant in the 1st Maryland Battalion of the Flying Camp and ended the war as a captain, serving as aide-de-camp to Maj. Gen. William Smallwood from 1779 to 1783). The regiment was mostly recruited from the western counties of Maryland. Walter enlisted on 9 March 1777 and was killed in action at Monmouth on 28 June 1778.

Another Maddox, Thomas Maddux Jr., served as a Second Lieutenant in Captain John Jones’ company, part of the Princess Ann Battalion, mustered in Somerset County.

Source: The Maryland Militia in the Revolutionary War, Heritage Books, 2006, pp. 100; 112; 158-164.

Life after the Revolution

22 Tuesday Dec 2015

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The Maryland Society of Sons of the American Revolution have provided the Maryland General Assembly Assessment Record for Charles County, 1783 (and other years), providing insights into the conditions of the Maddoxes’ life at the time… http://www.mdssar.org/sites/default/files/archives/1783taxlists/Charles_Co_MD1783OPT.pdf.  Importantly, all of these Maddox sites were listed in the Durham Parish section of the tax list, meaning that the Maddoxes on this list probaby would have attended the Durham Parish church called Christ Church or Ironsides).

Benjamin Maddox is listed on p. 147 as owner of Posey’s Chance, 100 acres valued at 50 (pounds?), with a small dwelling house, corn house and meal house on site. (Page ref: msa_s1161_scm871-0561)

Leonard Maddox is listed on p. 144 as owner of Horn Fair, 150 acres valued at 75, with small dwelling house on site.

Polly Maddox is listed on p. 144 as owner of Hornfair “pt” (probably the land called Hornfair Addition in other documents), 30 acres valued at 15, in “poor forrest” with a small house on site.

John Maddox is listed on p. 147 as owner of Planters Delight and Renewment, with various houses, and on p. 148 as owner of Reserve.  He seems to have been doing the best of the lot.

Rhody Maddox is listed on p. 143 as owner of Fo-nd Hill, 33 acres, very poor quality, and on p. 140 as owner of Blue Plains “pt”, 88 acres, very poor quality with small dwelling house.

Edward Maddox is listed on p. 140 as owner of Blue Plains “pt”, 179 acres with a “sorry” dwelling and kitchen, tobacco house and corn house.

General Washington, General Smallwood, Daniel St Thomas Jennifer, and George Mason owned land in the same area.

Click to access Charles_Co_MD1783OPT.pdf

Click to access Charles_Co_MD1782OPT.pdf

Joseph the Baptist

06 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by in Religious leanings, Revolutionary War

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We know that Cornelius Maddox was an Anglican in the 17th century, based on his British citizenship and his family’s name in the records of the Anglican Nanjemoy Parish in Charles County, Maryland.  The family’s 1790 move to Abbeville, South Carolina, followed the Revolution, and the Revolution resulted in a rejection of Anglicanism among many of the victorious rebels.  In the case of the Maddoxes in South Carolina, Baptist Protestantism was the favored religion.  Baptist Protestantism was gaining a strong foothold in the settlements of western South Carolina at the time.

When Benjamin (III) and Joseph Maddox left South Carolina around 1810, they settled in Christian County, Kentucky, for a few decades before eventually settling in Illinois.  We have now determined from Joseph’s certificate of marriage to his first wife Susannah Shelton, in 1825, that Joseph was a Baptist at that time.  On the marriage certificate is Baptist Minister John Bobbitt‘s name.  At the time, most churches were nothing more than open-air arbors, or services were held in settlers’ cabins, according to William Henry Perrin’s 1884 religious history of the county.  Minister Bobbitt would be buried in the Bobbitt Cemetery near Kelly, Kentucky.  It is quite possible that he was one of the originators – in name or deed – of the Mount Zoar Baptist Church, which was established in Kelly in 1841.

Of the many Baptist churches of Christian County that might have served as the Maddox family’s parish, the Crofton Baptist Church stands out.  It was just upstream from Joseph’s farm and included Joseph’s Long and Ford neighbors, and later was served by two Maddox ministers.

The evolution of religious leanings over the generations is curiously fluid.  Later, John Napoleon Maddox was a Methodist, but his daughter Irene was a Presbyterian.  Later generations have chosen yet other creeds.

Walter Maddox’s war record

13 Monday Jan 2014

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We previously detailed the war record of Walter Maddox, who served as a fifer and drummer in the Maryland 7th Regiment, which wintered at Valley Forge and participated in notorious battles at Monmouth, Trenton and elsewhere.  Walter’s death is recorded in the National Archives’ “Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, compiled 1894 – ca. 1912, documenting the period 1775 – 1784,” on roll 0407 – an image worth keeping on file…

Image

The Maddox-Posey marriages

25 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by in Abbeville, Luckett Family, Posey Family, Revolutionary War

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As with the Gaines family, our Maddoxes intermarried with the Posey family, spanning generations from Colonial Maryland to post-Revolutionary South Carolina.  A trip through the current Yellow Pages of Charles County, Maryland, reveals more than one Posey-Maddox, even today.  Here’s a look at some early relationships.

