In Joseph Bateman’s 1832 Revolutionary War Pension Application, Bateman stated that he “came to Vermont about 40 years ago + he lived in Middletown, Poultney, + Rutland. He now lives in the latter place where he has lived about twelve years. He is known to Rev. W. Walker, Proctor + Rice, clergyman, and to most inhabitants of Mill Village.”
Rutland County is circled
Middletown, Poultney and Rutand are all smaller communities within the county of Rutland, in Vermont. The county is along the border of New York and near Fort Ticonderoga and Fort George.
Joseph Bateman is listed in the 1790 Census for Middletown along with Eleazer Bateman. He had 8 members in his household, suggesting that he and his wife had had 6 children by 1790: one son and five daughters.
By the 1800 Census, which has detailed age brackets, his household had 12 members.
| Age Bracket | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| 26-44 | 1 | 1 |
| 16-25 | 1 | 0 |
| 10-15 | 2 | 1 |
| Under 10 | 1 | 4 |
He had four children living with him in 1800 that would have been born in 1790, suggesting that either two daughters died, or they had married and left his household. His wife gave birth to five additional children between 1790-1800.
By 1810, he had left Middletown and moved to Poultney. There, he is living with wife, and three children. 2 sons and 1 daughter. He is listed as over 45, suggesting that in 1810, he was closer to 44 than 26.
By 1820, he is listed in Rutland, and is listed without other family, although in 1830 he is listed with his wife and an adult child. His daughter, Lydia Bateman, had married Samuel Norton and migrated to Illinois.
The 1823 map of Rutland County shows the settlement in Rutland (City) without corresponding towns in Poultney and Middletown. This suggests that the villages were much smaller. In 1824 & 1833, the post office advertised a letter for him among other residents.
Orlando Bateman ran this ad in the 25 Oct 1826 Northern Spectator, published in Poultney, where Joseph Bateman lived prior to moving to Rutland (city). It is possible that Orlando is one of his sons, or possibly a child of Eleazer Bateman, Joseph’s neighbor in 1790.
Joseph Bateman’s pension application makes reference to Mill Village which encompassed a saw and grist mill. Joshua Reynolds built the mills in the 1770s on East Creek north of Rutland City. A settlement grew around the mills which was called Mill Village.
Bateman’s pension application records that he was born in Killingly, Connecticut, a town in eastern Connecticut which was also a mill town.
Rev. Hadley Proctor witnessed his affidavit that he had served in the Revolutionary War. In Feb 1830, the Rutland Weekly Herald ran the Town and Village Record, showing that Rev. Hadley Proctor was the clergyman for the Baptist church. Charles Walker was the clergyman for the Congregational Church. Rev. Proctor also served as president and Rev. Walker as Vice President of the the Rutland Temperance Society. Both men also served on the Superintendent Committee of Schools.
Finding the Yellow Bricks 