Notes for: Frederick Bodine

There is a Frederick Bodine who applied for a Revolutionary War pension on December 6, 1832 from Buffalo, Erie County, Pennsylvania. He was 68 years old. That would make his birth year be about 1764. When that Frederick enlisted, he was living in Northumberland Co., PA. He could be this Frederick. In fact, this Frederick is the only one in my data who would match the data of the Frederick in the Rev. War pension file.

Here is what I have from this pension file:

PENSION FILE #S.9105 Frederick Bodine

Item: 30786 Pittsburgh, Ohio (small slip of paper)

Frederick Bodine of Huron Co., Ohio who was a private in the company commanded by Captain Hepburn of the regt commanded by Col. Hunter Pennsylvania Militia time for six months.

Inscribed in the roll of 20 dollars per annum to commence the 4th day of March, 1831.

Certificate of pension issued the 5th day of August 1836 (1831?) and sent to A. B. Forster, Esq. Venice, Ohio.

Item: 20327 Declaration. This is a declaration of a Revolutionary Soldier who served in the Militia, to obtain a Pension under the Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832.

Frederick Bodine personally appeared in open court on December 6, 1832 in the city of Buffalo, Erie Co., NY. He was a resident of Buffalo and 68 years old.

He says that he was born in New Jersey on January 29, 1764. He did not know the town and county where he was born, but he was living in Northumberland Co., PA when called into service. He continued to make his home there during the War and after the War the county was divided and the part in which he lived was called "Lacomin." He also said that it had been about twelve years since he moved to Buffalo. This is where he had lived ever since. He volunteered on about March 1, 1777 to guard against the indians who had begun attacking settlements and killing some of the inhabitants. He volunteered into Captain Hibbard's Company in Col. Henry's Regiment and served a three month term. They then went into the garrison until the summer of 1778 when they received orders from Col. Hunter to move down the Susquehannah River to Northumberland Town (sp?). They did this and remained there as at home until peace was declared. This and several other letters go on to describe his service in the War. Frederick's signature is on several documents.

Item: A letter written on August 6, 1834, says that Frederick Bodine was then living in Ohio.

There doesn't appear to be anything about Frederick's family or if he had married or had any children.

Joan Best found an Isaac Bodine listed in the 1800 Tax Lists of Mifflin Township in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. He was 25 years old and his occupation was a carpenter. In the same township was a Frederick Bodine, 34, also a carpenter.

Joan also said, "These two are found next to each other in the census and are most likely brothers. I don't think they are connected to Cornelius. It is likely that this Frederick is the Rev. War Frederick born Jan 29, 1764 who lived in Lycoming during this time, according to his pension petition. The age is off by 2 years, but could be attributed to misreading of the documents. I think that Frederick and Isaac may have been the sons of the Isaac whose will was probated in 1787 in Northumberland, this area being part of Northumberland at that time."

Here is some info from Joan Best which may or may not apply to this Frederick Bodine:

From: Joan Best [joanbest1 at earthlink.net]
Sent: Saturday, August 02, 2003
Subject: Re: Isaac Bodine and Catherine Casper

Dave,

...

Now to answer your question. I have since found that much, if not all of the probate papers for Columbia Co. are on LDS film. [A fellow Best researcher looking for something else ran across some Bodine info that I had not found and passed it on, telling me where she got it.] The same may be true for Northumberland. However, I got the Bodine information that I did get from Northumberland by calling the clerk's office. The person in charge of old documents told me how to send for them from their office [in Columbia Co. I had to hire someone to go through the record.] It was quite inexpensive. That is how I got the William Bodine probate. But at the same time I got the Dr. Bodie record and I think, Isaac's probate, including inventory. I believe I sent those to you. Also, I emailed you quite a bit of information on the Indian and the Revolutionary War skirmishes in that part of PA, including references to the early Bodine family that settled there before the Revolution, which was, I think, Isaac's and Frederick's family. Look in your old files and you should run across it. That was at the time before I found Jacob and Nancy.

The file you set is some pretty impressive researching. I think the issue about where the earliest Bodines in her file were born [NJ or PA] is because this Bodine family came up the Susquehannah River when it was first being settled, in the mid-1700s during the time their was a dispute with Connecticut over whose territory it was. The Connecticut claimants teamed up with some Indians and killed some of the settlers who had to flee down river. The early Bodines are mentioned in the records and histories of that period. No doubt this is the Bodine family the Frederick was part of as described in his pension records. It was the only Bodine family that I could find that was in this part of PA before the Revolution.

Keep up the good work.
Joan

From Ronny Bodine:

Frederick Bodine was baptized 21 March 1762 at the North Branch (now Readington) Dutch Reformed Church in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. He appears to be identical, despite the difference in birth dates, with Frederock Bodine who claimed to have been born 29 Jan 1764 in New Jersey, although he did not know the county. The latter enlisted about 1 March 1777 in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania in in Captain Hibbard's Company, Colonel Henry Artis' Regiment, and served about 3 months. In 1778, he enlisted in Captain Chatham's Company, Colonel Hunter's Regiment for 7-8 months and served further in 1779-1782 on four occasions for a total of about 23 months. He was a resident of Northumberland County in 1795 when Lycoming County was formed, thereafter a resident of the latter. In 1800, Frederick Bodine, carpenter, age 34, appears as a resident of Mifflin Township, Lycoming County with Isaac Bodine, carpenter, age 25. Since Isaac Bodine was a son of Isaac and Margaret (Smith) Bodine, there can be little doubt of Frederick's identity. In 1810, Frederick Bodine, still a resident of Mifflin Township, aged over 45 years, is recorded in the census with no family. On 6 Dec 1832, now as a resident of Buffalo, Erie County, New York he applied for a pension and did so again on 4 May 1836 from Oxford Township, Huron County, Ohio. A certificate of pension was issued on 5 Aug 1836 (no. S 9105). Pension documents make no reference to a wife or any children.