  • Elizabeth Maddox (1724 – 17 February 1759), daughter of Edward Maddox (son of Cornelius) married John Posey (30 July 1685 – 15 October 1759) in May 1749 after his first wife, Lydia Shuttleworth died in 1744.
  • John Posey’s daughter Frances Posey (1716 – 1784) married Benjamin I (1696 – 1770). Reference:  Charles County, Maryland land records 2:343-345: ” John Posey and wife Lydia acknowledge a deed dated 26 May 1740 selling Horn fair to Benjamin Maddox and wife Frances.”  Maryland wills 30: 641-642: John Posey’s will written 6 Jan 1759 and proved 17 Feb 1759, “I give to my Daughter Frances Madox one shilling Sterling & no more”.
  • Benjamin I’s son Thomas (1732 –  ) married Frances Posey (1716 – 1784) in 1759.  This marriage may conflict with the marriage above.
  • Benjamin I’s daughter Mary (1718 – August 1785) married Humphrey Posey (1718 – 28 February 1784), son of John Posey.  Reference: Charles County, Maryland Will Book B-1, 1782-1785; Page 278: Humphrey Posey Sr. Will.  “I, Humphrey Posey of CC, am weak of body but of sound mind and memory. Firstly, I want my just debts paid.  To my sons Prior Posey, Benja Posey, Been Posey, & Roger Posey, and to my daughters Elizabeth Posey, Easter Posey, Mary Posey, Sarah Posey, & Ann Posey – 1 english shilling each & no more. To my wife Mary Posey – the rest of my estate, and at her death, to my son, Wheeler Posey, and if he dies without an heir, to my son Roger Posey.  Executor: Benja Maddox.  Signed Mar 13, 1783 – Humphrey (HP his mark) Posey Sr. Wit – Leonard Maddox, Benja Maddox.  Probated on Feb 28, 1784 by the oath of the executor, Benjamin Maddox Sr and by the oaths of both witnesses.”  Charles County Wills, 9.69 dated 9 August 1785: “Wheeler Posey (Mary’s son) an orphan 14 years and 3 months of age is by this Court bound to William Norris…”  Maryland wills 30: 641-642, PHL microfilm 0,012,853: Benjamin II and his brother, Leonard, were witnesses of Humphrey Posey, Sr.’s will on 13 March 1783.  Humphrey Posey’s wife was Benjamin II’s sister, Mary.  Benjamin II was appointed executor of the estate.  On 11 June 1784, Benjamin II renounced and gave up administration of Humphrey Posey’s estate.  Charles County Wills 8.338: On 9 August 1785, Wheeler Posey, the youngest son of Humphrey and Mary Maddox Posey was an orphan and therefore his mother, Mary Maddox Posey, had died.  Ref:  Charles County Wills, 9.69
  • Benjamin I’s daughter, Mary Ann (1720 – 1776) married Rhodum Posey (1725 – 1787), son of John Posey in 1750.  She may have been married to Thomas Dyson prior to marrying Rhodum.
  • Benjamin II (1735 – 1811) married Mary Posey
  • Benjamin II’s son, Henley (1761 – 1806) married Jannett Luckett (1749 – February 1815) in 1784.  She was the widow of Pryor Posey (1745 – 6 November 1782), Humphrey Posey and Mary Maddox’s son, who she had married in 1769
  • Edward’s son Rhoda (1730 – 1828) married Elizabeth (NLN).  His land is next to William Brawner, who married Rhoda’s sister, Ann Maddox.
  • Mary Ann Maddox (1770 – 1790) married Isaac Brawner (1765 – 1830), son of William Brawner in 1787 in Charles County, MD.

The death of a drummer

26 Thursday Jul 2012

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Everyone has seen that painting… the one called “Spirit of 76” with the Revolutionary drummer and fifer proudly trooping through a battlefield despite their bandages.  That’s all I could imagine – I mean, what other context would I have for it, really? – when I discovered that grand uncle Walter was a fifer and drummer in the Revolution… and that he died as a drummer at the Battle of Monmouth.

Well, thanks to the extremely insightful Dr. Glenn Williams, senior historian at the US Army Center of Military History, we now have some better context.  Dr. Williams illuminated the situation in an email today:

“There is a Fifer Walter Maddox listed in the muster rolls of the 7th Maryland Regiment, Continental line.  During the battle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778, it was part of the Main Army’s Right Wing, commanded by Major General Nathanael Greene, and in the 1st Maryland Brigade, commanded by Brigadier General William Smallwood.  The brigade, incidentally spent the “Valley Forge Winter” at Wilmington, Delaware.

“The commander of the 7th Maryland was a Colonel John Gunby, and Maddox served in the company of a Captain John Courts Jones.  The regiment was mostly recruited from the western counties of the state.  Maddox enlisted on
9 March 1777, and was killed in action at Monmouth on 28 June 1778.

“His enlistment/ discharge/ death information can be found in the Maryland State Archives in Annapolis, or on line at http://www.msa.md.gov/ under the Military Records link, specifically “Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution”, which is Volume 18 of the Maryland Archives, page 231.

“I am sorry, I cannot tell you where he may be buried, but my guess is a churchyard near (probably east of) Freehold (formerly Monmouth Courthouse), New Jersey.”

Dr. Williams followed up in a second email…

“Please note that the 7th Maryland Regiment in which Walter Maddox served as a fifer was in the Continental Line (a regular army unit), NOT the militia. While he may have served in the militia, as it was the obligation of EVERY
free, white, male between the ages of 18 and 45 to enroll (one did NOT “join” or “enlist” in the militia, you were enrolled by the county court according to property and tax records as filling an obligation just like jury duty) to do so. His wartime service, according to the muster rolls at the Maryland State Archives, indicates he was serving with the Continental Army, as the 7th Maryland Regiment, Continental Line, was a regular army unit.

“It was a common practice to fill the regular regiments up with men “draughted” (drafted) from the militia for a campaign season (usually six months in duration), these levies were militia temporarily called to the colors for the duration only of a single campaign season.  They would be exempt from the next draft, as men in the succeeding “class” would be eligible, and so as to not draft the same men over and over.

“Given Walter’s enlistment in March 1777, my guess is that he enlisted for the term of “three years or the duration of the war,” the then standard term of enlistment as a regular.”

Now that’s something to go on.